Finally... A Family Vacation!

Last week Josh gave major presentation #2 for his residency and has been VERY stressed about it for a while. So after finding out he had a few days off this week we planned a getaway. We decided to head over to Palmyra and see all the sites there and also hit Niagara Falls since we were so close. And since we have 4 young kids we threw in a trip to a children's museum type place in Rochester so they would have something fun to look forward to. In the few days leading up to the trip Josh and I wondered what was going to go wrong while we were away but thankfully, we had a great time and couldn't have asked for better weather. Isaac definitely enjoyed being able to stay in a hotel room and couldn't wait to go back to it after the days were over. Anyway it was a pretty neat feeling to be in Palmyra and visit Joseph Smith's house and get an idea where the angel Moroni visited him and to walk through the sacred grove and also to see the hill Cumorah. I never realized how close all these things actually happened to us and to be there to see it made it all the more real. We are teaching a primary class and learning about all these things this year so it was definitely a testimony builder. The temple overlooking the Sacred Grove is a pretty amazing sight as well. Even when there were no leaves on the trees. The Grandin building where the Book of Mormon was published was also very interesting. The kids were very well behaved and Cambry liked learning about the making of the Book of Mormon... One word sums up Niagara Falls- AWESOME. It was very much worth the drive! It is absolutely breathtaking! Of course the children enjoyed the play place the best. It was very entertaining and they had lots of fun things to do. It was very nice to have Callie and Courtney old enough to enjoy themselves as well. This was also the perfect time of year to go. There were NO crowds so we basically had the place to ourselves! Yea for family vacations that turn out great!
-Here is a funny story to let everyone know what a good housewife I am-- Isaac was exploring the hotel room and says, "Hey mom there is a skateboard in here, I mean what is that thing you use in the water?" I told him a surfboard and he says "There is a surfboard in here!" I said, "no that is an ironing board." He says, "What's an ironing board? Do you use it in the water?" In his 4+ years of life I don't think he has seen me iron. It was pretty funny.
Palmyra:


The kids enjoyed the hike up to see the Moroni monument. It was fun having them all be "big" kids and not using strollers. The girls enjoyed the walk and tried to go up the steep parts without our help. We wouldn't let them since there were no fences or anything and if you fell, you fell far.



It was a pretty neat feeling to be right there where it all happened and to think that Moroni walked across our continent and buried the plates right there so they would be ready for Joseph Smith! It was also pretty incredible that the Smith's had 3 years of crop failures in Vermont so they had to move to Palmyra. It is a testimony builder that Heavenly Father definitely has a hand in everything!






This is the view from the Smith farm to the temple. The temple sits perfectly in that spot to overlook the Sacred Grove. I admit it would be prettier in the springtime with leaves on the trees but it is still amazing.



By the time we hit the sacred Grove everyone was beat. It looks like they are all sitting and thinking though. It was lots of walking but they were troopers! We had a hard time getting Callie and Courtney to leave because they couldn't get enough of the leaves.

Niagara Falls:





Children's Museum:



Isaac was determined to climb across the wall.



Cambry says her favorite part was the carousel. Can you tell?


The vacation wouldn't have been complete without Josh working on some teeth. They had a Berenstein Bear's exhibit and this was Dr. Bearson's office.



In adventureland they had a fairytale section and this is in the giant's house. We aren't into chess but the kids enjoyed carrying the pieces around.



The train ride was also a favorite amongst the kids. They ended up moving up to the engine part of the train for the ride and left Josh alone on the bench. It was pretty funny watching him ride around by himself.



They had a Mr. Potato Head room and this was the biggest Mr. Potato Head set I have ever seen. They had so many pieces for the kids to play with.



In the Sesame Street place the kids could sit and sing with the muppets while on TV. Callie and Courtney didn't know what was better, seeing themselves on TV or having Elmo next to them.