Our trip across the country- Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and finally, California!!

After a nice visit to Winter Quarters, we hopped back in the van and traveled to Parker, Colorado, to the home of my sister, Sheri. We stayed here 2 nights, went to church with them and were able to see my other sister, Terilynn, her husband, Brent, and their son, Ryan and his family. It was fun to be all together.

Monday morning, we headed to Logan, UT to see Kenneth's sister, Karen and his brother, Dennis. We stayed there a few days. Our kids had a lot of fun being with their cousins who are close in age. I think we all enjoyed a break from being in the van!!

From Logan, we made the short trip to Salt Lake to see my mom and also saw Kenneth's brother, Jason and his wife, Rachel and their daughter, Grace (they live in Lehi). I had never seen their home before, so it was fun to actually see in person the home improvement projects I had only seen on their blog.In addition, 2 of my nieces, Debi and Natasha, were able to spend some time with us, which was such fun!!! I hadn't seen them in years! They are all grown up now. Heather, my sister-in-law, also happened to be at my mom's house at the same time we were, so it was fun to see her. Salt Lake really is the crossroads for my family. Even my brother, Glen and his daughter Tyia were there for a few hours while we were! Oh- we also got to see our dear friend, Andrea, whom we knew in New York. There are so many people in Utah- I wish we could have seen everyone. So, those of you we didn't get to see, we still love you!!! We happened to be in Salt Lake for Pioneer Day, which is a big celebration. Kenneth and his brothers and my sister-in-law and Natasha went to the Days of 47 Rodeo. Kenneth says it was awesome! We lucked out on some fantastic seats to see the Days of 47 Parade, made a visit to The This is the Place Heritage Park and walked around Temple square. We especially enjoyed seeing the new model of the Salt Lake Temple. Pretty incredible if you haven't seen it yet.

From Salt Lake, we pressed on Westward, breaking up the trip with a stop in Winnemucca, Nevada. I have a dear college roommate from there and it worked out that she was going to be in town at her parent's home the same weekend! What timing! We enjoyed catching up and I especially loved meeting her little son, August. After church in Winnemucca, we left for California! We drove as far as Fairfield that night and stayed in a hotel. The next morning, we took Kenneth straight to work in Sunnyvale (about a 1 hour drive) and the kids and I went to check into our "home" for the next month, the Residence Inn. Whew!!! We made it!

Here are all the pictures to document this trip:

A much needed break from driving. Corn fields of Colorado in the background. Kenneth is having races with the girls.

Grant the airplane.

Here are the girls as we drive away from Denver. Their cousins and Aunt gave them goody bags with games, snacks and activities. They were in heaven! Too bad I didn't take any pictures while we were with my family! Poor Arianna in the sun- don't you hate it when you get the sunny seat?!

Beautiful scenery north of Denver. I love being the passenger and being able to really enjoy this sort of things!! Thanks for all the driving you do, Kenneth!

Who wouldn't want this little guy as a travel companion?!

Bear Lake. My first time seeing it. It really is quite beautiful.

The kids were so sick of squinting into the sun. Too many pictures taken on this trip!!!

Picnic with the Dawes clan.

Wading in the creek with the Dawes family

Grant and Mommy, however, hung out under a tree instead. (The water was cold!!)

Emma and Arianna eating breakfast at the Tinkerbell Table at Grandma Pilz's house.

Indian dancing at This is The Place Heritage Park. There were many special activities going on the weekend we were there in celebration of Pioneer Day.

My Mom with Me and the kids with the This is the Place Monument in the background

Grant's famous 'double point'. Reserved for when something is so exciting, one finger to point simply wouldn't do. In this case, it was aimed at the horses.

The kids with my mom and Kenneth playing with a horse. These pictures are all from This is The Place Heritage Park.

Grant touching a horse for the first time.

Arianna RIDING a horse for the first time.

Ditto for Emma- they were so excited! Daddy was a little nervous!

Days of 47 parade. It sure is cool when your mom lives right downtown, so you can just walk to find good seats and not have to deal with traffic or parking!

Debi and Natasha (my nieces) at the parade with us. I don't know who was happier: my kids to see them, or them to see my kids!

Cool horse at the parade

Arianna and Grant with their much older cousins in one of the Visitor's Centers on Temple Square.

The Salt Lake Temple

Model of the Salt Lake Temple

All of us who were at the parade together. Arianna is ready for a nap, can you tell?

First stop outside of Salt Lake- potty break. (For Emma, not me!! I am on clean up duty. That is hand sanitizer in my hand if you can't tell!) You can see the Great Salt Lake in the background. Having a potty in the car was one of the best pieces of parenting advice I have received. Thanks, Trina!


Kenneth at the Salt Flats. They are in western Utah. Very cool. I had driven by a few times in the past and had even stopped to look at them once, but this was the first time that I walked out ON them. Talk about blinding!

Heidi at the Salt Flats

The girls can hardly see. It was really strange to try to focus on anything standing on the flats.

Emma

Beautiful scenery in Nevada.

That's it, folks. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures when we visited with Amorie and her family in Winnemucca, NV. We were all too tired and too ready to make it to our final destination!

Our trip across the country- Winter Quarters, Nebraska

We left Nauvoo and drove the rest of the day to Council Bluffs, Iowa. This is the town across the river from Omaha, Nebraska. (The site of Winter Quarters) So, about Council Bluffs. We called my brother (aka, the Master of the Internet) on the way there to help us try to find a hotel room. We wanted something not too expensive, so my brother found a place which sounded pretty good, so we made a reservation. When we arrived, it was quite interesting. The hotel was located in the back parking lot of a run down gas station. Lovely. When we walked up to the hotel through a cloud of smoke. Double Lovely. There were some interesting characters 'hanging out' out front. Then I go inside to get the key and it's a real key. Like the metal kind. I didn't think that actually happened anymore. Yup- it does. The room wasn't too bad and we were really tired, so we did stay. The carpet was a little old. But, we were safe and got a decent night's sleep.

The next morning we drove across the river to visit the Winter Quarters Visitor Center and Temple. I had been there once before on my trip across the country after I graduate from BYU and moved to NY. Let's just say I got a lot more out of it that time around. But, I am glad that we stopped and were able to feel the spirit of that place. I am so thankful for all those who went before us so that we can enjoy the gospel in our day.

Winter Quarters Temple

Girls in front of one of the Statues in the Cemetery there on the Temple Grounds

A little rest before we get back in the car. It was a very hot day!

Our trip across the country- Nauvoo, Illinois

From Carthage, we made the short drive to Nauvoo, Illinois. I had been here when I was young, but it didn't mean as much to me then as it did now. I feel as though I know the people who lived there a bit after having studied the Doctrine and Covenants at BYU and after reading The Work and the Glory Series.
We arrived in time to grab a quick lunch and then check into our hotel. Then we all slept. It was wonderful to have such a refreshing nap after having been in the car all night long! And the shower after that felt heavenly! We ate dinner at a buffet in town that I had heard good things about. It was delicious. Then we headed down to the Pageant. There were some field games going on before the show actually started that we enjoyed. The kids had fun riding in a cart and watching mom try to walk on stilts.
The Nauvoo Pageant was incredible! We are so glad the timing worked out that we were able to see it. It is very special that the Temple is again overlooking the bluffs. What a testimony to the saints who lived in and built up that city, only to have to leave it!
The next day we spent in Nauvoo, seeing the sites and enjoying all the hands-on activities they offer. One of the favorite parts of the day was the wagon ride through town. In the afternoon, we loaded back in the car and headed west again. . .

Heidi trying to walk on stilts.

Getting ready for the Pageant to start. Notice the beautiful temple in the background.
Emma and Arianna and another little girl we don't know riding in a handcart.

Grant and Daddy watching Pageant.

Finale.

Nauvoo Temple Cupola.

Daddy and kids sitting on the temple steps.

Our family

The girls on the temple grounds.

Wagon that we rode on through town.

View of temple from the wagon.

Fence climbers

Family with the oxen. We also got to have a short ride on that wagon!

Nauvoo Brick kiln. Arianna holding our souvenir brick next to Grant.

Arianna and Emma riding the toy sheep.

Playing pioneers.

Emma, the mommy in the 1800's.

Arianna playing pioneer homemaker.

Our trip across the country- Maryland to Carthage, Illinois

Boy, oh boy! Has it ever taken me a long time to get to posting this! I guess a lot of it is due to the magnitude of the project. . .and the busyness of settling in a new home. . .and 3 children 4 and under. . .and technical difficulties/ lack of consistent internet connection. . .etc. But, if I don't get cracking I still won't get it done! Since interruptions are a way of life around here, I am going to post this in segments so that I feel like I am actually accomplishing something and so that the draft doesn't just sit in my line-up for weeks.

So, we left our apartment in Bethesda, Maryland on July 14th. We left around 4:30 pm, got out of town a little ways and then stopped for dinner. Going out was definitely a welcome treat after all the work I did getting the apartment packed and cleaned (And I had movers!!! I don't know how I will ever do it alone again!) I am so thankful to my dear friends in Maryland who watched the kids so that I COULD get it all done. And to Jenny, who came over and cleaned with me! (Thanks, Jenny, if you read this!)

So we drove all that night and arrived in Carthage, Illinois the next morning (hence our ragged appearance in the pictures to follow). We let the kids run around at a park while Kenneth, who had driven most of the night, took a nap on a park bench (my husband, the bum, hahaha). Then we toured the Carthage Jail. This is the site where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed. It was a place full of emotion for me. I once again felt confirmation that Joseph Smith was called of God to restore the Church of Jesus Christ in these days. Christ called him as his prophet to once again bring his Church back to the earth in its fullness. Even with 3 small children in tow, I was glad to be able to visit this place of reverence.
Miles and miles of cornfields we drove through in Illinois- Kenneth was loving it!

Beautiful grounds of the Carthage Jail Visitors Center

Larchar Family in front of the Joseph and Hyrum statue

The kids and I outside the jail

The window out of which Joseph fell