Palmyra

July 9^th –

Today we just relaxed a lot of the day. The camp ground was beautiful, lots of trees and really green everywhere. The only problem was that the bathrooms were pretty far away and if someone had to go in the middle of night…well you just had to hold it. Patrick and I decorated the trailer with toilet paper for Matthew’s birthday (hey you work with what you got). It was funny when Matthew woke up and saw toilet paper everywhere. At first he didn’t get it. My baby is 18!!! The younger boys got to play in the playgrounds a lot. They were really neat play grounds shaped like different things like a big boat, monster truck, train, etc. It was nice to get a much needed rest. In the early evening we went out to eat at a local restaurant for Matthew’s birthday. I can’t believe he is 18! It’s sad and happy all rolled in one. The dinners were HUGE, Really huge and would have fed two big adults each. The food was so processed though but we still pigged out because we were so hungry. Most of us felt sick afterwards. Then we headed over to the Smith farm. It was really a neat experience to walk were Joseph Smith walked and to see how he lived. The log house was a replica built on the same foundation that the original one was. They used the same tools that would have been used in Joseph’s time so the replica would be authentic. Then they moved into the house that Alvin build. He died before it was finished. They only lived there for 4 years until they lost it and had to move back into the log house. They planted a tree in honor of Alvin that still stands today. The Sacred Grove is pretty close behind both houses. It was amazing to be in there and to think that God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared right in that grove. It had a really good feeling in it. It was a little hard to totally enjoy it with Justin tearing it up : ) He insisted on walking and then grabbing everything he could get his hands on and ripping it off the plant. Half way through it became clear that Patrick and I should have taken turns going through without Justin. We told Matthew and Savannah to go ahead and go off by themselves so they could have a personal experience. I LOVED it! Next we headed over to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. Patrick ran to the store to get a few things before Sunday while we saved a spot. He brought some ice-cream back to celebrate Matthew’s birthday. They had a local place that make homemade ice-cream and it was really good. The pageant was awesome. Then we went back to the tent and sacked out. I’ve never been so tired in my life. It was a really good day. The people have been really nice and New York is really beautiful.

July 10^th –

All of us slept pretty sound the whole night. We woke up late leaving us scrambling to find a church to attend. The 1:00 meetings were about an hour away and there was a mix up as to what time it was. We didn’t end up going to church. We did our own talks and then went down to the Hill Cumorah and watched a video on Joseph Smith and walked around the grounds. Then we went back to the smith farm for one more walk through the Sacred Grove. Next we went to the Palmyra temple. It was so small, really small, but still beautiful. Today was pretty relaxing. We figured we should get lots of rest since 4 out of the next 6 days will be traveling. I’m ready to come home.

July 11^th –

Today we are headed up to Niagra Falls and then to Kirtland Ohio. So far everything is running smoothly. I think we finally got the hang of all this : )