New York, New York Days 5-8

The drive from Palmyra to NYC took quite awhile, around 6 hours, but it was a good day to spend in the car, since it was nearly 100 degrees.  We decided to surprise the kids and found Carlos Bakery on the GPS and drove the kids there upon arrival.  We were a little nervous to be navigating the roads of New York, but we soon parked our car in a parking garage for the next 3 days. 

We arrived in the evening at my aunt DJ and Uncle Lindsay's place which was right off of Broadway and 72nd street.  It was in a great spot.  Who opens up there apartment to a family w/ 4 kids?  They were so sweet to let us literally crash their apartment.  We walked around their neighborhood, ate some chicken and got the low down on the next few days.  The kids zonked out and in the morning we were off to the Liberty Cruises to see Lady Liberty and Ellis Island.

We struggled a bit at the Statue of Liberty because it was so dang hot!!!! And-it is not open right now due to renovations, so we just walked around the perimeter and took the boat back, giving Ellis Island a pass till my kids are a little more enthusiastic.  We went to Battery Park after and the kids ran around in a splash pad.  About an hour later, a massive rain and thunderstorm hit, and we got our first experience of a nyc flash flood practically.  Luckily we were on the Subway during the biggest rains and were able to stay pretty dry.  We visited Ground Zero, ate some cart food, went shopping at Century 21 and then headed back to freshen up before I took the two older girls to Mary Poppins and Bryan took Baya out for her birthday to the big toy store.  Bradford had a date w/ my aunt and uncle walking around the famous 72nd street neighborhood!  Bless them!

The next morning we met up w/ Bryan's cousin's wife, Arlene and son Andrew and hit Central Park.  We spent most of the day in Central Park just chilling.  Uncle Lindsay came along too.  The kids did more splash pads, we listened to music and enjoyed the ambiance.

That night we headed out on the subway w/ aunt DJ and uncle Lindsay and hit the Rockafeller Center, did dinner at a NY style cafe, (which ended up being higher end and hard for Bradford) and found the Blakely hotel for some pics.  We felt like real New Yorkers walking through Time Square!

Palmyra and The Hill Cumorah Day 4

On the road again, we drove  from Niagara Falls area to Palmyra New York.  It was a hot muggy day with some breaking temperatures.  Along the way we stopped off and picked some strawberries.  Then we hit Hill Cumorah on our way into Palmyra.  We tried to add some excitement to the hill by rolling down it.  We were a couple weeks early for the pageant, but they explained the set-up to us and it was fun to picture all the people that come out for it.  We then went on to Palmyra and saw the Joseph Smith home near the Sacred Grove.  This was a really neat experience for us.  I loved this darling sister missionary because took Blakely on as her mission companion having her read stuff, pray and help give us the tour!

Here is a picture of the Palmyra Temple.  I got to go to a session that night while Bry watched Bradford do cannon bombs into the Palmyra Inn's hot tub and have a movie night w/ the kids.  A much needed break from the busy schedule we were keeping up!

 Here we are at the Joseph Smith home and Blakely is reading to us from the Bible, "if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God..."

 Walking around the Sacred Grove in about 100 degree weather...

Day 2 and 3 NIagara Falls 6-20,21

After a long day in Kirtland area, we hit the road up Lake Erie and stopped in at a cute town called Geneva on the Lake, Lake Erie.  All the jazz was for this hotdog, hamburger joint that was way overpriced and was apparently the place to be.  We had to try it... not sure why we did!  After we strolled down the hill to take a look at one of America's biggest lakes, Lake Erie.  Then... back on the road to Canada -- Niagara Falls!

 One last stop in this cute little town was a waterslide that Blakely had to try... mom said!  So, she hopped in her swim suit and cooled off for a minute while we cheered her on.  Above, kids stand on some little docks of Lake Erie.  Huge lake... wish mom could have gone for a ski run!

 Niagara Falls did not disappoint.  We were amazed by the vastness of the water and the beauty of the place.  We hopped on the "Maid of the Mist" boat tour and headed out to get wowed!

 This gives you an idea of how close the boat goes to the falls.  By this time we are all getting drenched! Bradford was starting to get upset by now!

 Here we are at the end of the tour... starting to dry off~and then head up to look at the views from above.

 We walked and walked and walked...you know you are tired when you resort to putting a 4 year old in a backpack!  The views and the river walk were amazing... we had a leash for Bradford just in case!

 Thank goodness we found a smoothie shop and popsicle for the kids after the long walk... tired once again... back to the hotel for some swimming!

We went over to the American side, and took an elevator down to the bottom and walked up some stairs that took you near the spray of the falls.  It was fun.  It is I guess like doing the wind tunnel tour but it only costed us $1 each for the elevator.  We got drenched and wind blown.

                         We went over to the American side, and took an elevator down to the bottom and walked up some stairs that took you near the spray of the falls.  It was fun.  It is I guess like doing the wind tunnel tour but it only costed us $1 each for the elevator.  We got drenched and wind blown.

                                  

Big Trip East: Day 1 Kirtland, Ohio

Amy had been working on our "Big Trip East" for months leading up to it.  That is one thing Amy does well is plan trips! She might not be the best cook or homemaker, but she loves a good trip!  We all boarder the plane on Father's Day Sunday at 5 p.m. and flew to Arkron, Ohio via Denver.  Bradford did okay thank goodness!  We only had about a 20 minute layover in Denver and Amy was scared we might miss our flight.  Because of the rush, we didn't realize that somehow our seat assignments were lost in the system, and our 3 hour flight from Denver to Akron, we were all spread out.  Bryan got stuck most of that leg holding Bradford.  Luckily we made it--

 By the time we arrived in Akron and got our car and to the hotel it was after 1 a.m. and the girls could have slept anywhere!  We had a hard time pulling us all out of bed, but mom had us on a schedule which included saving hundreds of dollars by switching our car for the duration of our 2 week trip at the Cleveland airport.  So before we could hit Kirtland, we had to stop over and get another mini van... which mom didn't like nearly as much as the nice Toyota Sienna from the night before!

 Kirtland was such a great little town.  We loved it.  We especially were impressed with the Newel K. Whitney store.  This picture below was in the room where Emma complained about the men chewing tobacco and smoking all the time and this is where Joseph delivered the doctrine of the Word of Wisdom. It looked pretty clean to us by then!

 We toured through restored pioneer homes that were very cute and quaint.  You see so much heart ache when you tour and study church history, it was nice to see and imagine some time of peace and growth here in Kirtland.

 Bradford playing in the saw mill-- He was a little hard to manage as we starting finding out quickly on these church tours... but, hey what do you expect from a busy 22 month old boy!  We started warning the missionaries as we came, that we would need the abbreviated tour due too our rambunctious children-if possible... some didn't quite get it!

 The Kirtland Temple is so pretty.  We went on a little tour w/ a missionary from the Church of Christ, who have rights to this temple currently.  It was long, and my girls struggled w/ her accent, but it was amazing to be inside this beautiful temple that was built w/ so much love and sacrifice by our beloved pioneers.  By the end of our tour-- We were ready for some down time.  We piled in our car and started our drive up Lake Erie towards Niagara Falls!

End of May/First of June (Schools Out)

The end of the school year is always so fun.  Both of the girls had field day and lots of water fights.  Abby's grade put on a cute performance featuring the song, "A bear went over the mountain."  Abby was a bunny.  She also had her name on the markee at school for a week or so announcing her birthday.  We went to Carston's dance recital w/ GG and Pampa Don and watched our flowers coming to life.  The girls got really excited for putting on a neighborhood dance recital w/ their friends and mom ran in a 50 mile relay.  It was a good time going into June.