Last day -- May 17, 2014

Today was my parents last day visiting.  Sniff.  Sniff.  It didn't really sink in until a few hours before they left, and boy oh boy, did it start to sink in as the morning progressed into the afternoon.

My Mom wanted to do a family picture together, so most of our morning was getting all glammed up for our photo shoot.  Not to mention, my parents had to finish packing their suitcases, and needed to pick up their rental car so they could drive themselves to the airport.  Despite doing a bunch of prep work, it was somewhat relaxing just staying at the house for the entire morning and not rushing off to go see something.

Here is our family photo shot that was taken on our back deck.  I think it turned out really nice, and I am very pleased with how well Hannah cooperated for the photo.  There must have been divine intervention on that because she never cooperates that well for group photos.

As the afternoon came and lunch was over with, my parents packed up their luggage in their rental car, and we all said our goodbyes.  It's hard living so far away from family.  Naturally, my Mom and I were crying and Hannah kept saying "it's ok," or "why are you sad?," or "do you need some medicine?"  I knew she wouldn't understand that my parents were leaving and wouldn't be coming back for a long time, but I had a hunch she'd wonder where Grandma and Grandpa were after nap time (which she did).

We stayed outside and watched them drive down the street.

After my parents left, Nathan suggested we go on a walk to help rejuvenate our spirits.  It helped some. Upon returning home I put on my warm fuzzy pajamas that my mom gave me for Christmas, and I put Hannah down for a nap.  It was sweet holding and rocking my child to sleep, and I couldn't help but think that in 20+ years I will be the Grandma leaving the house and saying goodbye to my daughter, and most likely crying during that process.  I am starting to understand the of the circle of life more and more since being a parent.

More of Penn State and the "orange" park -- May 16, 2014

Seeing that Penn State is a big campus and we ran out of time the day before, we had to go back and finish checking out a few other sites that make Penn State famous.  The first site we went to was the Berkey Creamery and got some ice-cream (except Hannah and I didn't have any ice-cream).  Mom and Dad got "Peachy Paterno" while Nathan got a vanilla bean ice-cream. What most people don't know is that this is the largest university creamery in the nation.  And yet again, for some reason I didn't take pictures.  Oh well.

After eating the ice-cream, we went to the Arboretum.  It was a great time to go and see because there were so many flowers in bloom, especially the tulips.

It was also fun to check out some of the wildlife there too, but I could only get shots of the the finches and the robins.  Everything else was too tricky to photograph.

After the Arboretum, we headed back home so Hannah could take her afternoon nap.  We told Hannah that after she got up then we could go to the "orange" park, for which she was thoroughly elated to hear!  This is Hannah's favorite park, and she has been wanting Grandma and Grandpa to take her to the orange park for several months!  Well she finally got her wish, and the first thing Hannah said when she woke up from her nap was "it's time to go to the orange park!"  So we got all packed up and away we went.

Hannah enjoyed her favorite obstacles and climbing around, while Grandpa traversed the mountain wall (typical reaction for a mountain climber).

After the park, we dropped Hannah and my parents off, while Nathan and I went for a quick appointment at our chiropractor.  I was having some back pain so I needed an adjustment, which helped me feel better.  Upon returning from the chiropractor, we made little mini pizzas for dinner, had Family Home Evening, put Hannah to bed, and then Nathan, my Dad, and I played a fun game called A Blast from the Past (Mom was too tired and went to bed).

Penn State -- May 15, 2014

Nathan found out a while ago that Penn State has a nuclear reactor on campus, and he has been very anxious to tour it.  No worries though.  This reactor is not a very dangerous one, but that didn't stop Nathan's excitement of wanting to see it so he booked a tour.  We dropped Hannah off at her little co-op preschool for a couple of hours and then the four adults toured the reactor (there was no way we were taking Hannah to that!).  Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures on the inside as there were no cameras allowed (not even phones).  The facility did give us some complimentary post cards though, so this is the best I could do for pictures.

I admit, it was really cool to see, but I think the boys enjoyed it more than the women.  Nathan and my Dad understood the science lingo much more than my Mom and I did.  The good news I should report is that our dosimeter read that we had received no radiation while touring the facility.  So we don't glow in the dark.

After touring the reactor, we picked Hannah up from pre-school and came home for lunch and took some well needed naps.  After nap time, we ended up going back to Penn State to show my parents more of the campus.

Nathan showed them where his office is located, but we couldn't go in because the building is under some construction and they locked him out for the week (good thing he had the week off).  We then parked the car at Beaver Stadium (where the football team plays) and took a bus into campus.  For some reason, I didn't take pictures.

We saw Old Main, and the former bell that was in Old Main.

We saw the obelisk, which is made of stones from all the different counties throughout Pennsylvania.

We also went by the Alumni house and saw some of the ducks and their little ducklings in the pond, along with a few turtles.

It started to rain however so we had to run and seek shelter in the Willard building that Nathan occasionally works in from time to time.  It is a labyrinth in that building and I'm glad we had Nathan to help navigate us out.  The rain stopped after a while so we walked around more outside, and went into the library for a little bit.  Unfortunately, Nathan had to leave for some church meetings so my parents, Hannah and I headed over to "The Nittany Lion Shrine." Everybody takes their pictures with the Nittany Lion (especially recent graduates, which there were a few there) so I took some for my parents.

We then took another bus back to the stadium so that we could get in the car and head home. We ate dinner, did some laundry, I put Hannah to bed, visited some more, and then we gradually all went to bed.

Peter Whitmer Farm -- May 14, 2014

This was our last day in the Palmyra area, and the only thing left we needed to see was the Peter Whitmer Farm.  This was a really neat church history site!  Actually, all the church history sites are really neat.  It's hard to choose a favorite.

The Whitmer farm is a significant place for several reasons: first of all, Joseph had originally come to temporarily stay at the Whitmer home in the summer of 1829 to get away from the persecution in Pennsylvania and to finish translating the plates (which they did in one of the upstairs rooms).  About a month after Joseph's arrival, the translation of the Book of Mormon was completed.  It was also here that Angel Moroni showed the plates to the Three Witnesses.

Another reason why this is a historic site is because The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was officially organized in the Peter Whitmer home on April 6, 1830.  About 60 friends and family members were present at that meeting, and they crammed into the main 20-by-30 foot front room of the Whitmer home.

But my favorite story of this home is in regards to Mary Whitmer. She was the first person (besides Joseph) to officially see the plates -- even before the Three Witnesses. When Joseph stayed at the Whitmer Farm, there were many other people there that would visit for several or many days at a time (Oliver Cowdery, Emma, etc). Not to mention, there were MANY family members in the Whitmer family as well, so sometimes there were about 15+ people staying at this tiny log home, which made it very crowded and cumbersome.  David Whitmer says it "greatly increased the toil and anxiety of my mother.  And although she had never complained, she had sometimes felt that her labor was too much, or at least she was perhaps beginning to feel so."

David , Mary Whitmer's son continues: she "was going to milk the cows, when she was met out near the yard by the same old man [presumably Moroni]...who said to her: 'You have been very faithful and diligent in your labors...; it is proper therefore that you should receive a witness that your faith may be strengthened.'  There upon he showed her the plates."

I love that story.  Here's a picture looking out the back door of the log home, where the vision would have taken place.

One fun, but kind of nerdy fact -- we were the first visitors to tour the newly renovated visitors center at the Whitmer farm. It was under construction and closed to the public for a brief time, but it re-opened the last day that we were in the Palmyra area.  Dorky I know, but we thought it was kind of fun to be part of that history.

After touring the Peter Whitmer farm, we got back in the car and headed back home to Pennsylvania. It's a good 3+ hour drive, so upon arriving home we unpacked, returned the rental car, picked up Hannah from our friends house, went grocery shopping, came home to eat dinner, and then got ready for bed.  Once again, we were pretty exhausted from all the traveling, but it was so worth it!

Niagara Falls and more Palmyra -- May 13, 2014

When we were eating dinner at Olive Garden, we realized we did so much stuff in Palmyra on our first day that we were ahead of schedule.  We also realized that we were 1.5 hours from Niagara Falls. So we decided to go see Niagara Falls first thing Tuesday morning.

Niagara Falls
This place is awesome!  Huge!  Powerful!  No joke.  It is also a little crowded, though I imagine it's more crowded in the summer.

We took the Maid of the Mist tour and it was actually a lot of fun being on the same boat with all the other tour groups.  It made us laugh a lot.  First of all, it was fun to see lots of people in the funny blue ponchos.

The boat ride was fun because it took you right into the falls.

The only pictures I couldn't take was when the boat took us into "the horseshoe."  It was too wet for starters and there was no way I was getting my camera out for that, but it was also all white and I couldn't even get a decent shot.  So, I went to wikimediacommons and got this picture to use as it was in the public domain.

Here's a shot of us just coming out of the horseshoe.  I'm glad we had those ponchos otherwise we would have been drenched!

Here are some other shots from above the falls.

Before we left Niagara Falls, we ate lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe.  It was kind of fun.  I've never been to one before, and we heard one of Nathan's favorite songs just as we were finishing lunch: Electric Avenue.

When we got back from Niagara falls we went to the hotel to get all cleaned up, and then we headed back into Palmyra and did more sight seeing.

Alvin Smith grave
We had a few hours to kill before our temple appointment, so we found Alvin Smith's grave site. I loved how they put the old headstone in the updated marker.

Erie Canal
We also learned while visiting Palmyra that the Erie Canal was right next to where we were at -- not kidding!  Though they don't use it like the did back in the day.  Still, it was pretty cool to learn about and see.

Martin Harris Farm
We also drove up to the Martin Harris farm.  The original house isn't there anymore as it burned down (bummer).  The house that is there now is an 1850 lake-stone home, and it's beautiful. The church owns the property, but there are no public tours of the house as people currently live in it (people that manage the church properties in the area).

Afterwards, we drove back to the hotel, ate some dinner, and then got dressed to go to the temple.  The temple was great, beautiful, and spiritually uplifting.  I've been spiritually craving the temple since our miscarriage.  I love the comfort and guidance I received there.  It bears witness to me that Heavenly Father truly is aware of me, and our family.

Harmony and Palmyra -- May 12, 2014

One of the things that my parents wanted to do while visiting was to tour many of the church history sites in this area of the country.  So Monday morning we got up early, dropped Hannah off at a friends house, and then took a rental car and headed north east.  Our first stop of the day was Harmony (now called Oakland), which was about 3 hours away.

Harmony, PA church history site

Many events took place in Harmony.  Joseph and Emma moved here in December 1827 to escape persecution, and Joseph began translating the plates.  Emma was a scribe to Joseph at Harmony, as was Martin Harris for a time, and then Oliver Cowdery came in April 1829 and helped Joseph finish the translation.  One of the most common known events that took place here was the restoration of the priesthood of God on the banks of the Susquehanna River.  We were lucky that we could access this church history site when we did because the Church is getting ready to start construction here, which means it will soon be off limits.

This is where Joseph's and Emma's home was.  You can see a wood stake just off to the left.  There were several of these stakes located throughout the site as the construction is about ready to start.

Restoration of the priesthood monument.

The trail heading to the banks of the Susquehanna River was so pretty.

On the banks of the River.

After visiting Harmony, we then drove up to Palmyra (about 2.5 hours away).  Our first stop was the Smith family farm and the Sacred Grove.

Smith Family Farm

There are two homes on the farm.  The first home is the family log home.  This was the house that Joseph's family lived in at the time of the First Vision.  It was also in the house where the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph multiple times that evening in the upstairs bedroom, just three years after the First Vision.

The Frame Home

The second home on the Smith family property is the Frame Home.  The family moved into this home late in 1825.  It was Alvin Smith (Joseph's older brother) who started construction on the house in 1822. Unfortunately, Alvin died in 1823 and was unable to complete constructing the house, so his family finished the home and later moved into it.  It is significantly larger than the log home.

One of my favorite things about this property is when you are walking down the lane/trail to the frame home, you can see the Palmyra temple through some of the trees.  Gorgeous!

Sacred Grove

After touring the Smith homes, we then walked into the Sacred Grove.  This is one of my favorite spots on earth.  The best way to describe it is by it's name: it's sacred, and it is a beautiful grove.

The Grandin Building

After the Sacred Grove, we then went to the Book of Mormon publication site, also known as the Grandin Building.

This is where the Book of Mormon was first printed, and the man who owned the printed shop was a man named Egbert B. Grandin.  Printing the Book of Mormon was no small job. First of all, Martin Harris mortgaged part of his farm to guarantee $3,000 of printing cost (that was a lot of money for 1830).  With that $3,000 Egbert then took on the task of printing 5,000 copies.  This type of printing job was a really big deal for a small town. Something this big didn't even really happen in New York City. Again, this was no small job in 1830.

There are a few originals still in this building: one is the wood floor photographed below.  The second  original is the brick, but it's only from the second level and up.

Hill Cumorah

After the publication site, we headed over to the Hill Cumorah.  It was here that the plates were buried. The plates were translated by Joseph Smith, and the product of that translation is the Book of Mormon.

There was still a little bit of daylight left so we headed over to the temple to take some pictures.  It's such a pretty temple, and there was so much detail President Hinckley put into planning it.

After temple pictures, we headed over to Olive Garden for a late dinner, and then headed to the hotel. Upon arriving at the hotel, we go a fun and pleasant surprise: it turns out I was the guest of the day.

My Mom and I had the giggles for a while when we got to the hotel and saw the sign.  She and I were so tired that I think our exhaustion made us silly.  I was also still sick so I imagine my medicine made me a littly goofy too.  But after some time, we caved into our exhaustion and went to bed.