Better catch up on your zzzzz's, and look your
best cause the fun's about to begin!
Grandma was the first to visit
Building blocks with grandma makes me
beyond Happy!
An outing to the library was a must
Baby time for grandma
And Grandpa
It's great to get your jump start in the morning
with a walk/jog in the rain
A visit to NWA would not be complete until you
see the UofA razorback campus
As more family arrives in town, dinner "out"
was a must to chat and catch up with cousins
and siblings
The main reason why family came from
way out west, was to see little Jordan get
blessed at church.
What a cute, handsome outfit, grandma
picked out
Grandma and Grandpa have their turn
And then the whole crew
We were so blessed to have family come from
far away to witness this special event. We are so
grateful for them and their support for our family!
With Dean's brother and sister and their families, we took off the next day on our quick few day trek up north through Missouri and Illinois, to visit a few of our church's (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) history sights.
Our first stop was in Liberty, Missouri, to the
0ld Liberty Jail, where Joseph Smith, the first prophet of this
dispensation, was unjustly imprisoned. It was a
great spirit that we felt as we were in the same area
where the Lord revealed many great things unto the prophet.
On to our next site. Dean wanted to follow where our
GPS was telling us to go, so we separated from Dean's family
to follow it's route. As we quickly noticed however,
Our GPS was leading us astray, out in the middle of
no where.
It was dusk and would be dark soon, so ultimately
Upon Edie's urgent request, Dean put the car
into reverse and backed up(we did not have
the luxury to turn around). Again trusting our GPS,
we bounced along the dirt roads, with no living creature in sight. It soon
got dark, and the road we were traveling on, got
smaller and smaller, until it seemed like it was more
a pathway then a road. We seemed to be driving right into
a horror film, as we did not know where we were going. Driving in a
big open field in the middle of nowhere, in the dark of night, and ultimately getting
stuck in a big mud puddle! Yes, our GPS
failed us yet again! However, if it were not FOR our
GPS, We would not have known our laditude and longitude numbers for
Dean's family to come rescue us. What a welcome sight that was, as we saw
headlights coming towards us. We were saved with no harm to us!
The van on the other hand, well, see for yourselves!
Our last stop was to Illinois, the cities of Nauvoo, where Joseph and the early saints lived before moving out west, and to Carthage where Joseph was prisoned and ultimately martyred. Here are just a FEW of the pictures that were taken during our time there.
The BlackSmith shop
Connor was the lucky one to receive the small
horseshoe that we saw being made.
The Brick Yard
Nauvoo buildings and houses were built with
this beautiful red brick.
Carthage Jail
All the cousins (except for Jordan) pose together
by the Joseph and Hyrum sculpture
The Jail and the place where Joseph
was killed because of his beliefs and
the truth that was taught.
but happiness is felt more because of the
truth that we now have!
The three boys and mommy having a sweet tender moment
Teaching time!
Cousin Shawn lets Bryce see some pictures
The Beautiful Nauvoo Temple
The whole family in front of the temple
A beautiful group by a beautiful site! We are so
blessed to have temples on this earth today to
be sealed to each other for this life and through
the eternities! Thank you family for a wonderful
few days!
Connor's birthday was the day we were traveling
back to our home, and since we came back so
late we celebrated it the day after, which was
the first day of the start of school.
After arriving in his 2nd grade classroom, Connor
found his desk, and found a happy birthday
message from his teacher Mrs. Smith. It was a good first day!
After coming home from school, the present
opening began!
And the celebration started!
With 7 mini cupcakes all lit, it was time to
make a wish and blow them out!
A Happy Happy birthday to our 7yr old Connor!
It felt like a whirlwind rush of a month, but yet we came out of it alive and surviving!
