Road Trip--Take 2

So, I really had intended to do this post about our trip back to Utah like, the day after my last post.  Guess that didn't quite happen...  Better late than never!

So we left on a Tuesday morning and stopped at my cousin's house in Ohio again for the night.  We loved getting to see them and their super cute 2-year-old boy!  The next day we went to Nauvoo, IL.  This was my first time in Nauvoo, so we decided to stay a whole day there.  We had gotten a tent with some of the Target gift cards that we received for our wedding, so we camped in the Nauvoo State Park the two nights we were there to save some money.  And to have an excuse to use the tent :).  The first night, we got there after most places had closed, so really all we did was walk along the main street, get some frozen yogurt (which is always a good idea), and take lots of pictures of the temple (also always a good idea).

We also drove around and found the place where my 4th-great-grandfather, Nathaniel Ashby, lived.  I couldn't figure out if the house is the same one he lived in or if it was just built on the same spot, but whatever.  I'm guessing the missionary couple that is living there now is from Canada since there is a Canadian flag in the window.

The next morning we went and did a session at the temple, which was a really neat experience.  It was our first time seeing the new film, and it was my first time in a temple where you change rooms throughout the ordinance.  We got there just after one session had started and it would be another hour before the next one, so we did a few sealings first.  It was also our first time doing sealings since our own.  After that we went to Carthage Jail and took the tour there.  We even got our own private tour of it!  We walked in the visitor's center and the senior missionary there said, "Well, it's just about time for another tour and no one else is here--let's go!"  The Spirit was very strong there, such that I didn't even feel quite comfortable taking a picture of the room where Joseph Smith and the others were kept, even though it is allowed.  I did take a picture of the outside, though.

Then we went back to Nauvoo and just wandered around the shops.  We went to the blacksmith's shop and got the rings made out of nails that they give to everyone.  Apparently Chrisser's family went to the blacksmith's shop every time they went to Nauvoo, so he insisted that you simply have to do that every time :).

The next day we headed back out on the road.  We stopped and visited Adam-ondi-Ahman and had a little picnic by the sign.  The sign is all that's there besides farms, but I still enjoyed getting to see it.  We took turns taking pictures of each other by the sign, and I pretended that I'm skilled enough at photo editing to make it look like we were in the same picture.  Don't laugh at the obviousness of it, k?

After lunch we continued on to Independence, MO, where we stayed the night.  We went to the visitor's center and had a tour of it from a sister missionary, then went across the street and saw the temple lot.  I was kind of curious about the Community of Christ temple that is also across the street, but we were tired and just wanted to head to the hotel by that point.  The next day pretty much all we did was drive to Denver, CO, take pictures of the temple there, and buy some groceries.

The next day was Sunday, so we found a Sacrament Meeting to go to and then headed out again for the last time, arriving at my grandma's house just in time for her birthday party!  (Okay, so we were a little late to the party, but we were in time to get cake and ice cream, which is what really counts...)  All in all it was a fun trip, and it was certainly a lot less stressful than the one to Virginia!

Summer 2013

So, I kinda slacked off on blogging this summer.  Oops.  So this might be a long post (I will make a separate one for our trip back to Utah, though).

We've done a lot of things since going to Philadelphia.  One of them was going to Rehoboth Beach, DE.  It was my first time ever going to the beach, so it was quite an adventure for me.

I think my favorite part was when a wave would wash back out and take the sand out from under my feet.  It seems like a rather simple thing, but I had never felt that before, so it was cool to me.  Chrisser's sister also came and brought her 2 kids, so I had fun with them, too.  And Chrisser had lots of fun building this Mayan Temple thing:

We also took a day and went up to New York City with Chrisser's sister and her family.  We mostly just walked around and went shopping.  We also didn't take many pictures, but we did get one of us with a Minion!

We love minions :).  This one was at the F.A.O. Schwarz toy store.

Just before we left Virginia, we all went and hiked Old Rag.  It was quite the mountain.

In addition to all the little trips we took, Chrisser had lots of fun at the camp where he was an animation counselor.  He loves animation, he loves teaching, and he loves kids, so it was pretty much the perfect job for him.  They even had some costume days, which are another thing Chrisser loves.  I have pictures of all of his outfits on Facebook, but this one for Wacky-Tacky Day was probably my favorite, just because it's so ridiculous:

And while Chrisser was having fun doing that, I was having fun redoing one of the bathrooms in my in-laws' house.

Before: blue-and-white striped wallpaper, floral border, beige ceiling

Middle: trying to pick colors

After: three blue walls, one tan wall, white ceiling

We decided to go with a beach/ocean theme since their sink is a seashell shape and their soap dispenser is a lighthouse.  I had to leave before we had gotten any decorations or the like for the walls, but I got all the painting done. Yay!  I quite enjoyed that job.  I like being able to learn a new skill and to have something to show for my work, and this project gave me both.

And there were some things that I don't have pictures of, like our trip to Amish country, the time we went with Chrisser's brother as he went through the temple the first time, my first time seeing fireflies, the social dance class that Chrisser and I taught at his church building every Friday night, the course I signed up for to become a Medical Transcriptionist, and the movies we went to (Monsters University, Despicable Me 2, and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters).  All in all, it was a pretty eventful summer.