Rochester: Day tw- what the heck, here's the rest of the week

We took so many photos for this trip. We'd love to share every single one for our family history, but the longer we stretch this trip out the further behind we fall with that's happening today! And please excuse my poor photography from the last Rochester post. I hope these meet Mal's standards ;)

Mal and the kids headed to Genesse Country Village and Museum. It's a 19th century village that has a slough of shops, blacksmiths, carpenters, etc...all from that era. Madie is leaning on a hot air balloon from the Civil War. Did you know they used hot air balloons during the Civil War?

The balloon from afar. 

A few baby sheep. 

Finn was captivated by something here, probably animals. 

This contraption was a blacksmith puzzle that Mal figured out. Great photography by Madie!

I can't vouch for Madie figuring out, but let's just assume she did and call it good. 

After I got out of the conference later that day, we went searching for a lighthouse set on Lake Ontario. We decided to take the 'scenic route' and bush whack a bit. 

We eventually made it, even though it was closed!

So we went and got dinner and ice cream. Ice cream is from Abbots, which was supposed to be this amazing,  hometown ice cream chain that started in Rochester. It was pretty good, but nothing to write home about...though here I am, writing about it....

Much to Madie's dismay, Mal was modeling Madies rain coat. 

Mal and the kids also went to the coolest museum ever, The Museum of Play...yada yada yada...

On Friday we headed to Niagara Falls to be real tourists for a day. We got the visitor pass that included a boat ride below the falls, unlimited trolly usage, free access to additional museums and observation decks. 

The falls from the boat. I would definitely recommend the Maid of the Mist.

Finn had absolutely no clue what was happening, other than wanting to rip off that plastic hood these people keep putting on his head. 

After we got off the boat, Madie and I walked up the stairs to get a close up view of American Falls. Why the long face for Madie you may ask? She was pretty disappointed we didn't hike to the very top. That's my girl =)

Lookin' good!

Madie was looking forward to seeing Niagara Falls the entire week. She was so cute when she was on the boat. She kept saying "This is so cool!"

The trolly was a huge hit. 

Love the curls. 

Finn was having a great time on the trolly until he nailed his tooth on the top of that piece of wood he is holding. He was actually bleeding a little bit and was understandably unhappy. Poor guy. 

Despite all of the cool things that we saw, Madie said watching the sea lion was her favorite. We went to an aquarium that had some sea lions performing for a show, and she thought that was so silly. 

On our way back home we decided to stop in Portsmouth, NH. We always pass by it on our way to Boston, and didn't know much about it. Turns out it was our lucky day because they were having an annual event called Market Square Day. It gave us a good chance to stretch our legs and get a feel for the area. The town was very beautiful along the water front. I'd never heard anything about it from anyone, so it was pleasantly surprising. 

Home sweet home. 

Goodbye, California!

 We were sad to leave all of our great friends in Livermore last week. I can't believe we lived there for 2.5 years! I wish we would have taken more pictures our last couple of weeks...we said a lot of goodbyes to our friends that put on parties, dinners, and get togethers for us. Some friends even gave us some last minute gifts which included a cupcake hat and a cape for Madie! 

Sister Savori was one of Madie's nursery leaders at church and gave her the cupcake hat.

This is Madie modeling it for us. She is more of a spontaneous performer and model....she doesn't do it on command.

After we shipped all of our stuff, we camped out on the living room floor for a couple of days.

We traveled to Utah all night on Thursday. The kids did as good as can be expected. We had to make a few stops for Finn. We were very relieved to make it to a flat bed to take a nap on Friday morning. 

Special thanks to great friends that helped through the moving process.

Thanksgiving Break - Part 2

Friday morning, we had the wonderful opportunity of attending the sealing of our niece Brodi to my brother BJ and his wife Shannon in the Mesa, AZ temple. We were so glad we could be there.

BJ, Brodi, Sam, and Shannon. Quick note about Brodi, she is such a curious little girl and will literally get into anything. I think it was on Wednesday that Brodi somehow ended up alone underneath the Christmas tree with a lot of presents, all to herself. I think you know where this is going. She opened nearly all of them up until someone showed up and caught her! Such a funny girl! It was great getting to know her and seeing how Sam has grown up over the past year.

After the sealing and open house, we loaded the car and headed up to Williams, AZ (near flagstaff). We had an 8:00 pm train to catch to the North Pole! The Polar Express train to be exact. I had never read the book or seen the movie, but I really want to now that I have experienced it first-hand. There wasn't a lot of snow up there yet, but it sure was cold (coming from CA at least).

It was about a 25 minute ride to the North Pole (thanks to the time warp tunnel). We were served hot chocolate and cookies (for the record, the hot chocolate wasn't quite the right temperature).

Gotta love Brodi's face. Jeff and Ethan waving hello. The kids loved the train ride.

Sadie and Madie were buddies on the train.

Madie had a lot of fun with Nana, Papa, and Ethan.

I don't know if anyone was as excited for the train ride as Sam. He has been obsessed with trains since before he could really speak! He didn't look as excited as I thought as he would be, but I according to BJ and Shannon he soaks in the experience and will talk about it for weeks afterwards.

Madie was given a silver bell from Santa! She was much happier than her first encounter with Santa. A day before, she actually got to sit on his lap at Bass Pro Shop. Let me just say, her face was priceless. Immediate emotional meltdown.

Madie started to get tired at the end, and decided to suck on the bell with Nana.

Williams is exactly one hour away from the south entrance of the Grand Canyon National Park. Neither of us had ever seen the Grand Canyon, but we also didn't know the next time we would be this close to it. So off we went and we were so glad we did!

None of these pictures really do it justice, nor have I seen any pictures that really have. This is just one of those places you need to see with your own eyes. It was spectacular. No words to describe how vast it was. You just have to see it.

I wish we could have spent more time here. It would be great to spend 2-3 days hiking, camping, and exploring. Unfortunately, we only spend 20 minutes in the park. Maybe we can do a family reunion there at some point?

Madie loves spending time outdoors. No matter how cold it bites or how windy it blows, she is always glad to be outside.

Winter Quarters, and a few mentionables

Ah, finally. The last group of pictures from our journey. These are actually on our way out to Iowa. We were really impressed with the hills and trees that Omaha had, and most parts of Iowa. Driving through Iowa consisted of endless rolling hills that gradually took us up and down over miles and miles of land. Anyways, here are the pictures!

This is in front of the Winter Quarters visitors center. I never realized the temple, visitors center, and Mormon Pioneer Cemetery were all right next to each other. 

Myself at the entrance of the cemetery. 

Mal along the pathway to the memorial section of the cemetery. The Winter Quarters Temple is in the background. It was so small, but very cool. 

There is the historical background on the Winter Quarters area significance. 

The interesting thing about this statue is the symbolism. If you look closely you can see their infant that they just buried, and they are stepping over the grave and walking toward the temple to continue their journey. I think you can connect the dots. 

One thing I love about road trips is the variety of cars you will encounter on the highway. This truck, for example, had this trailer attached to it by these rope-ties...yep, JUST the rope! The camper was so heavy that it was jerking back against the ties, creating a lot of scare amongst all of the surrounding cars. Quite entertaining when you find yourself driving in the middle of nowhere. 

Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, meet the Lincoln Monument near Cheyenne, WY. Did anyone know that this monument existed?

This is at a gas station outside of Denver, CO. I guess spring hadn't 'officially' hit yet, so we'll give them a break on the sign not meaning anything (where's the grass??). 

Do I need to say anything? This was the middle of Wyoming.