"March Break" get-away...

Last week, the kids had their "March Break" (they don't call it Spring Break here). We decided a couple months ago that we would go tour some of our church history sites in this area, since we are now only 3-4 hours from both Kirtland, OH and Palmyra, NY. We went to Nauvoo, IL twice when we lived in Arkansas, since we were only about 7 hours away, so now we figured we could go see the LDS church sites that we are close to here.

Well, the weekend before, we ended up with sick kids. Jonah & Clay were both not feeling too great. I figured it was just the usual cold/stuffy nose/headache type thing. Well, on Saturday we decided to keep them home from swimming. And then on Sunday morning, they both woke up with fevers, Jonah's ear was hurting, and Clay threw up. So...by Monday they still weren't feeling better, so I took them to the doctor to see what was going on. Sure enough, Jonah had an ear infection, and Clay had strep-throat. We got both of them some antibiotics & relaxed & rested the rest of the day. The next morning, Clay's legs hurt so badly that he would cry to just stand and walk on them. That didn't seem normal to me (our kids rarely get sick and I don't remember them ever having strep, so I didn't know if that was typical or not, but it didn't seem good.) So, I made a 2nd trip to the doctor's office & explained what was going on. She sent us down to the lab to get some blood work done (just to be sure it wasn't anything serious). Then we went back home again. Poor Clay was limping around like an old man, because his legs hurt so bad. Well, later that afternoon, I started to not feel so good. I figured if I was going to get sick too, I better get some medicine before we left for our trip the next morning! So I headed back to the doctor for a THIRD time in 2 days! Good grief! And I also tested positive for step-throat. I got some antibiotics as well, and went home & finished up the laundry, packing, cleaning, etc. for our trip. We were really hoping that nobody else would get sick and that everyone would feel much better SOON! :)

Wednesday morning, we got up & headed out. We got to the Canadian/U.S. border by about 8:15 a.m. We have never gone through the border for a vacation, and we weren't sure what we would need to declare. I had also brough along some apples & bananas for snacks, & Neil said he wasn't sure if we could take those across the border. So, when we got to the gate, the border guard, who was EXTREMELY grumpy & ornery (I think they have to take classes in being as big of a jerk as possible), said that he needed to see all of our passports, which I had. Neil handed them over & the guy said, "ROLL down the windows & take OFF your sunglasses!" Then he asked where we were going & what we were doing. Neil told him. Then the guard asked what we had with us. I asked if we were allowed to take apples & bananas across the border. He glared at me like I was a complete idiot & said, "I AM THE ONE ASKING THE QUESTIONS HERE, NOT YOU! AND I'M TALKING TO HIM!" (Pointing at Neil). So Neil said we were taking along clothes & snack foods for our trip. Then the guy went on to say that if he answered every little question from everyone that went through, it would take forever. (And by the way, there was NOBODY behind us in that line at the time). WHATEVER! Mr. Grumpy pants needed to not be such a JERK! And if he would have cooled his ego trip, and just answered the question, instead of blabbering on & on about how only HE is allowed to talk, then it would have saved us that precious time he was talking about! :) Yes, it bugged me a little!!! Afterwards, Neil said he was tempted to say, "You seem a little grumpy...do you need a HUG?" Hahahahaha! If we would have said that, I'm sure we would have been detained & fined!

So, along the way, we were able to pass through a few more states that we've never been to. We went through New York, across the corner of Pennsylvania, and into Ohio.




We really enjoyed seeing the American flag too! We've missed seeing it!


Once we got to Kirtland, OH, it was about lunch time. And I have to say, we were all SO excited....this wasn't just a vacation, but a wonderful chance for us to enjoy all the yummy, delicious food that we miss here in Canada. Over the course of our trip, we were able to eat at most of our favorite restaurants. We went to a little Mexican place for lunch in Kirtland, that was HEAVEN!


We haven't been able to eat any good Mexican food for the past 6-1/2 months!!! Those chips & salsa were SOOOO good! There are NO Mexican restaurants in our area--anywhere! None! And you can't even find any enchilada sauce mix in any grocery stores. So...eating some delicious chips & salsa, beans & rice, enchiladas, tacos, & fajitas, was DELICIOUS!

After filling our bellies, we checked into our hotel, and then went to tour the sites there in Kirtland. We started out at the Kirtland visitor's center.


We toured the Newell K. Whitney store,




some of the places that Joseph Smith & his family lived, and saw where they held many meetings, received revelations, and had some amazing, sacred experiences. We also got to see the mill where they cut all the logs and where they made the bricks & potash, to use to build homes & stores there, and some of the things they used to build the temple.



After that, we headed up the hill to the Kirtland Temple.

We went into the visitor's center (which is now owned by the Community of Christ--which is a break off from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints). They talked about some of the history in the area, Joseph Smith, and his family & those who helped him. Then we were able to tour the temple.

It was really cool to see, and understand all that went on there. Pretty amazing! (But they didn't allow any pictures inside the temple). After our tours, we headed back to the hotel and went swimming in the pool. The kids love swimming & we all had a great time.

The next morning, we got up & headed to New York. It was rainy most of the day, so once we got near Palmyra, we stopped for lunch at PF Changs
--- OHHHHH SOOOO YUMMMMY!!!!! And then we took the kids to see the movie "The Lorax." The kids all enjoyed it. Then we went to Target & Walmart to get a few things that we don't have in Canada. I stocked up on some Excedrin, Zyrtec and Mucinex for the kids (we have a couple kids with allergies in the spring), and we also bought some Rhodes frozen Rolls right before we left, because we love those & they're quick & easy--and they don't have any in Canada). I wish I would have thought to stock up on chicken. That costs a fortune here--about $10 for 2 large chicken breasts!!! Needless to say, I've been using a little less chicken since being here. Another funny thing is that after being here in Canada for almost 7 months now, it's funny the things that we miss and what we've gotten used to. We still couldn't belive how inexpensive everything seemed in the States! After paying so much for gas, food, groceries, clothes, eating out, etc. in Canada for the past 7 months, those prices seemed GREAT! :) And when we were wandering through Walmart & got to the dairy section, our kids saw the milk in jugs and said, "OH, LOOK...MILK IN JUGS!!! CAN WE GET SOME?!" I'm sure people around us thought we were kind of strange. But, oh how I miss milk in jugs! The milk in bags here in Canada is kind of a pain, and it does taste different (as well as the other dairy products like cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc.) But that's okay, it's all an adventure, and Neil loves his job, so all of those little things aren't that big of a deal.

So...after our delicious lunch and movie, we headed to our hotel, got checked in & relaxed for a bit. Our room was a family suite with 2 bedrooms, & beds to sleep 6 people. It also had a full kitchen with plates & utinsels, a full fridge, a stove top & microwave. It's so nice to have more space like that when you are traveling with six people!

By then the rain had stopped, so we decided to go see some of the sights. We drove to the Palmyra main street to look around. At one intersection, there are 4 big, beautiful churches (it's called church street). There was Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist, and Baptist, all on different corners (with more denominations scattered up & down the street). I found it very interesting, considering the history & the excitement & contention between the various religions at that time.

On Main street there were shops, restaurants, and the Grandin building & book shop, where the Book of Mormon was first published, back in 1830. Unfortunately, all the sites closed at 5 p.m., and it was already 5:30, so we headed to a little pizza place on Main Street for dinner. After that we headed to the Palmyra Temple to look around & get some pictures.



It was beautiful & nice to walk around & be on the grounds with the kids. Just as we were getting ready to leave, across the parking lot, we heard "HEY PRESTON!" and some girls come running over. There was a youth group from a ward in our stake, that just happened to be there at the same time. PJ has met a bunch of these kids at Stake dances & various activities. It was funny to run into people from our area while on vacation. :) After that, we headed back to the hotel to go swim for a bit before bed.

The next morning we got up & had breakfast, then drove to the Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center,

We watched some videos, saw the beautiful Christus, learned more of the history of Joseph Smith & the revelation, translation, and publication of the Book of Mormon, and saw the Book of Mormon in 107 different languages. The weather was sunny & warm, so we all walked up to the top of the Hill Cumorah, to see the monument where the golden plates were buried.



The funny thing is, during all these tours, we met several different couple missionaries & sister missionaries, from all over. There was a sister missionary from Nicaragua, one from Tonga, a couple from Los Angeles, CA, and then a couple from Logan, UT and even a sister missionary from Deweyville, UT (which is a little tiny town right by where Neil grew up--in the Brigham City, UT area!) Wow, it's a small world!

In between a couple of the tours, we enjoyed some ice cream cones at one of the little shops on Main Street, and looked for souvenirs. Then we went on to see the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was published. We saw the printing press & learned all about the whole process of how it was published. For the first printing, they made 5,000 copies. It took 5 months to print it, and 7 months to bind it. What a process!




We also went to see the Joseph Smith farm, his family's log home,
,the frame home, the cooper shop, and the barn. Then we spent time walking through the Sacred Grove.
It was so quiet & peaceful. I'm sure it's so beautiful there when all the flowers are in bloom & the trees are full of leaves.

Once we were done with that tour, we picked up some Subway sandwiches & had a picnic lunch then toured the Peter Whitmer Farm & visitor's center.

After all of that, we drove to the next town for some delicious dinner at Outback Steak house---YUMMMMM!

The following morning, we got up & had breakfast, and headed back home. We stopped at Olive Garden for lunch --again, so delicious! We were able to hit almost all our favorite restaurants while in the U.S., other than Chick-Fil-A. That is the ONLY fast food restaurant that I like. Clay was really disappointed. I'm not quite sure why, because no matter where we go, he gets the chicken strips. He had Mexican chicken strips, Chinese chicken strips, Italian chicken strips, and Steakhouse chicken strips! Funny kid--he'd live on that if I'd let him (and on vacations, he usually does!)

Then we made a stop in Niagara Falls to sign all our paperwork to file our taxes. The only person we could find to help us file in both the U.S. & Canada was in Niagara Falls. Talk about complicated! We sent all the info. to her, and communicated through phone calls & emails, and she had it all done for us to sign on the way back home. Unfortunately we have to pay a few thousand dollars to the U.S. for taxes (we were expecting to get some back), but we are getting a few thousand back from Canada, so it all works out. :)

It was a great spring break, enjoying the beautiful warm, sunny weather, seeing some amazing sites we've never seen before, & spending fun time as a family!