We Had Visitors!

Last month my parents drove out with my two nephews to visit us for a week. It was sure nice to see them...it had been over a year! Gabriel was really excited to see Papa and Grandma and "the boys" as he calls them. He was in seventh heaven having two other boys to play with and sleep with and eat with...not to mention all the Papa and Grandma time! It was a whirl wind week!

First, we drove up to New York to see some church history sites (Hill Cumorah, Smith Family Home, Palmyra Temple, and Sacred Grove). It was pretty amazing to stand on the same hill that Moroni and Joseph Smith once stood; where Nephites and Lamanites, from thousands of years ago, wandered...I could picture them there. The Sacred Grove was so reverent...I'm not sure how else to describe the feeling, but I felt a reverence that I've only felt in the temple. I also learned so much about Joseph Smith and his life and family. What an amazing man, and what an amazing wife he had. After that we checked out the falls in Niagara. We didn't actually see "Niagara" Falls, because the view of them is on the Canada side and the line was a mile long. But, we saw the American Falls, which were just as fascinating and beautiful.

A few days later we headed to the Cleveland Zoo for the day, which was quite impressive. We spent the whole day there and didn't even see all the exhibits. The boys had a lot of fun!

Later in the week we took my mom to the church history sites in Kirtland (as she was the only one who hadn't been there), which is always a treat. I love the sites in Kirtland...they are my favorite of all the church history sites I've been to. The spirit is so strong there, and it's where the church was organized, which means it was the place of revelation. It's a pretty special place, and I learn something new every time I go.

After Kirtland we headed up to the Wild Kingdom Water Park and spent the day there swimming and catching waves and doing water slides and obstacles. It was Gabriel's first time at a water park, and they had a perfect area for small children, so he was up and down the water slide the entire time.

We also checked out a local orchard and got some yummy peaches, watermelon and some fresh veggies. We grabbed some steaks and had a farm-fresh feast (say that fast three times)!

And if our time wasn't spent doing some sort of activity or eating, then it was spent building tents or playing outside or playing games! We had a lot of fun and we sure miss our family. Gabriel prays for "Grandma and Papa and the boys" at meal times and at bed time EVERY day, so I know he really misses them. Hopefully someday we'll move a little closer.

(At the Hill Cumorah Monument. In A.D. 421, Moroni, the last survivor of a great civilization that had inhabited the Americas since about 600 B.C., buried in this hill a set of gold plates on which was recorded the history of his people. In 1827, Moroni returned as an angel and delivered the plates to Joseph Smith, who translated them and published them as the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ.)

(Palmyra, NY Temple)

(Smith Family barn...one of many hiding places for the gold plates)

(The boys after the tour)

(American Falls)

Kandas Fam (My parents and two nephews)

(One big happy family!)

(Cleveland Zoo: See No Evil - Hear No Evil - Speak No Evil)

(Sharing a drink with Papa)

(The lame petting zoo at the Cleveland Zoo)

(A bunch of monkeys!)

(Up close and personal with Mr. Orangutan)

(Cleveland Zoo Rainforest)

(Getting ready to catch a wave!)

(A little too much wave!)

(First time on the water slide - he LOVED it!)

(Whoops...that one didn't quite work out...look at those feet!)

(worked up an appetite)

(Julian - Gabriel's best bud)

(Jory - Gabriel liked to boss him around)

(All the boys!)

(All the boys hangin' out in their tent)

(Grandma Time: Puzzles - Gabriel LOVES puzzles!)