Fall Break - Northeast Road Trip

The girls had Fall Break for the first week in October.  This year we decided to complete our goal of visiting all the nearby Church History Sites while living in Kentucky.  This time we were going to tour the Northeast: Palmyra, New York and Kirtland, Ohio.  Before heading out though, we kicked things off by watching General Conference.  I can't think of a better way to start out the trip than on a spiritual high from listening to living prophets and apostles.

There were a few great quotes of the week that came out of this General Conference.   The first came from Aly.  When I told her that Elder Scott had passed away (just two weeks before Conference) she said, "That's so sad.  I bet he already had his Conference talk written and everything."  

When scooping up a piece of the traditional Conference Breakfast Quiche for Kate she said, "Can you cut that piece in 1/2?"  I give her 1/2 a piece and she says, "Oh, actually I wanted 2 halves."  Seriously, kid.  

And the finale came from Lise.  When asked what she thinks about when she hears "General Conference", she said, "Forts, snacks, and Elder Holland yelling at us."  Love it.  It was a great conference, as always.

Next, it was time to pack up the car (literally - can you see how packed it is?) and head out.  ROAD TRIP!!!  And what a road trip it was.  I was super hoping for a really great last autumn in the North - and I was not disappointed.  I loved seeing all the beautiful fall leaves out my window while driving - I couldn't stop taking pictures of it (just ask my family.  They kept making fun of me.)  So you get the benefit of me sharing all the beautiful colors with you - and also realizing just how much driving we did because every picture of leaves represents more driving! ;)

The first day was the longest drive as we decided to start far and work our way backwards.  We also decided to start out the journey at West Point, so the girls could see where Chris went to school and where he and I first met.  The kids actually did pretty well on the drive with just a few mishaps.  Kate, in her crazy way of turning around in circles while sleeping, managed to get herself tangled up in her seat belt.  When we stopped for dinner her seat belt was locked up around her - tight.  I thought we were going to have to cut her out of it but Chris managed to flip her around like a rag doll and get her untangled.  

Along the way we stopped at a family favorite, IHOP, where Kylie drew this hilarious picture.  Kylie was drawing a picture of herself and her friend Bree when Aly asked Kylie to draw her in the picture too.  So Kylie drew Aly 1/2 in the picture (she's the one on the right w/o the blue eyes) and said it was Aly photobombing her picture with Bree.  Burn!  We also found Kylie later taking a selfie of herself with an old cell phone and her hot chocolate.  Aye, aye, aye.  And I do believe, if you look closely, you can see Kylie's shoes are on the wrong feet, as per typical Kylie.

West Point turned out to be pretty amazing.  It was Chris' first time back since he graduated 16 years earlier, and boy did it bring back the memories.

It was really fun watching Chris tell the kids all about what he did in college and all about the history of the place.  We saw a mock room that showed what his living quarters were like, different uniforms they would have worn for different occasions, as well as pictures of parades.

The grounds were stunning - and very hilly!  We saw trophy point, with the Hudson River in the background and Constitution Island, on which there were forts during the Revolutionary War.

This is the plain, where all the parades are held, in front of  West Point itself.

The girls had fun running all over and exploring the cannons that had been captured in different wars and the chain that the Americans had spanned across the Hudson during the Revolutionary war to keep the British from sailing up the river.

But the kids didn't get just a lesson in US History - oh no! - we taught them about their own history and where they came from - from blind date to a reenacted proposal, we left nothing out!  

Aly was a little thrown by the "no PDA except on flirty walk" rule, that Cadet's aren't allowed to get married, and the rigidness of all the regulations there.

We did decide, however, that after 16 years it was finally time to start showing support for Chris' Alma Mater and get some cute shirts.  Go Army!  Beat Navy! ;)

On the road again.  Next stop - Palmyra, New York!

There were a lot of neat sites here in New York.  We were able to see the Smith Family farm and learn a little more about their lives and the challenges they went through.

You can see the Palmyra Temple from the Smith's farm.

We had lots of fun collecting colorful leaves.  Almost as colorful as Kate's shirt!

By far my favorite part of this trip was visiting the sacred grove.  Even though it was fall, inside the grove the trees were still green and it almost felt as if it could have been a Spring day.  The peacefulness in the grove was powerful - it was comparable to sitting in the Celestial Room of the temple.  As I was sitting there I was filled with an immense gratitude for Joseph Smith and all the early pioneers - for what they were willing to go through and endure for their testimony of what they knew to be true - that Heavenly Father and the Savior had come to restore the true Gospel to the earth, to reveal another testament of Jesus Christ recorded by a people in the Ancient Americas, and to prepare a people to help usher in the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  I am so grateful for this wonderful heritage and that I have the privilege of being a part of and pray that I may do my part to stay strong and faithful in helping this work roll forward.

Having a picnic lunch at the Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center

In addition to the Smith Family Farm, we were also able to climb to the top of the Hill Cumorah, see how the Book of Mormon was published at the E.B. Grandin Publishing building, and visit the Whitmer farm, where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was first organized.

Love this picture of Kylie turning her tortilla into some sort of creepy face!

Oh, I forgot to mention that  we were camping in New York!  It was a bit rainy off and on, but it worked out alright.  It was also a bit chilly at night and it was so nice to snuggle into warm sleeping bags and a warm hubby!  During the rain Aly had her first experience with a poncho.  Chris handed it to her to put on and she was like, "Dad, you gave me a tarp!"  We still had a great time with a campfire and s'mores.  We also had this great conversation:
Kylie - Smoke follows beauty.  Aly, you're not very pretty.
Me - Well, the smoke's not following you either Kylie.
Kylie - Ah, well, maybe the smoke goes wherever it wants.

After a great day and two great nights camping in New York it was time to pack on and head out to our next stop: Niagara Falls.

The falls were absolutely beautiful.  The girls liked looking at the falls, but mainly climbing on all the huge rocks.  I think they needed to get some energy out from being in the car.

We headed over a bridge to an island between the falls to see them from a different angle.  Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, and I found my Canadian leaf!  Lots of fun times stretching our legs and posing for pics.

And we're off again.  This time to Kirtland, Ohio, an early settlement of the saints, home of the Kirtland temple and the Newel K. Whitney Store.

It is always interesting to me to learn about the pioneers, how they lived, and to hear their stories of sacrifice and faith.  A highlight for Chris was to visit the room where the School of the Prophets was held above the Whitney store.

Here is the sawmill where the timber work was done for much of the Kirtland temple.  

They also made potash, used in many pioneer goods.

And finally, a trip to the Kirtland temple.  Holiness to the Lord.

Aly had a great time on this trip taking pictures to put on instagram.  Love this picture of a picture of her taking a picture . . . ;)

I had actually done this same Church history tour with my family when I was in 6th grade.  It was amazing to do it again as an adult with my own family.  I loved having us all together having fun.  Loved, loved, loved it!

But alas, all good things must come to an end and it was time to go home.  There were a couple days left of Fall Break and the kids wasted no time getting together with friends before heading back to school.  

Aly headed off to be with her friend Sarah and take pictures by the Lake in our town.

Meanwhile I let Lise invite some friends over and took everybody to a pumpkin patch/corn maze.  But it was oh so much more!

 There were tricycle race tracks, mini corn mazes for Kylie's age, bowling for ghosts, pumpkin tic-tac-toe, petting cages, etc.

Lise is getting so mature with her friends!

We had so much fun running through the maze and picking out the perfect pumpkins for our porch & future Jack-o'-Lanterns.  It was a wonderful Fall Break.  I absolutely love autumn, the law of the harvest, and getting to spend time with my family.  It couldn't have been better.