Our Church and USA history tour (and the rest of our summer)

 We went on a grand adventure, starting in Cardston Alberta, going all the way to the USA Atlantic coast and back. All within 3 weeks. I had so many thoughts and things I wanted to say, but it is now 3 months later, and so much has happened between then and now, so I'm not sure if I remember it all, but I'm going to try:

We have wanted to go on a church history tour as a family since before we were a family. Last year we tried to orchestrate doing it with other families, but there were too many logistics, so this year we headed out alone. But we needed to figure out how we could do it in one vehicle that we could sleep in. 

Thus, Dustin bought a Dodge Caravan. All the seats fold into the floor, leaving room for Dustin and I to put down a nice mattress. Then Dustin built a sleeper pop-up tent for the top of the van, and Daniel and Hyrum slept up there. Then what about William and Abraham? Well, Dustin made some hammocks that spanned the width of the van, and they slept in them. 

We did end up staying at an Airbnb a few nights, and friend/family's houses, and camping grounds, so we didn't need to always be in this sleeping arrangement, but it WORKED! and it was so convenient to go across the country in a normal sized vehicle instead of an RV.

We had a deadline to start our journey (which was what we needed because we probably wouldn't have started otherwise.) In Kirtland was the Benjamin F. Johnson reunion. Benjamin Johnson was an early saint who had A LOT of kids. And some of his prosperity decided to throw a reunion at Kirtland for anyone who could show that they were related to him. 

The idea of that excited Dustin, but the reality was that there were hundreds of people there who were Johnson's descendants. Too many people to make it so you could not get to know any of them. So it ended up that we were all in the same historical city at the same time, looking at the same sites, but not really interacting. We were given purple lanyards, so we knew who was in our group, but that was about it.

 

There was a couple of devotionals that were put on for our family reunion. One was given by the General Young Men's president, and that was really awesome. He talked about the importance of FSY and how he had such a strong testimony of it, he asked his secretary to send him to an FSY that really needed his support and they said "great! Let's send you to Pakistan" and he said "Uhhh I think you should send me to a place where there are actually members" and he found out that Pakistan is one of the fastest growing places for the church in the world! He also went to some Africa countries, and he said that African membership is growing so fast that French might become the most common language in the church soon!

Even though the  family reunion was sort of a bust, going to Kirtland was amazing. 

Our first stop was the Smith home, where you could see the temple through their window.

And of course we went to the Temple. What a difference having the Church own the temple makes! When I went to the temple at the end of my mission, I asked the guide "is this the breastplate where Jesus Christ stood?" and the guide said something like "well, we're not saying that Jesus ever came here, and we're not sure of anything.." but this time, a senior missionary couple declared with power that this was indeed where Jesus had visited Joseph Smith.

It was pretty cool to see the workmanship and labor that these impoverished saints did for the House of The Lord. 

We also went to the historical town of Kirtland and saw the stores and houses there and talked about the revelations that came while Joseph was there.

We also went to the Mill where they made pot ash. I didn't know that that business is what mostly paid for the building of the temple!

We also went to the surrounding sites, such as Hiram, Ohio! My cute boy thought that was cool (actually, his mom thought it was cool and made him pose for a photo.)

And while we were there, it was his birthday. We had a party later on in the summer, but we had an ice cream to celebrate on the actual day. (We had done this for Abraham too...but no photo.)

After Kirtland, we drove on to Palmyra. We got there a bit late, so we went a little out of order, and went to the Book of Mormon printing press first (before it closed.) It was such a wonderful, educational tour. They take you through the whole process of making a book. They even had us fold a large parchment of pages in the right way, so that if you cut off the edges it would be a part of the book. 

Then we went to the Smith's home. They even had a bible from the early 1800s laid out on the table to the Book of James. 

We also went upstairs to where the angle Moroni visited Joseph Smith during the night.

We also went to Alvin's house (which became the entire Smith's house) and hefted a replica of the gold plates....not real gold, obviously.

And of course, we wondered through the Sacred Grove. It was so peaceful. It felt like we could truly be alone to think and ponder. I even saw a baby deer there. However, are my children ever really reverent? I think these photos tell the truth.

Then we went across the way to the Hill Cumorah. We just made it in time before they closed, and ran up to the top to see the monument.

We stayed at a campsite close by, and the next day we spent at the Niagara Falls. We of course went to the Canadian side of the falls, because...duhh.....it's 10000xs better on the Canadian side! It even has a street that feels like the Vegas strip. We had the boys choose one thing to do, and they all decided to do the race car track.

Spoiler alert! Little did we know that while we were there....in ONTARIO...Hyrum received an email. A very important email, that was just waiting for him in his in box.

That evening, we went to my sister-in-law's house for dinner. It was so good to see her. I don't think I've seen her since my brother died.  While we were with them, Hyrum checked his email, and saw that HE GOT HIS MISSION CALL!!! But he decided to open it later when he was with the Berry's. This mystified Chris and her boyfriend who aren't LDS.

The next day we drove down to our Nephew's house who works in DC. We saw fireflies for the first time. It was very magical, and it was so wonderful to see Aaron's family. 

The next day we spent at Washington DC. It was a major pain to find parking, and even after finding it, we had to walk, and walk, and walk, but I think it was worth it. We first went to the Holocaust museum. They gave us an individualized pamphlet that had a name of a real person that went through the holocaust. On the last page it told whether the person lived or died. The museum was very effective at showing the tragedy of the holocaust. 

We then needed something uplifting and fun, so we went to the museum of American History. THAT is a fun museum! We saw the original Star Wars droids and the ruby slippers...

And we saw the original Kermit the Frog, which was actually a bit terrifying. I don't think I've ever seen anything that had Kermit looking like that!

And we saw the history of inventions. There was a HUGE portion of the exhibit dedicated to Thomas Edison, but I had to look and look and look for any reference to Tesla, and finally I found it: A tiny 5x7 photo saying that he did exist. Goes to prove how important good PR skills are!!!

Then we went to the Air and Space museum where we saw the mars rovers they kept on earth (they made two: one for mars, and one for earth) and we saw the actual Wright brother's flyer (which would be important for the next day's happenings.)

We didn't end up going to the Lincoln memorial because of parking needs, but all in all I don't regret DC.

The next day we drove to North Carolina. On the way, I made my family stop at Williamsburg VA. This was in my mission, and I remember it being so educational and cool. However, we spent too long there. HOWEVER it was FREEEEEE! It was Juneteenth, and the entry was free. I didn't plan this, it was serendipity.

We spent too long there because I cut it too close to when the visitor's center for Kitty Hawk closed. This is a painful memory for me, so I'll just say that we missed it, even though it was the main thing Dustin wanted to see, however we DID get to go to the monument, and we DID see the flyer at the DC museum.

That night, we went to the "Lost Colony" play about the First English colony in the Americas that mysteriously disappeared. I had this on my bucket list because it was in my mission but I was never allowed to see it back then. 

The script wasn't that great, but the production was incredible.

That night, a storm came. By the time we got to our campsite, the wind was howling, and so the boys slept in tents instead of on top of the van, and then it rained and we woke up to the boys being absolutely DRENCHED. Which made me feel a bit guilty because Dustin and I were comfy cozy.

It was wonderful to show my family where I had served my mission.

And then it was time to find MY missionary!!! Maxwell was only a few hours away! His area was practically at the bottom tip of the Outer Banks, while my area had been at the top.

It was so wonderful to see him! We went out to lunch and we even had a missionary experience with someone at the restaurant! His companion seemed nice, and I think it was so good for all of us. It's crazy how independent and grown up my baby is! 

While we were there, Hyrum decided to let Maxwell read his mission call. Maxwell opened up the email, and didn't tell us (not even Hyrum) what it said. He gave us a couple clues though. He said "Hmmm, yeah, I can see that being a good mission for Hyrum." and later he said "Oh man! I forgot to see what language it was." Not huge clues, but it made it more interesting.

I think this was my favourite part of our trip.

Then we went to visit a different missionary....Faith Sala! 

She was so energetic and eager to do the work, so we only spent a few minutes with her before she had to go, but in her same area was our nephew Jayden and his family! We were able to spend some time with them, and it was so good to catch up.

That night we spent with our dear friends, the Cornishes. They had lived in Vanuatu, and I seriously don't know what we would have done without them. They took care of everything during the pandemic, and were our safe place and a source of sanity in difficult circumstances. I will always think of them as my angels, and it was so good to see them back at home in the states and thriving.

The next day we saw another missionary, Esther Sala! I'm soooo grateful we saw her. There had just been some traumatic things that had happened in her mission, and I think it was a blessing for her to have some family at that hard time. 

She was serving in Covington Georgia, which apparently is a famous town for a vampire show, so the whole down town was devoted to everything vampire, and we even bought "blood bags" to drink from!

We spent the next two nights (and Sunday) with our nephew Dailin. It was so fun to see how successful he's become and how loving his home is. 

Honestly, all these visits will all these people we love so much was much more memorable and wonderful than any of the historical things we saw.

We then went to our next friend's place: The Berry's. My boys had been waiting eagerly to see their old friends. They were so gracious to us. I felt so welcomed. The first place we went with them was to Adam-ondi-ahman. 

THIS is where Hyrum decided to open his call. He climbed on top of the "preacher's stone" which Joseph Smith would stand on to give sermons, and we had a zoom call with all our friends and family.

He got called to TORONTO ONTARIO! I think it will be perfect for him, and I'm so happy for him. Hyrum seemed pretty happy about it too.

That same day we went to Far West Missouri. It was not what I was expecting. There was NOTHING there. It had been a big western town at one time. Between 5,000-10,000  people. TWICE the size of Cardston! And now nothing but fields. It makes the driving out of the Mormon people real to see nothing but fields.

There are the corner stones of where the temple should be. So I guess, not total nothingness. The stones are under glass to protect them from the elements. 

The next day we went to Independence Missouri. That was not what I was expecting either! It's obvious that this is where Zion was called. There were all the splintered sects of the church there, all vying for a piece of it in the middle of a modern city! 

I was not expecting to see all the "cabins" and places of interest inside a museum, which was so different than Kirtland and Palmyra. But I did love the sisters guiding us through the different stations which were done so excellently.

I had always worried that the church didn't own the "temple lot." However, the senior missionary there made me feel better, and that if a temple was built anywhere in the vicinity it would fulfill the prophecy. I guess what is supposed to happen, will happen.

That evening we also went to the Liberty jail, which, again, was inside a building instead of being exposed to the elements. 

The next day we went to Nauvoo, and I realized that we could have spent an entire week at Nauvoo and not see everything, so just spending one day was just scratching the surface. On our way to Nauvoo, we went to Carthage. 

Carthage Jail was so incredible because I learned things I've never heard before, such as that the jail warden had put Joseph and his friends in the "dangerous criminals" section of the jail, and then had dinner with him and realized Joseph was a good man. The warden then switched the men to the "petty crime" section of the prison on the main floor. However, when the warden realized that having them on the main floor was endangering their lives because of mobs, the warden GAVE UP HIS OWN BEDROOM, believing it to be a safer space since it was in an upper story and THAT is where Joseph was shot.

We then went to Nauvoo just in time to catch the preforming missionaries act out "As Sisters in Zion" where they all took on the personas of actual sisters in Nauvoo. It was really moving and excellently done. I'm so glad we went to Nauvoo during the tourist season to see the performing missionaries, and I only wish we could have seen more of their performances.

We also went to some of the buildings around, including the endowment house above the store. Apparently this was just purchased from the Church of Christ, so it was not all decked out like most of the Church's historical houses, but it still was wonderful to go to where the first endowments were.

Then we went to the temple. The boys were able to do baptisms and Dustin and I did endowments. This was a big bucket list item for our family, and it was so special to do it with the Berrys there.

In the evening, we met practically-my-sister Marie, who lives there (and is an English teacher and would cringe at my grammar.) It was SOOO good to see her. I haven't talked to her in years. 

We saw the Sunset play together. It wasn't that spiritual, but more like "Mormons had fun in Nauvoo, but then we were kicked out" type of performance. Topnotch talent.

Then came my favourite part of the trip: the walk down Parley street. I remember back when the temple was dedicated, President Gordon B Hinkley had such a love fore the pioneers. He said that everyone should walk down Parley Street and as they walked, to remember all those who who walked down that street for the last time as they crossed the river away from the city and towards the west. I don't know why that stuck with me for a quarter of a century, but it did, and I wanted to walk down Parley street myself.

Little did I know that the Nauvoo Performing Missionaries had a special experience that helped bring to pass Pres. Hinkley's request. All along the Parley Street, there were missionaries stationed periodically, ready to share their experience. 

Each missionary (or pair of missionaries) pretended that they were a certain real life Saint who shared their experience of being forced from Nauvoo. Some were funny (like the boy who hid his identity by dressing up like a girl so he could join his brother on the other side of the river) and some were sad (like the couple who had to leave the graves of their babies) but all were from actual letters and journals of real people. 

It was really moving. All this with the back drop of the temple on the hill and the river in front of us, a river that was so cold, it was frozen over when many of the pioneers left to stay in tents on the other side. But tonight it was warm with fireflies lighting the way.

The next day we went to the Winter Quarters quickly as we headed home. Then we drove through the night to get home as quickly as possible.

We drove so fast because we were sick of traveling, but also, we needed to get home in time for Daniel and Hyrum to go to FSY. They were in the Calgary group, and they love their experience so very much.

While they were gone, it was Canada day, and thankfully, it didn't rain like last year.

However, the weather DID go crazy (living in Cardston, of course it did!) and there was a massive hail storm that wrecked our vehicles, roof, and siding! Oh boy!

About this time, Daniel got done with his Spring semester. He got 100% in his business class! He did good in his other classes as well, and I was proud of him doing a full-time semester of college.

Speaking of college, I WENT TO SCHOOL! Yes, I am a full time student at the University of Calgary. in the Werklund college of education. I love my classmates and I love my experience in the clinic. I know I am on the right track for me!

I spent two weeks on campus learning how to administer the WIAT test.

As soon as I got home, however, Dustin needed to leave. Our boat's sale had fallen through, and we had been in New Zealand too long. The boat needed a lot of work since it hadn't been sailed for two years, so he left and took Daniel with him.

I was a little worried that Daniel and Hyrum wouldn't see each other again for FOUR YEARS because of their missions, so I took this photo.

While Dustin was gone, we went camping. Well, the Peavoys watched my kids as they went camping, and I showed up during the day. I was a bit stressed out, and I was so grateful to everyone at the camp (lots of family and friends were there) who took my family under their wings. 

We also had William's 13th birthday! I have three teenagers now! And only one baby (let's be honest, Abraham will always be my baby) William wanted to invite a million friends and Becky was so kind to let us use her place. He wanted a "golden Birthday." They got this idea from Rightstart math, which had a lesson or twothat included this concept. It's when your age matches the day of the month, which means last year, when he was 12, was his real Golden Birthday since his birthday is on the 12th, but he forgot (and so did his mom) so he insisted on having it this year. So we did everything gold and had treasure hunts as well.

Then I decided to go to Utah to see my parents before I joined Dustin in New Zealand. 

It was so good to see them and create more memories. I have the best parents ever, and I want my children to know how wonderful they are. We went to a couple of plays (one on my mom's birthday!) and went out to eat a few times. My mom LOVES a frozen yogurt shop near her and treated us to that a few times! My brother, Craig, showed us a beautiful walk along the river Jordan. 

I only had William and Abraham (which felt weird) because Daniel was with Dustin and Hyrum was working at Cardston Support Services where he took care of some severely disabled men. I was truly proud of how Hyrum handled that job and the kindness he showed to his clients.

Anyway, William and Abraham were excited to go to the states, because that meant they were able to get JOY RIDE! the candy of Ryan Trehan, and Ryan's YouTube videos of 50 states in 50 days was a big part of our summer.

And I think that's it! That was our incredible summer! 

We are now back on our boat having new adventures that I'm sure I will tell you about soon! 

Yeah for the 2024-2025 school year!!!!!