Visiting Sampson

Johnstown, Pittsburgh, Palmyra, Niagara Falls, & Kirtland

6 States, 9 Days, & 2500 Miles

~ PALMYRA ~

Hill Cumorah & The Sacred Grove

My parents and I took a road trip with my 3 small kids.  This crazy idea actually turned out really well!   We first visited Sampson at his Rotation in Johnstown, PA. Then we all drove to Pittsburgh to stay at my Aunt and Uncle's house.  We had the most amazing dinner and enjoyed great company and lots of laughs.  It was so nice to see everyone.  The next day we drove to Palmyra, NY.  We first stopped at the Hill Cumorah.  I hadn't been there since I was a kid. It was amazing to be there.  The second time we went,when Sampson got there, Elder Holland and all of the Mission Presidents from the North East missions showed up and took a picture by the monument.  Elder Holland came right up to Sampson and Steele and started tickling Steele.  He was so sweet with him.  Then he shook all of our hands except Phoenix who hid under the bench.  He tried to pull her out, but she wouldn't budge.  So he just tickled her for a second and then jokingly tried to pull her out.  He was so sweet.  It's amazing to see an apostle be so loving. I felt so happy to be in his presence.  He truly is an Apostle of the Lord.

While we were there, we stayed at the Palmyra White House, which is a short walk from the Sacred Grove. Each morning I went for a walk/run through the Sacred Grove. What a spiritual place to be. It was truly amazing. I loved being there and visiting the sites, taking the tours, and then my mom and I reading all we could about everything at night.  It was awesome....but in the words of Phoenix and Eva: "Everything is Awesome!!!!"

Priesthood Restoration Site

The second day it rained all day so we decided to drive to Harmony to see the spot wear the priesthood was restored. The girls loved splashing in the puddles. Phoenix had so much water in her boots at one point that she sat down and tipped her boot upside down and a waterfall of water came out.  My mom and I searched forever in the cemetery next to the monument for the grave stone of Joseph and Emma's first baby boy.  Soaking wet, we almost gave up but found it right as we were leaving.  I love hanging out with my mom and my kids!

Peter Whitmer Farm & Book of Mormon Historic Publication Site

The day after, we went and saw where the Book of Mormon was first printed.  I had no idea how long and tedious the process of printing one book was!  I really enjoyed seeing the order of languages the Book of Mormon has been printed in.  The girls loved folding their own pages.  Then we drove over to the Whitmer Farm.  I loved seeing where the organization of the church first happened.  I can't believe how many people fit into that small room!  The video at the end of the tour was one of the coolest videos that the church has made!  The girls loved harvesting corn and gathering eggs on their computers as my mom and I listened to all the information on the screens behind the girls.  As we were leaving bees kept flying into our van and we had to drive with all the doors open for a bit to get them all out!

Niagara Falls

Next stop on the trip was Niagara Falls.  We had a minor set back when I forgot Sampson's passport.  Luckily Canada accepted him and Tim overnighted the passport and everything worked out so that we were still able to stay on the Canadian side.  Our hotel rooms had the best views of the falls! We walked the road by the falls that night and saw them all lit up.  Then we went swimming and enjoyed an amazing firework show.  Our room was actually higher than most of the fireworks! The boat ride to the falls the next day was amazing! There was so much water coming down that I felt a bit overwhelmed when we were really close to the falls. I had forgotten how big and powerful the falls were! Of course the girls weren't scared at all and loved every minute of it.  But their favorite part had to be the gift shop because they got to pick out a Canadian souvenir :) 

Steele at 8 Months

Steele is really starting to come into his own personality and I am loving every minute of it! Now that we have 3 kids, Steele and I end up alone a lot and so we end up taking a lot of pictures to keep us busy.  He loves looking right at the camera!  He is that happiest baby.  He smiles all the time and at everyone.  He loves watching his sisters.  They keep him very entertained and never pass up a chance to hug and kiss him.  I love to snuggle with him on the bed early in the morning and listen to him yell at the fan.  I love him so much.  He is truly a blessing in our family!

Kirtland

I finally made it to Kirtland and saw the Kirtland temple!! I have been wanting to do this trip since I graduated from high school....it has taken me 10 years, but I am finally here!  It was so amazing!  I can't believe all the places we were able to see and all the stories we were able to hear.  Even though the other family in our tour was extremely irreverent, we were able to feel the power of being wear Joseph Smith was when he received so many revelations and saw so many angels. 

We were also able to take our family pictures just outside the visitor center there.  The setting was beautiful and for once we had a photo shoot that wasn't stressful and didn't end up with Sampson and I in a fight! (I am trying harder not to control everything...it really helped ;)) And the pictures turned out great. It was really sad to say goodbye to Sampson again as he headed to Cleavland for his next rotation. But I know that we are doing what we are suppose to be doing.  I am so grateful for my family.  We were meant to be together and to be their for each other through the good and the bad.  My girls are such examples to me.  They are always reminding me to pray and read scriptures because they say that we need more "scripture power" in our lives :)  I love the competitions we have to see who can sing the books of The Book of Mormon song the fastest or who can sing the Frozen songs the loudest.  I love how easy going my kids are and how willing they are to go everywhere I drag them.  I love their contagious smiles and their desire to help people be happy (even if that means making hundreds and hundreds of cards...at least they are getting really good at drawing and writing :)) I love my family so much.  I wouldn't trade them or any of my trials for anything.  They make me who I am today.

Here are some random pictures from the trip! I love my cute kids!