Joseph Smith Birthplace

We went to Sharon, Vermont last weekend and saw the birthplace of and memorial to Joseph Smith. There was a very special feeling there. I really liked what the missionary who was showing us the visitors center said--that the monument doesn't just represent the testimony of those who built it, but the testimonies of millions that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God!



I was hoping to get better pictures of the hot air balloons we saw on the freeway, but this was all I could get. There was a hot air balloon festival near Quechee Gorge.



Here's Quechee Gorge. The picture doesn't do it justice, but we got pretty dizzy looking down at it from the bridge!



Once again we found covered bridges to look at (there are over 100 in Vermont.)

Fun in Vermont

We went on a beautiful little trip last weekend. We drove through the green forests and mountains of Vermont near Burlington. We saw a few covered bridges, hiked in the rain to a stunning waterfall, drove up and saw the lodge and land of the von Trapp Family, and ate ice cream at the Ben and Jerry's factory!!












Emily was pretty worn out by the end. She would open her mouth so I could give her some ice cream, but she wouldn't lift her head up--poor girl. (Very unlike our baby who loves sugar!)

So Much Fun

We left most the girls toys in Illinois, and they are anxious for anything they can play with. It was a wonderful day when the diapers I ordered arrived in a very large box!! All weekend the girls have been playing in it.




Jessi with her "party hat" and "balloon".

Memorial Day Weekend!

We had a super fun Memorial Day weekend! We went down to New York City (about a 6 hour drive.) We met up with our friends, Bruce and Brittney Richards, in New Jersey across from NYC. We stayed there Friday night and Saturday we spent the day in New York City. It was pretty crazy, and fun, although we spent a lot of time on the subway trying to figure out how to get where we wanted to go. We went the wrong way once, and accidentally got on the express track once, plus there was subway construction which added confusion, but we made it and enjoyed most of the things we wanted to see: Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Wall Street, Chinatown, Central Park--it was great. One day was enough for us for a long, long time!

We spent Sunday in Pennsylvania at the Richards' house, saw Valley Forge and the house that George Washington actually stayed in there, went to church with them and saw Delaware Valley College, where Bruce works. We even got to go out and see the cows--which the girls loved!! (Bruce is a dairy science professor.) We stayed up way to late playing games and had a great time!

We spent most the day Monday traveling home and got to drive our car (well Nate did the driving and I went along for the ride) onto a ferry for the first time to cross Lake Champlaign--it was pretty exciting!