Cleveland Visitors!

We have been non-stop for the past three weeks with Justin's family here. It has been a blast! We started things out with AL and Sharla at the Hale farm...a historic site here in the Cleveland area. Definitely over priced but fun non the less and very pretty!

Bob and Denise got here a couple days later on Fourth of July!! We went and saw some really great fireworks in Solon, OH. We were curious how Jack would do and he loved them! He sat on Denise's lap the entire time and just kept saying "Wow...wow!" over and over. It was really cute. Notice in this picture he wouldn't take his eyes off the fireworks.

We tried to take a picture with the sparkler and it went out the second Justin pushed the button...of course!

And of course the next day we hit up the sites at Kirtland. Even though we have been there a whole bunch of times, it never seems to get old. We love it there.

The next day was the John Johnson Farm, and of course, the outlets!

We went to Chagrin Falls and they have the cutest fire station. They were super nice and let Jack walk around and even climb in the fire truck! He was loving it!

With Grandma and Grandpa Heaton at the falls.

Palmyra, New York

We made it to Palmyra in good time and started looking at sites right away. This is us at the temple and behind us is the Sacred Grove. It just doesn't get any better than that!


We went and saw the Peter Whitmer farm where the church was first organized. Jack was out playing by the fence. He reached over the fence and was trying to reach an apple when he got stuck! It was so funny! He would push with his hands to try and get off and then he would just rock back over. We probably should have rescued him sooner but we all had to giggle and take some pictures!

Having fun with the Grandpa's!!

This is at the Peter Whitmer farm. Denise is closing her eyes but I still thought this was a cute picture.

Sharla and me at the Smith farm visitor's center. Sharla cracks me up! She is always saying something funny.

Four generations in the sacred Grove.

More Sacred Grove shots.

Justin being silly at the Erie Canal. Jack was cracking up.

We met up with Jonathan and Daija and some of their friends from Boston. Justin's parents and grandparents were so nice and watched Jack for us so we could actually enjoy the pageant. (We stayed with him the night before so they could go and see it.) It was fun to see Jonathan and Daija and see Daija's cute pregnant belly!

Niagara Falls

On our way back from Palmyra, we went to Niagara Falls and Jonathan and Daija came with us. It was huge and so beautiful! I don't think I was expecting it to be that big. We walked on a huge bridge from the USA to Canada and it was super windy!!

I didn't know that there were 2 falls. You can see a glimpse of both in this picture.

WINDY!!!

The boys soaking up the fresh air. :)

After we had walked what seemed like forever, we still had to turn around and walk back to the car. Just as we were about to turn back it started pouring down rain!! We were all completely drenched. It didn't stop the whole way back. We were mad we didn't take a picture of us all soaked. Daija and I took this picture on my phone but didn't think to take one of everyone. Oh well! It was pretty funny. I was feeding Jack a blueberry pancake that morning and a blueberry squirted on my white shirt. I was hoping to be able to rescue my shirt when I got home but in the rain storm, the blueberry just ran down the front of me. So much for my white shirt!

Nauvoo. Illinois

After Bob and Denise left, we did some laundry and put our clothes right back in the suitcase and went to Nauvoo. We LOVE Nauvoo!! It is so beautiful there and there is a special spirit about it. We were able to all go through a temple session which is pretty much amazing. The inside of that temple is so gorgeous. Even the bathroom is beautiful! :)

"Giddy-up sheep!!" Jack was having fun at the pioneer children's site. There are all kinds of games and activities for the kids to do from the pioneer days.

This is at the pioneer cemetery just down the road from all the historic sites. It was very peaceful and fun to see how old the head stones were. Many of them were children. It made me grateful for modern medicine and to be living in a day where we know about sanitation and other simple things that can prolong our lives.

This is my Dad's cousin, Vivian, at the pageant. She is over the concessions. We stayed with her and her husband Dave. They are some of the nicest people I have ever met. They have people stay at their house ALL the time! We had their whole basement to ourselves and she fed us too. It was really fun to be able to spend some time with them and their cute little dog Harry. Dave is the temple recorder at the Nauvoo temple and made sure we saw some really neat things inside. In his office he has a sword that was Joseph Smith's that he gave to a man in Carthage in 1844, the year that he died, up in a frame on his wall. There are quit a few things on display that were fun to see.

Thank you Dave and Vivian for all of your help and hospitality!! We had a great time!

There was a GORGEOUS sunset our last night there. We were hanging out on the grass in front of the temple and before we knew it, there were tons of people stopping to get a picture. This is a statue of Joseph and Hyrum on their last ride from Nauvoo on their way to Carthage Jail.

This is what we all felt like by the end of our traveling!!

The Final Goodbye's

We took a few pictures right before we left to take Al and Sharla to the airport on Sunday.

We miss you tons!! Thanks so much for the wonderful three weeks. We had a blast and hope that you felt the same. Jack went into your room yesterday and kept saying "Grandpa....Grandpa." I am sure he thinks you will be back anytime now. He just doesn't know what to do without you!

Good luck with your busy week!

Fun, Fun, Fun!

For the last two weeks, Justin's family has been here and we have had a non-stop party! We have had a blast and have almost wore ourselves right out. We have been to the Hale Farm, Chagrin Falls, Kirtland historic sites and pageant, Palmyra historic sites and pageant, Niagara Falls (the Canadian side), watched fireworks, and played cards until all hours of the night!

Unfortunately, Bob and Denise left to go back to Idaho today. :( Thanks so much for taking the time to come and see us all the way out here in Ohio! We LOVED having you guys and can't wait until the next time we see you! Jack is still going around saying "Hi Bob!" He sure had fun with his Grandma and Grandpa Heaton. We hope you enjoyed it out here! Love you guys!

As for the rest of us, we are off to Nauvoo in the morning! I will post the whole trip when we get back.

Camping

We went to a campground about an hour from our house last Friday night and camped over night with some friends. The forecast called for showers but we decided to go anyway and were lucky enough to stay dry almost the whole time!

We went with some of our fabulous friends here in Cleveland!

Jack had a blast running around the grass and getting extremely dirty! I don't think he has ever been so dirty. It was a little bit muddy because of the rain but that didn't stop Jack. He was all over the place!

There is a small lake that we swam at.

Jack's friend Jackson with his usual "smile". He always closes one eye when you tell him to smile...so cute!

Jack was not happy in this picture because he was trying to get out of his camping chair and it fell forward and he landed right on his face! Poor Jack! He is going to have to grow into it.

Jack's Blanket

This is Jack's favorite blanket. My Grandma Gorrell made it for him. He sleeps with it almost every night and today he carried it around the house forever. It makes me happy that he likes it so much because it came from my grandma. Last time we were in Washington she was sick and we didn't get to see her. I didn't realize how sad I was until we got back to Cleveland and I thought about it. I love my grandma so much! She is such a talented woman. She can sew, quilt or crochet anything!! Everything she makes is so beautiful. We are so lucky to have some of her stuff that she has made.

Thanks Grandma!! You are the best. We miss you a lot and can't wait until we get to see you again! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Feeling Domestic

My Grandma Brownell has made homemade bread forever and she has a super easy white bread recipe that I decided to try out. It was a big hit with everyone! I think they look pretty good! This is going to become a regular tradition at our house. Now I just need her wheat bread recipe! :)

White Bread
Alice Brownell

2 C. warm water, approx. 120 degrees
1/3 C. sugar
2 Tbs. yeast (1 pkg. equals 1 Tbs.)

Stir together - Let sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast begins to "work". Then add:

1/2 Tbs. salt
1/3 C. oil

Mix.

Add 3 C. flour - Stir well. Gradually add 2 or 3 more cups of flour until right texture. Kneed well. At least 10 minutes. Let dough rise until about double. Put in loaf pans (2 medium size) and let rise again.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.