Stephanie and Jaden

Justin's sister and her boy Jaden came to visit us and go on a little church history tour. They flew in on Thursday and when we woke up on Friday to get ready to drive to Palmyra, this is what we woke up to! We got 10-12 inches of snow so we decided to wait until Saturday. The snow was really wet and stuck to all of the branches. It was so pretty.

After the roads were cleared, we drove out to Kirtland. I love the temple with all the snow around it.

Saturday we headed to Palmyra, NY. The roads were completely clear so we were really glad we waited to leave. Our first stop after arriving was the Hill Cumorah.

Jack was LOVING having Jaden around. He could not wait for him to get here. He followed him around the whole time and Jaden was so good to him. He played with him and entertained him the entire time they were here. I am thinking I need Jaden to be around us more often so that I can have a little built in babysitter! He was so awesome....thanks Jaden!!

Woooaaaahhh!!! Don't fall!!!

(haha....they are geeks!)

That night we went swimming at our hotel. Anderson was really scared at first, but as you can see, he got over it fast and was having a blast. They boys were having fun playing with some new water toys that Steph and Jaden brought them. They spoiled them rotten while they were here! Every day they had something new for Jack and Anderson and they were in heaven! I think Stephanie is going for auntie of the year. :)

It was quite chilly while we were in Palmyra. I'm so glad I thought to bring Anderson's hat to help him stay warm through all the site seeing. He was a champ though. The boys did pretty well, even in the cold weather.

It was raining a little and pretty windy when we went to the sacred grove. But while we were in there, it was so calm and peaceful. It is so quiet and even though there were no leaves on the trees and we were cold, it is always amazing to be in such a sacred place.

Jack kept running up to stuff and saying, "Mom, take a picture of me in front of this!" We've come a long ways from him yelling at me every time we wanted to take his picture. :)

This is in front of the Smith frame home that Alvin Smith started building for his parents. The sister missionary that gave us the tour said they think that they planted this tree next to the house in memory of Alvin when he died.

After making it back to Cleveland, we hit up the John Johnson farm. This is one of my most favorite church history sites and I will be so sad when we move so far away from it.

The boys figured they better take advantage of the snow before it melted.

After the Johnson farm, we hit up Trader Joe's so Stephanie could stock up, and then ate at one of our most favorite restaurants in Cleveland, the B Spot. Yummy!! Now that is one place I will miss. Even thinking about it is making me want to eat their pulled pork sandwich.

After we ate, we came home and celebrated Jaden's 11th birthday!! Him and Jack decorated the cupcakes and after the little boys went to bed, we stayed up way too late and played games.

I am so glad that Stephanie and Jaden came out here!! We were so spoiled to have Stephanie away from her house and her busy life. We just got to relax, eat yummy food, talk and talk and talk, and play games. It is hard to be so far away from family and these little visits mean a lot. Jack was so sad when he woke up and they had left early to go to the airport. Luckily, we will be seeing them this summer!! Yay!

Thanks guys!