Fall Adventures 2023

 

One of the things I was most looking forward to this fall was our "Sister's Trip" to St. George. (Boo to Darcy for bailing, we'll catch her next time. We let her off the hook since she took a week off to go on the big bad packmule trip with Mom in the summer.) Here we are at Snow Canyon. Back: Rach, Addy, Natalie, Macy. Front: Lori, Jackie, Brooke. Not pictured: Hallie & Leslie. Brielle and Rosie were too young to qualify. 

Mom and I kept geeking out about the pretty desert plants that were in full bloom, or just interesting.

Macy checking out a lava tube.

Downtown St. George.

Leslie, Grandma, Hallie at the Candy Shop.

We got to do the St. George Temple open house with Patti, Dennis & my cousin Nikki. This was extra special because when my Dad was a missionary he helped with the St. George open house and rededication in the 70's. One of the highlights of his mission was getting a big hug on the temple grounds from Pres. Kimball. When Dad and Mom visited St. George shortly before Dad passed away, he REEEAALLY wanted to take Uncle Dennis--his best buddy/bro-in-law-- to the temple grounds and tell him about his spiritual experiences there, but Dennis was pretty cagey about it and didn't want to take the time to talk about it. Dad was disappointed almost to tears.  Fast forward a few years after Dad had passed. Dennis finally joined the church after decades of Dad (and Patti) inviting him (it took a push from the other side along with other things), and now Dennis and Patti finally got to have the tour with Mom and hear the stories. I'm sure Dad was grinning.

By the way, the temple was incredible and very moving to visit. God loves his children.

Mom treated us all to ice cream and the large was a little larger than she thought, haha.

Touring the Brigham Young summer home.

I was kind of in charge of planning some of the stuff for this trip, and my sister Brooke had never been to a slot canyon. So, I planned a long detour on our drive south out to the Bryce Canyon area to our family's favorite hike ever--Willis Creek slot canyon. It was awesome but the dirt road to get there was more than a little rough and the detour was a little longer than I think everyone else was expecting. Also my van's alignment was messed up and it shuddered loudly all the way out of the mountains. Sorry gals! However, it was a really cool hike.

I love this picture of the girls hopping from wall to wall. Addy's grin is pretty fun. That's pretty much how I felt.

We were happy that Leslie got to come. She had been pretty sick with first trimester symptoms but was able to participate anyway. 

I took some stealth pictures of Cooper at his job at Mountain Mike's pizza. It wasn't his favorite. He is so tall that his back hurt hunching over the counters making pizza all the time, so he finished up when basketball season started. 

Luke turned 11. He wanted a chocolate pie from Walmart. What an easy kid. 

Mom and Brooke took advantage of the Gourmandise at the airport while waiting to fly home from the sister's trip.

So, one of my goals with having "more time" with the kids all at school (let me pause while I laugh bitterly at that big lie😜) was to deep clean the office, including the filing cabinet where we have some pictures from before our current digital era. Above is a picture of Mark and I at a Legato company Christmas party at Thanksgiving Point when I was very pregnant with Leslie and still at BYU. This picture is quite cringy to me, not because I am pregnant but because this was before I got braces. Yikes. Mark looks great.

This was another fun one I found that we did for a Christmas card one year. It said something like, "Guess who's been naughty??" Ha, what a little rascal Boston was. 

Rosie turned six and had a fun outside birthday party with friends. 

She wanted slippers and a bathrobe. 

As always, it's fun when BYU football and Cougartail donuts are in season. 

Leslie is almost six feet tall, so finding maternity clothes has been a beast. This was a happy day with a cute baby bump AND clothes that fit.

I have been able to volunteer at school activities a little more often now that Rosie is in school. This was a fun field trip to a pumpkin patch. 

This picture makes me laugh so hard. When I showed up to volunteer that day, I noticed that Rosie (who is pretty boy crazy) was giving a lot of attention to this one boy. Then at lunch, I had her all set up at a picnic table with some other girls. I had to go help another child, and when I turned back around Rosie had switched seats, crowding herself onto the end of this bench so she could be next to her little crush. This is her "busted" face. 

Macy and her friend made some graveyard treats for Halloween.

This picture makes me laugh every time. We'll call it, Charlie the Black Halloween attack-cat. Poor Cole.

Mark's friend, Spanish Fork mayor Mike Mendenhall, asked Mark to officiate at the Spanish Fork city council debate that was held for the TV network. He did a great job of keeping it a little less dry and serious. Proud wifey moment.

Earlier that spring, we had a family council and talked about where we should go for Fall Break. We presented several options. The kids said they all sounded fun and couldn't decide. So we asked Boston to choose since he will be leaving the nest shortly. It melted my heart when he considered the options and said, "I think what would help me on my mission the most would be to go to Nauvoo." We were so excited! That's where we wanted to go the most but weren't sure if the kids would be on board since it's more of a historical tour. If you don't know, Nauvoo was a city right on the Missouri River in Illinois established by Joseph Smith and the Latter-Day Saints before they were mobbed out of the state and had to cross the plains to Utah for safety. Several of our ancestors lived there and helped to build the beautiful Nauvoo temple. Now the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owns much of the original properties and hosts a ton of really interesting, meaningful stuff to do. 

We flew into Chicago (thank you Provo airport!!) and went to Navy Pier for some Giordani's Deep Dish. It was delicious but Rosie was unimpressed by the "stretchy cheese."

Part of the draw of getting to go to Illinois was that Mark's loan partner, Autumn lives in Davenport, IA and was basically on the way to Nauvoo. The Gray's were very generous to host us at their lovely home and super fun to hang out with. Autumn kept saying "I can't believe you are here in person!" because she works all virtually with Mark every day.

We decided that we need to watch "Field of Dreams" with the kids sometime soon.

While we were in Iowa we stopped to check out the investment duplex that we purchased in September. Property values are quite a bit more affordable in IA than where we live, and Mark can do the loans wherever. 

One place I really wanted to visit was Bishop Hill, Illinois, a Swedish settlement where one branch of my Mom's family tree settled, not long after the Saints had left Illinois. It wasn't all that far from Nauvoo, and it was interesting to check out the museum there and see the little town after researching the family and their heartbreaking immigrant journey (they suffered both shipwreck and cholera, and out of a family of six, only the dad and one little girl survived). This sign was cool because mom's great-grandma--the little girl who lived--was named Christina Bloom Cooper.

We found out that Bishop Hill is famous for its broom-making industry, and they grow the broom corn locally. I knew nothing about broom making or broom corn (does not look like corn, more like a flowered dry grass--see upper left corner of this picture). So, we watched a little demo on the broom making. I expressed that Mom would have liked to visit Bishop Hill and Mark got the bright idea to send her a little souvenir...

Yes. He mailed his mother-in-law a broom for Halloween. He was pretty proud of himself, and mom and the mail lady in Montana had a good laugh when it arrived on Halloween day.

The sunsets were very beautiful in Nauvoo, as were the fall colors. This was a special evening enjoying the sunset and visiting the riverside cemetery where the Smith family is buried. A very reverent place.

Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. 

The Mississippi River.

We got to go on two different buggy-ride tours. Super fun with lots of cool stories.

The re-built Nauvoo temple. It was destroyed by fire by the mobs and also by tornado in the 1840s and was rebuilt after Mark and I were married. Very huge and beautiful up on the hill overlooking the river. 

This was the Family Pioneer Center (?) which was very fun for the kids (and adults).  It houses a series of hands-on activities where you make pioneer stuff. Rosie could hardly tear herself away from the loom rag rug. I'll have to figure out something like this for her to do at home.

Dipping some candles, twisting some quality rope. 

They said the rope is good quality rope if you can get it to stand up. 

When the instructor missionary asked us if we knew what the correct term for a barrel-maker was, Cooper raised his hand--it's a cooper. We were teasing him that he better be good at it, then. 

No sweat. 

We formed bricks from the local clay. The kids said it was harder than it looked and made their hands tired. 

We brought a lot of bricks home. Super cute and stamped with "Nauvoo".

I loved the print shop demo. Macy was told to see if she could find her initial, so here she is with the tiniest "m" I've ever seen. 

Rosie loved the swingset. You'd think this was Disneyland by that smile. 

One thing that was kind of mind-blowing to me was that in Nauvoo there was all this wide open space with a random brick building here or there. You can kind of see behind her here. This town used to be filled with thousands of homes that were destroyed. It's very well-kept now but sobering to think about where your family used to live and why they left.

This was a fun stove/coal bucket to see because 1)our son-in-law is Cole, and 2)one of Mark's favorite stories is about his grandpa's brother who, in the days of the washtub baths on a Saturday night, got out of the tub, bent over to dry himself off, and was branded "HOT BLAST" by the very hot stove, right on His Royal Hinny.

Luke the stone-cutter. 

These pictures of the boys trying to lift the heavy limestone blocks make me smile for more than one reason. Our tour guides that day included an extremely attractive sister missionary. When they introduced themselves we had to try really hard to not laugh out loud because her name was Sister Money. All three of our boys agree that Sister Money was $$$$, and we teased them about her for the rest of the trip.

The Gun Show. (Not for Sister Money.) The Browning Rifle museum was pretty great.

Luke was annoyed that he couldn't lift it as high as his brothers. Oh well, Sister Money is way too old for him, anyway.

This was one of the other funniest parts of the whole trip. We visited the tinsmith, and after showing us several odd contraptions and tools, the missionary showed us this bucket on the floor. We were in a good-sized group, but no one had the foggiest idea what the bucket was about. Rosie piped up. "I know! It's a mouse-trap!" We laughed at her cuteness, and laughed even harder when we found out that she nailed it. The missionary said hardly anyone guesses it right. I guess when you are shorter and think a little more simply.... You put the cheese on the spindle over the bucket, the mouse runs up the ruler, tries to eat the cheese, the cheese spins and the mouse falls in. Genius.

This was another really thing we did. When we first arrived we went to the main Visitor Center. They have a land office desk where they can look up where your ancestor owned land in Nauvoo. So, I had them print out all the ones we knew about, maybe like 8-10 families between Mark and I? Then on Sunday evening we had the kids navigate around and found all the properties. Most of them were vacant like the grassy lot below that used to belong to George Bentley Teeples. It was cool to see the herd of deer there. Once again, sobering to think of being forced away from your land. 

One of my favorite family stories that took place on this lot, apparently, was about George Bentley Teeples. He was one of the last groups to leave Nauvoo and was present for the Battle of Nauvoo. Here is a little retelling of his story from a script we put together a few years ago. (The script is found here on FamilySearch.org.)

     I knew I had to get the Teeples women and children out fast. By abandoning everything we owned that morning, and traveling with just the clothes on our backs, we were able to get across the river into Iowa. Then, I recrossed the river, hoping for the chance to reclaim some of the things we needed from our home. When I got there, a mob of men was already helping themselves to our possessions, looting the bedding and various other things. I sat down on my tool chest and listened to them talking. I decided that I wouldn’t be able to get away with much. Finally, I spoke up, pretending to be one of them. “Well, it looks like you fellas are getting some of these things; I guess I’ll take this tool chest!” I picked up the tool chest, put it on my shoulder, and staggered away, my back to the mobs forever.

--George Bentley Teeples, his direct words in quotations

This was a magical and thoughtful walk down Parley Street at sunset to the river crossing. Magical because the kids loved going on a walk in the dark, and no one else was around, and thoughtful because we read all the quotation signs about the departing Saints, given in their own words, along the walk. 

The temple was beautiful. I was very disappointed that it was closed the week we were there for annual upkeep. Guess we'll have to go back!

Another really cool stop was the Old Nauvoo Burial grounds where Mark's ancestor Edward Partridge, the first bishop of the church, was buried. He died from health complications due to the many persecutions and atrocities and exposure that he suffered, including at one point being tarred and feathered. We had been learning a little about him as a family that year along with our scripture studies, so it was extra meaningful for our kids to visit his grave. 

This is the Carthage Jail where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were murdered by a painted-face mob. Luke thought this place was the most memorable.

It was a pretty Remarkable trip!

After Nauvoo, we drove across Missouri and visited a few other sites on our way to Kansas City. This was at the valley of Adam-Ondi-Ahman, a site that is connected to some important scriptural and prophesied future events. There is a very special spirit there, and the kids remarked that it was a pretty memorable place.

At Far West, Missouri, where we also had ancestors who lost their homes. 

We stopped at the Liberty Jail, Independence, MO where Joseph Smith was incarcerated illegally for several horrible months.

We ended our trip with a fun Kansas City BBQ dinner! No pictures 'cause we were too busy overeating.

Leslie and Cole are expecting a girl! They get lots of practice with Rosie and were kind enough to take her on a fun fall date night.

Rosie was Cinderella for Halloween. 

Leslie had a little too much fun helping Cole with his Minions costume. 

Mark threw this fun Elmer Fudd together in two minutes, mostly because he wanted to make his buddy laugh when bringing Rosie by for trick-or-treat. 

I had signed up to help with the Elementary's Mother/Daughter party, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. It was pretty elaborate. It was an international night, with several rooms representing a different country, including some sort of hands on activity. I volunteered to do France since Mark served his mission there and we had a few decorations. Then when I realized that I wanted to do a Parfumerie where the girls could learn about perfume and design their own "signature scent" with their moms, I fired Mark and had Macy come be my parfumerie assistant instead. She did great and it was SOOO fun to see the looks on the girls' faces as they sampled the different aromas. Especially the looks on their faces when they smelled the fancy men's cologne straight from France. That stuff is potent!

Luke spends a majority of his free time with his buddies. My neighbor Amber sent me this picture. In a few years, look out!

Luke loves the children's biography series "Who was ____" and has learned about lots of famous people. When it was time for the 5th Grade Wax Museum, where all the kids dress up like and give a presentation about a famous person, he surprised me with his choice. He thought it would be fun to give everyone candy, so he chose to be Milton Hershey--one of the biographies he had read. What a kid!

I took Macy and Rosie to a showing of the high school's "Beauty and the Beast." So fun. It was very well done and always makes me wish I could have gone to a larger school so I could have participated in a musical. (Wait, I guess I was in Charlie Brown's Christmas at Golden Ridge!) 

I got to help out at the Kindergarten's Thanksgiving Feast!

We were happy to have Thanksgiving with Paul & Marcia's family. Here is our gracious hostess, and also Cole being a good brother-in-law, keeping Rosie company at the Kid Table.

I don't think Leslie ate all that much...