Day 3 Palmyra

These are a little out of order because we started and ended the day at Hill Cumorah but I put all those pics together. But anyway, day three was kinda laid back. We did most of what we wanted to see on our first day and we just had a few things left and then wait until the pageant started. We drove out to the Peter Whitmer farm where Joseph Smith organized the church. I think they said it is mostly original. We got to tour this by ourselves which was really nice since the girls decided to go crazy here for some reason;)

They all look so small from the outside but are pretty roomy inside.

Peter Whitmer farm

Inside the Peter Whitmer house. Makenna loved all these spinning wheels in the houses!! Just like Sleeping Beauty!

This is on top of the Hill Cumorah looking out to all the seats for the pageant. It was quite a hike up there. It must have been crazy to go down while carrying the plates. It was very steep. We also got to save our seats while we were there so we were able to sit where we wanted!!

Top of Hill Cumorah

After going to both the Hill Cumorah and the Peter Whitmer farm, we had some time to kill so we went back to the Palmyra temple and just let the girls run around.

Jordyn had a good time as she kept putting Papa's hat on us.

They also loved rolling down the hill over and over and over again;)

Family pic.

We wanted them good and tired for the pageant so we took them back to this park that had cool, old school play equipment. I can't tell you how nice it was to be able to take the kids to a park in the middle of the afternoon in July!! The weather could not have been better!!!

Jordyn seriously has no fear. She loved this big slide and kept going down it.

Oh the joy!

Finally at the pageant!!! We had to walk through protesters to and from our cars. They had bullhorns and yelled all this stuff to us like we were wrong and that our gold bible isn't going to save us. What dummies! It reminded me of Joseph having to walk through people yelling at him (though of course ours was on a much smaller scale). Thankfully the law enforcement is on our side now. The cops kept looking disgusted at them.

Before the pageant. They sold food there and the actors mingled with the crowd so it wasn't too bad of a wait.

We decided to sit at the edge in case Jordyn got fussy and I think they were great seats.

I got the girls all bundled up in their p.j.'s and sweatshirts (yes, it was cold when the sun went down!!) right before it was going to start. I think we wore them out just enough during the day. They cuddled like this for most of the pageant.

It was AMAZING!!! They really do a great job on it. Makenna loved Jesus in it. She really thought it was Him. There was also a statue in the visitor's center and they had a voice coming from that one and she thought it was Jesus talking to her. She thought that was cool stuff. She kept asking to see Jesus again and if He was going to talk to us again.

After the pageant, we drove to Syracuse so that we didn't have as much of a drive the next day to NYC. Everyone except me and Trav fell asleep on the way so it was a nice and quiet drive;) That was probably also the nicest hotel and we were in it for the shortest amount of time;) O-well. Next stop. New York City!

Day 2 Palmyra

Day two started out bright and early in the morning. We got in kinda late and we hadn't really adjusted to East Coast time yet so we woke up at what felt like 3 in the morning. But it was so worth it. I made us an appointment to do a session in the Palmyra temple at eight and the hotel we stayed at is right down the street from the temple and the sacred grove. So I thought it would be nice to get up extra early and walk down to the sacred grove first and then walk to the temple for our session. I was second guessing myself as we tried to drag our sleepy selves out of bed but it was so neat. I'm so glad we did it. There was absolutely no one around. It was just me and Travis walking through this path with frogs croaking and birds chirping. It was very peaceful already. It was also kind of chilly in the morning!! The weather couldn't have been more beautiful. The highs were in the 70's with lows in the 50's! We were in heaven. Anyway, on the way, we also saw some deer walking along someone's driveway and some squirrels scurrying along. We reached the grove and it was incredible. We saw maybe two other people there and it was just in passing. It was quiet and beautiful and so spiritual. The sun was just coming up through the trees and it was just breathtaking. I love the trees there. We also went later on in the day with tons of other people and my loud kids and there is no comparison. I would recommend that to anyone that goes there. Go early!! We then walked over to the temple.....by the way, I also recommend staying at the Palmyra Inn. It was walking distance to the important stuff and it had a book of Mormon in the desk drawer along with the Bible!!! I love small towns. Especially church history towns;)

Here are the deer. You can't really see it but this guys driveway is so long. We were just out at the street.

Trav in the grove.

Me in the grove.

I posted the pic of the sun coming up through the trees a week ago but this one is cool too. Pictures don't do it justice though.

After our session.

A cool looking church that was right across from the deer house. We went inside one that looked like this one and it is beautiful!

Joseph Smith home.

Upstairs where Angel Moroni appeared to him.

This is the bigger home that they moved into later and the home that he brought the Gold plates back to.

The box where he put the plates.

Here are the loose bricks that he would put the plates under to hide them as well.

One of the few times we got her smiling on camera;)

Makenna about to go into the grove.

Jordyn in the grove (without shoes). That girl did not want her shoes on for very long. She would walk barefoot even on hard gravel. She didn't care!!

We also went to the Grandin Press and they showed us how they printed the Book of Mormon. What a painstaking process and it took forever!!
This was how they had to bind the books. It was like sewing. It was neat to see how they branded the name on it as well.

Martin Harris farm

We also stopped at the Erie Canal. It was bigger than I thought it would be.

We got to have an early night that night thankfully because this is how we all felt by that point.

We're going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship;)

Compared to a lot of people, I haven't been to too many different places. I've been to California and Utah a ton of times but not much further out from there. A couple of years ago, we went as far as Missouri and Illinois but I have never been to the East coast. Well, that's about to change!!! My parents are going on a trip back east in July and taking us with them!!! They got ridiculously cheap plane tickets and they are both NONSTOP!!! Can you believe that??? It's the best time to go since J.J. will be under two and free and I'm not prego! The humidity kicked my butt in Nauvoo when I was pregnant with Jordyn so it will be nice not to be on this trip. We are starting in Kirtland, then Niagara Falls, Palmyra (with pageant), New York City, Gettysburg and finally Washington D.C. We are so excited! Does anyone know these areas well and know how to get around best? We were thinking about staying outside of NY and then taking a train in or something but not sure exactly where to do that or how to do it. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!