Palmyra, NY

Our last stop on the trip was Palmyra, NY. Here is the Angel Moroni statue at the top of the Hill Cumorah where Joseph Smith received the plates. There are some metal utility boxes at the top of the hill (probably used for the pageant) which Matthew believed housed the golden plates. At least he knows the story.

The hill is rather steep and Jeremy contemplated doing a log roll down it, but the asphalt trail at the bottom looked like it could cause some damage.

We also went to see the Palmyra temple and Matthew and Corinne posed in front for some pictures while Nora slept in the car.

A reconstruction of the original log house that Joseph Smith grew up in and received his vision of the angel Moroni. It was interesting to see what humble beginnings Joseph Smith had. On our tour we discussed how it couldn't have been coincidence that the Smith family had crop failure 3 years running and then heard about thriving crops in the Palmyra area which happens to be where the golden plates lay hidden.

Jeremy and Corinne heading into the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. What a beautiful area! We enjoyed learning more and experiencing some church history sites while living in the New England area.

Niagara Falls

After Kirtland we headed up to Niagara Falls. We opted to ride the boat 'Maid of the Mist' instead of taking the hike up to the falls since you can see both the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls up close without having to cross the border.

Jeremy and the kids looking out over the American Falls with Canada in the background.

The kids and me sporting our free ponchos.
Rainbow over the American Falls.

A look at the Horseshoe Falls. The Horseshoe Falls reminded me of the "Devil's Mouth" waterfall at Igacu Falls, Brazil. I think that overall, Iguacu Falls has bigger and better waterfalls, but Niagara Falls was still impressive. Jeremy says he likes Igacu better because it is more natural and less commercialized. There is a waterfall scene from Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull that takes place at Igacu Falls.

Family photo op in front of the Falls.

Here is a photo of "Devil's Mouth" at Iguacu Falls. There are approx. 2 km of waterfalls. This view is only a fraction of all the waterfalls there, but the most impressive view.

Kirtland, OH

We drove another 5+ hours to Kirtland where we spent the night and then visited the church sites there.

They began the tour with a video depicting events that happened in Kirtland during the organization of the church and building of the Kirtland temple. Here is the restored Newel K. Whitney store.

Corinne inside the Newel K. Whitney store.

The room that held the School of the Prophets on the second floor of the Newel K. Whitney store. The store also housed Joseph Smith and his family for about a year.

The nearby saw mill and ashery that helped to fund the church in the early days.

The Kirtland temple that is currently owned by the Community of Christ church formerly known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Hershey Chocolate Factory

We went for quite a road trip this weekend. First, we made a 6 hour drive to Hershey, PA to visit the town where Jeremy was born. Okay, he didn't remember anything from there except for the Hershey Chocolate Factory and that they hand out free chocolate so we had to go on the tour.

How Hershey's kisses are made.

Nora loved looking at the ceiling during the tour for some reason. There wasn't anything up there.

Corinne is showing us her delicious truffle Hersheys kisses that they gave us at the end of the tour. She was so excited!

So was Matthew. Stay tuned for more exciting adventures from our trip!

Preschool!

Matthew started preschool today. He has been looking forward to going to school for awhile. Yesterday he met his teacher and was able to go in the classroom and play with some of the toys there which increased his anticipation tenfold.

We walked to the school and waited out in front for his teacher and he gave me kisses and then gave Nora a kiss and Corinne a kiss and then ran over to his teacher and gave her a hug. It was very unexpected since he wouldn't even say hello or goodbye to her yesterday.

He was so anxious to get inside that by the time I snapped the picture, his little red head had disappeared through the doors.

After school when I went to pick him up he looked a little worn out. I asked him what he did and the only thing he told me was he played with playdough. The teacher explained that they went on a tour of the school and then were shown the classroom and toilets. It must have been a good day because he's looking forward to going back.