Hill Cumorah Trip...Day Three

Before we headed for home the kids really wanted to go back to the Sacred Grove and the Smith Family Farm. 

We were told about a very special tree called the "Adversity Tree" in the Sacred Grove. Early in that trees life something happened to it and it split in two but instead of dying it grew separately for a bit and then grew back together. We heard about it after we went the first time so we really wanted to go and find it.

We also went back to the Hill Cumorah because the night before it was closed by the time we got there for the pageant. So we made sure to get up there before we left.

The view from the top of the Hill. It is pretty amazing that all of this is in the middle of nowhere! 

We decided to go 30 minutes out of our way to see the Peter Whitmer farm. It is in Fayette, NY. Such a neat spirit there. This is where the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was organized.

As badly as I wanted to just get home I couldn't pass up the opportunity knowing we would probably not be out this way again. It's completely out in the middle of nowhere...and I mean NOWHERE! But I am so so glad we did it.

I know these travel posts are kind of lame for blog readers but for posterity it needs to be documented. I had some really special moments with my kids on this trip. Both girls had their own spiritual experiences but Maya specifically had some very huge testimony building experiences and I got to be there to watch it happen. I know she will remember these things. I made sure both girls had journals that they wrote in each day so they could record things they didn't want to forget. We have done Disneyland and other beach trips with the kids and it was definitely fun and worthwhile, but I will tell you that the effort, the time and the money it took to make this trip happen was so worth it. Disney and the beach are fun but trips like this are life changing and testimony building. We plan on going back someday when C is older so he can have his own special experiences.

Hill Cumorah Trip...Day Two

My sister was in Rochester visiting her in-laws so we met at a park where the kids could play.

It was fun because only Olivia knew we were coming, besides her parents, so the rest of the cousins were so surprised! We pulled into the park parking lot near where they were playing, we had the windows rolled down and their "Cousin Song" (We Are Young) blaring through the speakers. It was Maya and Eden's idea, they thought it was so hilarious!

Cousin's catching up...

They had such a great time at this park where their Uncle Andy spent many days when he was growing up in Fairport, New York.

C loved showing Maxo his dare devilish moves...

I made sure to get some pictures with my sweet nieces and nephew...

 Olivia

Gisele

Mari

Tessa

and Max

My kids were happy to see their Tia again...

After the park we did some touring in downtown Palmyra. We went to the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was first published.

Maya was having a hard time keeping her eyes open in pictures so we always had to take a couple of pictures so she didn't look like she had a drunk eye. It took four shots before we got one where she looked normal but I made my eyes huge just to be obnoxious.

Camden fell asleep on our drive into town so I had to carry him during this entire tour!! My arms were so sore the next day.

After Palmyra we headed over to the Palmyra Temple...This was my most favorite picture that I took the whole trip.

Next we went to Hill Cumorah and we went through the visitors center...

Maya thought it was cool to find a Book of Mormon in the Mayan language.

Camden was completely enthralled with the 2000 Stripling Warrior mini movie. It was the most still he was all day except for when he was sleeping.

In true Mormon fashion, I ran into someone I knew. Out of all the thousands of people that were there I ran into Gordon and Sharon Smith! They are from my hometown in Oregon. He was my bishop and I used to babysit for them. CRAZY!

The girls were happy to get a picture with one of the cast members from the pageant.

This is a shot of the hill before the show...

Here is a nice close up of me and C while we were waiting (2 hours) before the show started.

A shot of the show. Not that great but it gives you a good idea of how incredible it was.

The kids got to spend a little more time with Olivia, G and Mari before the show started. We got one last picture on our way out.

I was worried about the anti-Mormon people who were screaming horrible things through megaphones as we were stuck in the traffic jam were going to traumatize my kids. It just got Maya all fired up. It was hilarious to see my typically quiet kid wanting to fight these people. I don't get why people have to be so disrespectful and hateful but it still didn't kill the spirit that we felt that day and night. We didn't get back to our hotel until almost midnight so the kids were worn out which it made for a very smooth bedtime.

***Oh and if you actually made it to the end of this post you deserve an award but you also get this little fun nugget of information. I didn't realize until I was brushing my teeth before bed that I had forgotten to put in my other earring that morning! That means the entire day I went all 80's and NOBODY said anything to me!!! It's funny too because in most of the pictures you don't even notice but there are a couple where it is totally obvious. Nice huh.

Hill Cumorah Trip...Day One

Way back in July we hit the road again for a trip to Palmyra, NY to see the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah Pageant. This is another random little place that holds a special place for me and members of my church.

I have to admit, I was not super thrilled about traveling by myself with the kids. It was a five hour trip to Rochester where our hotel was. The kids thought it felt like nothing, they were well seasoned road trippers by this time.

First stop was the Sacred Grove. This is exactly what it sounds like...a sacred grove of trees where God the Father and Jesus Christ came to Joseph Smith. There weren't many people there because it was Thursday evening, the night before the pageant started.

Maya and Eden were so taken in by it. There recognized how special and sacred it was.

Camden on the other hand was mostly interested in finding a stick that looked like a Harry Potter wand. He was more reverent and patient than any other 3.5 year old boy would have been. I didn't even have to bribe him, he was just that good. Maybe his spirit recognized the sacredness of that place which kept his energy and loudness under control :)

Then we went to the Smith Family Log Home...

Eden reading a verse from the Smith Family Bible...

The upstairs bedroom where the angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith and told him about the gold plates that became the Book of Mormon...

Smith Family Frame Home 

We had a nice evening, the kids were great until bedtime. I had to get all mean mom on them because they were fighting and complaining over who slept where. I gave them a good lecture on how they were behavior was showing ingratitude...yadda yadda yadda. And that there would be no more of it the rest of the trip...and there wasn't. But here are a couple pictures of the sleeping situation...

Yeah, so if anyone had a reason to scream and cry about who they were sleeping with it was Maya and me! Camden and Eden are crazy sleepers! Poor Maya though...she had to sleep with C the first night and he wet the bed! He had NEVER wet the bed before...it was awful. The poor housekeeper was so nice and didn't even act a bit disgusted even though I was.

And that was the end of day one.

Road Trip...The End

Last Day On The Road!!!

I took this picture right before we hopped in for our last, LONG day on the road. We had a rough start because Eden couldn't find her glasses. After a prayer she found them sandwiched between her seat and the side of the car...and they weren't broken. A Miracle for sure!

We only had to drive through a little bit of Pennsylvania, it was short and sweet and pretty.

Once in New York I new this was going to be a long state to get through. We tried to find things to distract ourselves, we saw and Eden sign that we had to take a picture of.

We were still on the look out for old farms...notice how gross my windshield is?! I did clean it twice before but you sure couldn't tell...

This is what New York looks like...green and pretty. C had to pee really bad and there was no place or time to stop so we had to pull over. Notice that there wasn't much room on either side of the road...it was tricky but we did it.

Thank You Massachusetts!!! We still had a few hours to go but we were so close it felt so good to be almost done...that last 45 minutes was a killer!

Now this was the sign we had been waiting for...it's blurry and dark but it made me cry when I saw it so I had to take a picture...

Aric was waiting for us with a home cooked meal. This next picture is so precious, Camden literally flew out of the car to get into Aric's arms...

There was not a happier people on the planet at this moment than the five of us. After six long weeks, that included 6 days on the road (13 states and 3000 some miles), we were finally together again.

Here are some things that happened on the road that I don't want to forget...

My ipod died and I left my charger in North Dakota so we had to listen to a ton of radio and a CD that Maya's friend made for her so these were some of the songs that kept us going. We would sing them at the top of our lungs...

Somebody that I used to know - Gotye

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

Party in the USA - Miley Cyrus

Payphone - Maroon 5

Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men

Stereo Hearts - Gym Class Heros

We Are Young - Fun

Give Your Heart a Break - Demi Levato

What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction

I can hardly listen to the first couple bars of any of these songs now but I needed something to get me through those many miles.

I hate fast food so being on the road was going to be torture. I was proud of us because we only ate at McDonalds once. We hit Arby's and Wendy's twice, Taco Bell once and Subway a few times. We packed food and tried to eat as healthy as possible. No one got car sick and I am so SO grateful for that!

I loved looking in the rear view mirror at Eden singing. I still can't believe she didn't watch a single movie the whole time. Camden was the only one who watched anything and he only watched three movies! 

The girls left notes at every hotel thanking the maid service.

I loved looking at Maya just staring out the window. I wondered what she was thinking. I wanted to ask a few times but decided to let her be alone in her thoughts. We were all processing a lot and it was hard to have a real conversation with C asking for something every two minutes. I feel like I watched Maya grow up right before my eyes on this road trip.

Overall the trip I had been dreading wasn't that bad at all. Some days were better than others but I didn't even raise my voice once. The kids were absolutely AMAZING. I never felt scared. Even though it was long I think it was what we all needed to emotionally process what we were going through. I am so glad it's over but I am also so grateful for the experiences that we had, and the miracles that happened that brought us safely back together again.