September is Wrap Up

So far I haven't documented much about all the things that have been going on around here lately. Everything is such a blur...so much activity cram packed into our days and nights. I fall into bed each night exhausted.

So here's what we have been up to...

Kameron has been doing tons of this... He is right in the center in the Under Armour shirt.

This year Kameron is again on two cross-country teams. He runs for a city team and for his elementary school. He has practice four days a week with his elementary school and two days a week for his city team. Most days he will do double practices. He has meets every Saturday for the city team and he has about three meets total...counting the all-city meet for his elementary school team. He enjoys running and it keeps him busy and in great shape so I am all for it.  Plus, the meets are a lot of fun to watch and cheer for.

Looking good

Kam doesn't really seem to prefer either track or cross-country more than the other. He likes different things about both. He is REALLY looking forward to Middle School next year where he will get to do hurdles. He loves hurdles and the elementary school aged kids don't get to do them. He is a great team mate and leader and a very steady runner. I think that is why he loves to run relays during track season. He is a great motivator to the younger kids and is always a team captain at his school. We are trying to instill in him a killer instinct to win but he just isn't that kind of person...yet. He always places well and constantly improves his time. He truly finds accomplishment in competing against himself. He has done great this year!!

 Post Meet Grin

Now this one needs to tone down her killer instinct...Ironically we are trying to help her to be more of a team player.

Reilly has been super busy this year with her high school dance team. They have practice about three mornings a week before school and then a couple practices during the week after school...especially if it is a game week. They also just had a huge fundraiser that completely took over our lives. Who plans that for the second week of school? It was craziness. Now that that is over Football Season is in full swing. Several people have asked me how Reilly is enjoying being on the team this year. I will quote her: "I love the fame and glory...just not all the practices". See what we are dealing with?

At the heinous fundraiser with her very supportive little sisters and cousins

Haylee, Hannah and Grace

These two spend a lot of time cheering their big brother and sister on at their various activities.

This one asks me about 100 times a day if we can go to a "play park"...her word for park. She just isn't satisfied with the backyard anymore. Darn it. Luckily all of Kameron's meets take place at parks so she can get her fix. :)

This picture just makes me laugh.

We managed to squeeze in a trip to Greenbluff and got the very last of the peaches and the first of the apples.

Tyler and I were stoked to get the first squash of the season too. The old farmer was telling us about all these different varieties that were "good eatin''. We both love roasted squash. The bluish gray one was particularly tasty. The kids were unenthused.

Doesn't Bryn look thrilled? Yum...Squash. Not.

We've really enjoyed spending time with cousins this month. It seems like we got more time together than usual...and it doesn't hurt that some extra cousins have moved to town. The more the merrier!!

 

 Cousins!!

We did have a scary day last Friday. My mom's husband Ken had a heart attack and had to been taken by ambulance to the hospital. He had a stent put in and spent some time in the Cardiac ICU. He is doing great though. This picture is of the little girls waiting for him to walk to the family waiting room in the ICU. They were very worried.

Ken feeling much better with Elle, Bryn and Ailey

FYI...should you ever be in the ICU it probably isn't the best idea to have Kelley and I as your bedside guests for the day. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard and had to contain it in a LONG TIME!! (This was obviously when Ken was out of the woods.) You need to be very quiet up in the ICU (understandably) but what can you do when you get the giggles and the snickers and the uncontainable snorts? We were reprimanded sharply by the male ICU nurse to no avail. When you are told there is no laughing it is impossible not to laugh. This went on all day people. Not cool. That nurse was not a fan.

Also, should you need some jewelry, home decor, holiday decorations or perfume hospital gift shops are the bomb. Sacred Heart where Kelley works is the best...her house is decorated a la the hospital gift shop and she buys all her gifts from there. They also have great holiday decor. I usually buy our kids Christmas ornaments from there and new Christmas decorations each year. I also enjoy stopping in around Halloween...good stuff. We weren't so sure how the hospital in Coeur d' Alene would stack up. It was smaller and certainly no Sacred Heart gift shop...but...I did buy myself a lovely watch and some fabulous perfume. Kelley and my mom picked up a few items as well. So...should you be visiting the sick...stop by the gift shop and treat yourself to a little somethin' somethin' for your good deed. :) Kidding...sort of. Here's the sad truth. I will be making a special trip to that particular hospital gift shop next week for the sole purpose of buying some birthday presents for friends. Lucky girls!!

Well after all that scariness at the hospital on Friday we really needed to relax after our visit on Saturday. The weather was delightful. High 80's. The sun was shining. That is not to be squandered here in the Pacific Northwest. So out to the lake we went.

I'm not going to lie. It was looking quite autumnal out there. Check out all those leaves. But I chose to live in denial and donned a suit and jumped in. It wasn't too bad.

 

Not bad at all

The kids all jumped in too. Everyone except for Kelley took the plunge.

  

Tyler and I and our sad attempt at a self-portrait...clearly we have issues.

This cracked me up. As the sun was setting behind the mountain...Bryn grabbed her Strawberry Shortcake chair and bag of popcorn and sat down at the end of the dock with a very contented sigh and watched the sun go down over the lake. She kills me.

This is also killing me. This sale is THIS WEEKEND and I still have a ton to do and set up is on Thursday. Perhaps I should get off the computer and get to work.

So as September is coming to a close...make like Bryn...and keep dancing!!

Better Than School Pictures 2012

I'm taking a little break from the ol' travel log for a day or two. Here's the perfect thing...new pictures of the kids. I love Misty Alger's mad photography skills. She is amazing and does such a good job!!

Here's the latest batch of Better Than School Pictures:

Bryn...age 3:

Ailey...age 8 (hence the Baptism dress):

 Kameron age 11:

 Reilly age 15:

You've seen these before. Misty is one of Reilly's Young Women leaders and she did a little photo shoot with all the girls earlier this summer but they needed to be included again. :)

Misty also took pictures of River, Dane and Elle and my cousin's kids: Grace, Haylee and Gavin and I have to say that every single kid looked fantastic. So cute!!

If you need a great photographer and are in the area go check her out here...or like her on Facebook here.

Kansas City Trip: Day 7

This day was mostly a day of crafting. My mom woke up bright and early and got herself all set up in the dining room doing what she loves to do...create. She was making all kinds of decorations for the wedding...the fascinator for Jordin's hair, tulle covered white lights, flower girl bouquets, the ring bearer's pillow, covered satin buttons to go on the thick satin ribbon that went around Jordin's bouquet...all sorts of wedding-y things. So while the kids played, Tyler and Ramon hung out, ran errands, got pizza, and my mom and I sat at the dining room table and chatted while she worked and we waited for a huge delivery of all the wedding flowers. I did contribute to the crafting. I made the tulle poof for the bride's chair at the reception. I really didn't want to screw anything up and so I left all the serious creating to the master. But that poof rocked if I do say so myself. ;)

Seeing all the flowers arrive via the mail was bizarre. Jordin wanted all calla lilies for most everything...Her bouquet, bridesmaids bouquets, the boutonnieres, table decorations etc. My mom did order a bunch of other white flowers as filler. Because of the bulk amount of calla lilies needed for the wedding they had to be ordered online. It was quite nerve wracking waiting for their arrival to see how they would turn out. But...they were beautiful. Boxes and boxes of calla lilies were put into big buckets and set to rest and open up down in Jordin's basement. The kids were threatened with their lives not to go anywhere near them!!

After a full morning and part of the afternoon spent crafting and cousins-gone-wild it was time to give Ramon and Jordin a bit of a break. Tyler and I loaded up our kids...sans Reilly... who stayed to go to the mall with Jordin for a few more last minute purchases...and we went to see some more sights.

One of my favorite areas is the Country Club Plaza. It is an affluent shopping area that was built in the 1920s with an architecture style to resemble Seville, Spain. It is gorgeous. There is a river walk, fantastic designer shops, amazing restaurants, sculptures and fountains everywhere. Did you know that Kansas City is known as the City of Fountains and is rumored to have more fountains than Rome? Well... now you do. There are some beauties.

On our way down to the Plaza we passed through one of the most beautiful residential areas I have ever seen. It is the Country Club District off of Ward Parkway...a gorgeous wide historic boulevard decorated with statuary and more fountains and miles of the most amazing historic mansions. Yes, miles...of mansions. When we lived in KC, we used to love to drive down there and just drool over all those awe inspiring homes. Yep, it is still inspiring.

On this particular day we came upon a wreck that was in the process of being cleaned up. A once gorgeous black Porsche was completely totaled. I thought Kameron was going to cry.

Anyway...back to the Country Club Plaza:

This was always such a fun area to hang out. I had some very fun dates in high school there. It is also the area (earmuffs and blinders Johnson kids) where my friends and I would go if we were skipping school. I was always terrified that I was going to see my parents on a business lunch or something. I think I did actually see my dad there once...but he did not see me. Whew. This is also where we would all go for Prom and Homecoming as all the best and fanciest restaurants were there. There were carriage rides and luxury hotels for after prom parties. If you were really lucky you actually shopped down there. My best friend, Mary, used to buy all of her school clothes at Laura Ashley down on the Plaza. I thought she was SO LUCKY!! Thanksgiving weekend they have a big lighting ceremony and the Plaza looks absolutely magical during the holidays.

Here are some pictures:

The shopping is still fun down there but now the stores are slightly less impressive since there are so many outdoor luxury shopping areas across the U.S. but back then it was the first of its kind. It has always been a place to see and be seen. It still is.

We also drove the kids past my old church. The one I attended when I became active again. I showed them how far away I had to drive to get to early morning seminary. Far...about a half hour away and mine began at 5:45am. Yes, I did come to seminary each and every morning with my hair and make-up done!! (Many of my fellow seminary goers used to come in their pajamas.) Seminary was so important to me. Since I was the only LDS kid in my high school... seminary each morning was a lifeline. When seminary ended all the kids headed out to 8 different high schools. Crazy.

I laughed to see that the old gas station was still in existence where my boyfriend, Aaron, and I would stop for donuts in the morning...and during Sunday School. Oops. It was fun to get a chance to remember the good times...not just the bad...that occurred during my high school years. So much of Kansas City is filled with wonderful and funny memories of Aaron and all of our high school antics. It was bittersweet though since Aaron has since passed away. He was a lot of fun and I feel so blessed to have known him and shared so many fun times together.


I then showed my family all my high school hangout spots. We went past Brookridge Country Club where Mary and I used to spend so much time lounging around the pool and wracking up a huge tab for frozen tropical drinks and nachos to her dad. Oh those were the days!! I showed them the mall where I used to hang out and the movie theater that reminds me of the Garland here in Spokane. That theater was called the Garwood and to this day I consistently call the Garland the Garwood. 

 

 My ultimate high school hangout. Gojo's Japanese Steak House. My friends and I used to eat there every single weekend. It was delish. We had our "regular" table and our "regular" chef. Weekend after weekend Mary, Jimmy, Penner, Chris, Pat and I would hold court at Gojo's. We had good taste and we were bankrolled by Penner's dad the very generous Dr. Penner. Unfortunately this restaurant did not live up to my memories.

Last Summer

I ate there last summer and it's either gone down hill or I have much higher standards now. But it was a serious good time in high school.

By that time the kids were tired of hearing about me and the dull details of my teenage life...and it was time for...yes...you guessed it. Frozen custard.

When we got back to Jordin's we returned to a packed house. All of Jordin's best girlfriends were there and many friends and family members of Ramon's. Jordin banished Ramon downstairs and tried on her wedding dress with all the accoutrements. She looked beautiful.

(A close up of the fascinator. The British would be proud. It was gorgeous. It tried to talk her into a veil but she was not having it. It turned out really pretty so I am glad she didn't listen to me!! )

Then it was party central. Jordin was with all her best friends getting her hair cut and colored in her kitchen by the fabulous Dianna while the kids were running wild on a pizza high. There was so much excitement and so many happy people. Stacey, Kelley, Elle, and River finally arrived. Details were planned like who was going to walk who down the aisle in the wedding party...there were 8 bridesmaids and groomsmen. I got my brother Kirk. (It proved to be a bad move. Neither of could walk normally. It's harder than you think. It was like two spastic people in a desperate struggle of what foot goes first. It was not pretty.)

And thus ended the 7th day.

Kansas City Trip Day 6: Wedding Prep

Day 6 we spent literally all day and late into the night on Wednesday prepping for the wedding. Every last one of us had many errands and a long list of things to do. All the last minute details had to be covered, a visit to the venue for measurements, all the rental equipment picked up, any additional food and supplies to be purchased, any other decorations to be purchased, tuxedo fittings, marriage license picked up...tons and tons of details.

 My mom, Jordin, Reilly and I left the house early in the morning to get started on our mile long to-do list. Tyler and Ramon were going to wrassle the kids all day. Lucky for us Jordin is REALLY laid back...no bridezilla at all. It is hard planning a wedding from another state and trying to get all the details to come together. Thank goodness Jordi just goes with the flow. The day was super busy but still a lot of fun. It was great to be able to spend the day laughing and planning with Jordi, my mom and Reilly.

After accomplishing all of our morning "to-dos" we decided to reward ourselves with a delicious sushi lunch. My mom had been dying to go to her favorite sushi place (when we were in town last summer it was closed and we never got to go) She had been dreaming of this sushi for YEARS. Luckily it was open and we got right in. OH.MY.WORD. It was incredible. My family are BIG sushi eaters and I have been eating sushi since I was a little girl. That said, Jun's Sushi in Prairie Village is by far THE BEST sushi I have ever had!! As I type this I am over-come with a horrible craving. (We had sushi this weekend from our favorite place in Spokane...and I am so so sad to say...It paled in comparison.)

Oh yes...it was absolutely delicious and we ate every single solitary bite and ordered more. Wow. I highly recommend Jun's. Every single things was fantastic. It did not disappoint even after all these years. Delicious.

Meanwhile back at the house...Tyler, Ramon, and Ramon's very brave and awesome friend, Trey, took all the kids bowling. Ramon and Trey are SERIOUS bowlers. They bowl on a league and are UNBELIEVABLE. I do believe Tyler's BYU bowling prowess was put to shame...and he is a good bowler. Anyway...the kids were in heaven hanging out at the bowling alley and eating junk food all day. They had the best time and Kameron seriously idolizes Ramon and Trey. They are pretty awesome.

Then it was out to Wyndotte Lake to check out the wedding venue. James P. Davis Hall is absolutely gorgeous. It  was built in 1937 and looks out over the lake. All the the lumber and stone came from the park property and was cut by hand. The inside is black walnut and oak. So beautiful. It has a gorgeous patio overlooking the lake. Jordin was so cute. She said "I'm a lake girl. If I can't get married at 'the lake' this is the next best thing." It really was. So pretty!!

James P. Davis Hall

The back patio area that overlooks the lake.

The wing of the building where the ceremony was held.

The wing where we had the reception.

Two of the many french doors that open up onto the patio.

View of the lake through the trees from one side of the patio.

Reilly out on the patio looking  way too grown up.

Meanwhile back with the guys... they were off to try on their tuxs. Tyler's tuxedo luck continued. Every single time Tyler has to wear a tux they give him the size wrong. The pants are always floods...including at our wedding. Ha ha. (I found it funny. Tyler did not. Not too many full-length pictures were taken at our wedding.) Now Tyler always knows to go in for an additional fitting...and what do you know...it happened again. Can Men's Warehouse (in about 4 different states) not take precise measurements? What's the deal? Luckily there was plenty of time to get the right size. Trey had problems too...his was too big. (Even Kirk... when he went to get his tux was given a child's tie. His description had me rolling with laughter.)

We met up with the guys that evening. Tyler and I were sent on a super-secret mission from Ramon to get something special to surprise Jordin with at the wedding. When we got back to the house,  Ramon's fabulous mother, Alice, had brought over the best dinner you could ever imagine:

 Oh My!! I was up to my elbows in BBQ sauce. For reals. It was a love fest. That sweet Alice brought over platters of every kind of meat, big boxes of fries and onion rings, and buckets of sauce. AWESOME!! Oh yes...Gates reigns SUPREME as the best BAR-B-Q ...EVER...EVER...EVER!! The atmosphere at the house was starting to get really festive. Lots of friends, lots of family, lots of fun and everyone was so excited about the wedding.

After dinner, my mom and I slipped out to run still more errands. I think we got back to the house around 11pm. By that time everyone was getting wacky and silly...Reilly and Kameron in particular. ;) Heaven help you if you fell asleep early. Look what could happen:

And thus ended day 6.

Church History Day

We set Tuesday aside to spend the whole day checking out various church history sites in the Missouri area. Tyler and I were so excited for the kids to get to experience this...the kids...not so much. They would have rather stayed at Jordin's house and hung out at the pool. But we did not let their lack of enthusiasm damper our enthusiasm. So bright and early in the morning we headed to Liberty, MO. On the way we listened to this fantastic talk by Elder Jeffery R. Holland called "Lessons From Liberty Jail." It was perfect and really put us in the right frame of mind for our visit.

First stop Liberty Jail:

I have been here twice before. Once when I returned to church during my senior year of high school; our Mutual went on a little field trip there; and then we came again when my LDS grandparents came out for a visit. I felt the Spirit on those visits and I appreciated what I learned about Joseph Smith there but it was so much more meaningful this time. Back then, I was reading the Doctrine and Covenants for the first time...learning church history as I went along. I had so little understanding of the whole time period and what was going on. This time the Doctrine and Covenants and I are old friends and I have a much greater understanding of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the history of the church. My appreciation of what he went through and what those early saints endured was so much deeper.  I was so curious to know what my children and husband...who have all been born and raised in the church...would feel. 

You could have heard a pin drop as they walked into the jail area. The Spirit was so strong and they were so reverent and respectful. There were a few teary eyes. They already know so much more than I did during my first visit. They have such strong testimonies already. I am so grateful that they will forever have this experience to draw upon as they read and study the Doctrine and Covenants and the history of the church. I am grateful that they will remember the feelings that they felt and it will help the scriptures come alive for them. That is worth it's weight in gold.

We left Liberty and drove about another hour to Adam-Ondi-Ahman. This is a place I have really wanted to go. Even having lived in Kansas City for a few years, this was one place that I had never been.

A little background info:

This gorgeous place...3000 acres...lies at a bend in the Grand River in northern Missouri, about 70 miles north of Kansas City. On the highest elevation of Spring Hill, a temple block was dedicated. No cornerstones were laid or temple constructed, however, as just days later, the Saints were ordered to leave the settlement and the state of Missouri. The Church has since acquired the site and much of the surrounding area, which is leased to local farmers. (It was also the site of a Civil War skirmish.)

This place is silent. It is so very quiet there. The peace you feel is like no other. You know that you are walking on holy ground. There is a feeling there that I can't even describe or articulate...and believe me we tried. During our visit, the Midwest was being ravished by drought, so it is much browner and dried up than it normally is...but it was still incredibly beautiful...and silent.

The internet can be a wonderful thing. As we traveled here and there we were googling everything. By the time we got there we had a pretty good understanding of the feelings about Mormons during that time in the state of Missouri. As we stood on Spring Hill and looked out over that gorgeous valley we could feel how heart-breaking it must have been for the saints to have endured all that they did and then been forced to leave that beautiful area. We could empathize with those early saints in a way that I don't think we ever could have before.

We walked around for quite awhile and walked the trails to the different overlooks. It was hard for us to leave. I can only imagine what those early saints must have felt to have angry mobs run them out.

Oh yeah...during our church history fest we did make another stop at the delicious Culver's for...oh yes...more frozen custard. Can you truly ever get enough?

Not too far away from Adam-Ondi-Ahman was Haun's Mill. I almost cut this from the trip. We had so many other places we wanted to go to and I very nearly eliminated this stop. Thank goodness Tyler felt very strongly that we should go. It turned out to be the highlight of the day...and definitely a highlight of our trip. If you ask any of us which place was our favorite to visit...I think hands down all of us would say Haun's Mill. I am so very glad we went. It was powerful.

On our way we googled the Haun's Mill Massacre and were reading the history to the kids. It's always interesting what Wikipedia has to say, isn't it?

From Wikipedia:

The Haun's Mill massacre was an event in the history of the Latter-Day Saint movement. It occurred on October 30, 1838 when a mob/militia unit from Livingston County Missouri attacked a Mormon settlement in eastern Caldwell County, Missouri after the Battle of Crooked River. By far the bloodiest event in the 1838 Mormon War in Missouri, it has long been remembered by the members of the Latter-Day movement. The fifty-five men known by name to be involved were never prosecuted.

 Haun's Mill was a mill established on the banks of Shoal Creek...in 1835 by Jacob Haun an early Latter-Day Saint settler. By October 1838 there were approximately 75 Mormon families living along the banks of Shoal Creek, about 30 of them in the immediate vicinity of Haun's Mill and the blacksmith shop.

On October 30 at approximately 4 p.m., the militia rode into the community. David Evans, a leader in the community, ran towards the militia, waving his hat and calling for peace. Alerted to the militia's approach, most of the Latter-day Saint women and children fled into the woods to the south, while most of the men headed to the blacksmith shop. Unfortunately, the building was a particularly vulnerable structure as the widely-spaced logs made it easy for the attackers to fire inside. The shop became a deathtrap, since the militia gave no quarter, firing about one hundred rifle and musket shots into the building.

After the initial attack, several of those who had been wounded or had surrendered were shot dead. Members of the militia entered the shop and found ten-year-old Sardius Smith hiding under the blacksmith's bellows. William Reynolds put his musket against the boy's skull and blew off the top of his head. Reynolds later explained, "Nits will make lice, and if he had lived he would have become a Mormon." Seventy-eight year old Thomas McBride surrendered his musket to militiaman Jacob Rogers, who then shot McBride and hacked his body apart with a corn knife. Several other bodies were mutilated or clothing stolen, while many women were assaulted. Houses were robbed, wagons, tents and clothing were stolen, and horses and livestock were driven off, leaving the surviving women and children destitute.

By the end of the skirmish at least seventeen Mormons were dead: Hiram Abbott, Elias Benner, John Byers, Alexander Campbell, Simon Cox, Josiah Fuller, Austin Hammer, John Lee, Benjamin Lewis, Thomas McBride (78), Charley Merrick (9), Levi Merrick, William Napier, George S. Richards, Sardius Smith (10), Warren Smith, and John York. Thirteen more had been injured, including a woman and nine-year-old child. A non-Mormon sympathizer was also killed. Three of the 250 militiamen were wounded, but none fatally. After the massacre, the dead were placed in an unfinished well and covered with dirt and straw. The survivors and their wounded gathered at Far West for protection.

Although participants in the massacre boasted of their acts for years, none of the Missouri attackers were ever brought to trial and the Latter-Day Saints' efforts at receiving justice in the Missouri courts failed.


<sup>(I had to include that because the reading of it was so powerful that our children stopped talking, laughing and playing around and just listened intently.)

Haun's Mill is truly out in the middle of nowhere. The land has previously been owned by the RLDS church and they have not done anything with it. Our church purchased the land back just this year and has yet to beautify it and make it an area for people to visit. The historical marker sign is missing due to vandals, the Haun's Mill stone has been removed, even the stone marker marking the mass grave has been moved from it's original location. 

To get there you drive down a very narrow and rutted dirt road through acres of farmland...we had to GPS it or we would have never found it. Finally there was a small crude sign nailed on a tree that said Haun's Mill...and a bit of a clearing near the creek...and this stone marker.</sup>

There is nothing nearby...only farm land...no houses...no barns...nothing. Just this narrow dirt lane. No cars passed. There were no signs of civilization to be seen. I am sure it looked very similar to the way it did in 1838 minus the settlement and mill. We could have walked back in time. It is very beautiful there and you definitely get the sense that it is hallowed ground. The sorrow was palpable.

Shoal Creek

The kids standing by the oldest tree they could find...one they thought might have stood back then.

It was very easy to imagine a day around 4pm (which was very near the time that we were there) and to imagine seeing a cloud of dust rise from the road as a 250 member mob thundered up the road and began firing and to feel the panic of where to run as those women and children fled. As most of you know this scene was depicted in the movie Legacy and is heart-breaking.

While there we got the brilliant idea of playing the audio from that scene in Legacy (the internet is amazing) while actually there. That will be something I will remember for the rest of my entire life. Truly one of the most spiritual moments of my life occurred in the clearing at Haun's Mill. I am so grateful that we went there; that we got to see Haun's Mill in it's raw and un-churchified form; and that we got to experience what we did.

Then we drove on to Far West, Missouri:

Far West was were the Mormon settlers fled after a series of escalating conflicts...including Haun's Mill and being driven out of Adam-Ondi-Ahman...the Governor of Missouri eventually called out 2,500 state militiamen to put down what he alleged to be a "Mormon rebellion."...aka The Extermination Order. Latter-Day Saints poured into Far West for protection and found themselves under siege. Joseph Smith Jr., Sidney Rigdon and others surrendered...and were put on trial by the state for treason. The main body of the Mormons were then forced to sign over their property in Far West and Caldwell County to pay for the militia muster and then leave the state. It was briefly the headquarters for the Church and the four cornerstones were laid for a temple that was never built.

From there we traveled to Richmond, MO to see the Pioneer Cemetery and the grave sites of some early leaders and witnesses of the Church.

We saw the grave of Oliver Cowdery...one of the Three Witnesses.

We saw the grave of David Whitmer

Also, in our journey we passed the birthplaces of both Jesse James and JC Penney. Also, buried at the same cemetery as David Whitmer...was Robert Ford..."the man who shot Jesse James". How's that for diverse?

We saw quite a few other historical sites and so wanted to see even more. We were so close to so many interesting areas. There just wasn't enough time. We also had to scrap Independence, MO from our route...no time. I have been there before and although it is interesting it was really fun to see some of these other sites. I guess we will have to save some things for another trip.

On our way back into Kansas City we drove to see the new Kansas City Temple. Boy is it a beauty. I am so used to our little temple here that to see one of the big temples is quite impressive.

How pretty is that? It was so neat to see this gorgeous temple...one finally completed in this area...after so many many years. It was wonderful to see a packed parking lot and to know that despite all the trials and persecutions of the past that the gospel continues to roll forth. It will honor the memories of those who came before and were forced to leave and signifies a bright future.

When I lived in Kansas City, when the youth would do temple trips, we would get to miss a day of school and would fly to Chicago to attend the temple there. That was a lot of fun but it doesn't compare to seeing this gorgeous temple looking out over the city.

It was the perfect ending to a pretty perfect day. Even though the kids weren't always thrilled to be on the "church history tour"; I know that the memories made and the feelings felt will stay with them always.

I just have to add that rural Missouri is one gorgeous place. It is lush and green (usually) with rolling hills and lazy winding rivers and creeks. It is just beautiful.