Keeping busy

We've been keeping busy, going on nature walks, the children's museum, and primary. This week we joined an LDS homeschool co-op. I think it's going to be a fun school year! We're signing up for a homeschool soccer league soon.

Happy 3 months Malia!

Still a ray of sunshine!!!

Unhitched

After riding in the Family Fun-mobile for 3714 miles we finally unhitched the trailer! YES, we have arrived!

We're trying to get settled in. It has taken 2 weeks for us to finally get internet and phone service.I felt lost and in the dark-ages without them. Now I can slowly going back through the blog and adding pictures of our trip.

So far, we've been out shopping- found the important stores (Costco, Target, and Lowes). We've found the library, several parks, and the children's museum. And of course, we found our ward at church and LOVE IT!!

Trek East #7

Church History Day #3- Nauvoo the Beautiful

Mark woke us up this morning at the crack of dawn. We had heard if you're not at the ticket counter at 9 a.m. sharp all of the tickets for the rides and shows are gone. So, we quickly dressed, combed hair, and brushed teeth and ran downstairs for breakfast which we scarffed down. Mark was in a race against the tour bus to see who could get out of the parking lot the fastest- we won!

He quickly drove along the Mississippi and made it to the visitors center before it opened. I got tickets for the carriage ride, Just Plain Anna Amanda,

The Trek East #6

Church History Day #2

We spent the night in Cameron, Missouri. The local Comfort Inn has a few talking points. First, they had laundry facilities and internet access. So, while I was doing laundry, the kids found a 2 story indoor waterslide! It resembled a McDonald's play land. They climbed up the steps and sat down inside the tube that was so big it went outside the building and then back in at the bottom. What a blast!!! Now Brooklynn's new criteria for chosing a hotel is a waterslide. (She doesn't get that it's an anomaly. I hear that a Best Western somewhere along I-80 around Davenport had an indoor waterpark!)

We hit the road late in the morning and drove on the 36 through Missouri. The ride was relaxing and beautiful. White, yellow, and purple wild flowers grew along the roads and in meadows. Corn and hay fields spread out over rolling hills. We broke out and sang 'America the Beautiful'. (Okay, so Mark and I bribed the kids to sing along with us!) Mark recieved the "Safe Driver Clap Award" for swerving to miss a slow moving aardvark while keeping the van and trailer steady!

We caught our first glimpse of the Mississippi River and arrived in Nauvoo in the late afternoon. We saw 'Sunset on the Mississippi' and the 'Nauvoo Pageant' before heading over to the motel.

The Trek East #5

Church History Day #1

This morning we headed north to Omaha. We stopped to see the Winter Quarters Temple and visitor's center.


Jeffrey and Brooklynn got behind a handcart and pulled for a few feet before they lost interest.
We walked through the exibits and had a tour.



Suprise for the day- we bumped into one of my sister, Rachel's, linguistics professors from BYU. What a small world it is!
























The Winter Quarters Temple





Aren't they cute! They're lucky they aren't pioneers

Our next stop was the Kanesville Tabernacle.

followed by Far West (brings new meaning to the phrase 'off the beaten path'), Liberty Jail, and Independence. It was great to finally put a place to the names and pictures we've heard about for so long! At Independence our tour guide told the story of Mary Elizabeth and her sister who save the pages from the Book of Commandments when a mob broke into the printing press and destroyed it. They hid in the corn fields. It all makes sense now, there are sooooooooooo many!

Independence Visitor's Center (Printing Press)

Ride em' cowboy

The Trek East #4

Lincoln Monument

Sunday evening we found ourselves leaving the Salt Lake Valley and heading through Parley's Canyon. Due to road construction, all but one lane was closed. We were going a whopping 30 mph (the poor people behind us.) We drove for about 4.5 hours until we reached Rawlins, WY. We spent the night and were on the road again in the morning. The day was non-eventful besides our stop at Lincoln Monument. That part of WY was less dry and more green.

Malia ready for the day


The Family Fun-mobile

We drove and drove and drove. Nebraska seemed to never end although the views of corn and silos was calming (atleast for me- not the kids.)

We finally made it to Lincoln, NE.