Travels...

About a week before Brent's graduation we took a little trip with his parents and brother. Our first stop was in Kirtland, Ohio. We had only lived a few hours away but still hadn't made it out. We were able to see the Kirtland Temple and the church owned sites as well.
The next day we drove up to Niagara Falls. That was amazing (and Garrets best day during our trip, I think it had something to do with the fact that he was strapped in a stroller). I have always wanted to see Niagara Falls. I love going hiking and seeing the amazing things Heavenly Father has given us here on Earth. (Looking out at the horseshoe falls, Canada in the back)
That night we drove down to Palmyra, New York. We went to sacrament meeting on Sunday then walked through the Sacred Grove. It was an amazing experience. Brent and I almost got lost just walking around the grove, but eventually found our way out. We also went to the Hill Cummorah and saw the Moroni monument. We also just walked around and took pictures of the temple there in Palmyra. We drove down to the Whitmer farm on Sunday as well. We did a tour there. I know I learned a lot about how and where the church was officially organized. I didn't really know much about church history, even though I had been raised in the church and have ancestors dating back to the Nauvoo days. Monday we did the tour of the Joseph Smith family farm. I learned a lot more about the persecutions against Joseph Smith and the church members. We saw a baby fox walking around on the farm, within 10 feet of us and it wasn't scared. I loved hearing the stories the missionaries told us about different people that had a hand in the buildings that were constructed to look like the originals. We also did a tour of the print shop where The Book of Mormon was first printed. It was really cool to see the equipment they used and to learn more about the process of printing at that time. We also went to one of the locks on the Erie Canal. It was cool to see something from American history, even if we didn't get to see it being used. We went back to the Hill Cummorah and did a tour in the visitors center there as well. Garret was extremely bored by that point and I feel bad that Brent missed a lot on this trip from taking Garret out of rooms and buildings because he would start to get loud and try to run around. I was really appreciative of the missionaries that actually tried to get Garret interested in what they were talking about. (the view from the side of the Smith family house to the Sacred Grove) (The fox on the Smith family farm. There were 2 of them that were born there, but we only saw the one) (Garret in front of the Palmyra Temple) (Lock 29 on the Erie Canal)
On Tuesday Brent, Garret and I drove back to Dayton to continue packing and cleaning the house. Ralph, Nancy and Dustin continued their trip to Sharon, Vermont to see where Joseph Smith was born and I believe they visited a few more places on the way back to Dayton.