Tornado

 We had a tornado come through Highlands Ranch! It was pretty insane, but luckily we had no damage, just some rearranged deck furniture and some downed tree branches. Others weren't so lucky- there's lots of downed trees everywhere. It followed a path about 2 blocks north of us, and then touched down about two miles east of us. Northridge Elementary School had a lot of it's roof blown off. We are lucky.

It was awesome to see the Elder's Quorum immediately jump into action- I quickly started receiving texts with men offering to come help clear trees. One even went and bought a chain saw so he could help. It was awesome to see the Church in action.

You Better Belize It!

 Ben's favorite saying is, "You better believe it!" So when we were in Belize and saw shirts that said "Betta Belize It!" we HAD to get it for him. Unfortunately, the first time he washed it it shrunk several sizes. So it became a Claire shirt. Thankfully, I had a friend go to Belize and I asked her to get Ben another one- in an extra large size- and she did. It's perfect! I love my twins.

Working 9-5

 Audra has her first job!

She is working at a pre-school for kids aged 0-6 (though in the summer they have older kids, too).

She is excited to be working with kids. She is a teacher's aide.

16 Years in the Making

For 16 years, we have literally planned for today. The plan has always been that Audra would get Ben's Honda Fit when she turned 16 and Ben would get his dream car.

I can't believe the day has come. 

       

                                                   

She said the driving test was easy, and the tester said she was amazing and he wished everyone drove like her.

                                        

For her first drive, she took her sisters to Wendy's for a Frosty.

Clint and Dawn Get Married

 My Clint got married today. We actually had to rearrange our road trip to get back for the wedding, but I'm glad we did as we got to see a lot of my family who I rarely get to see. The wedding was at Hudson Gardens and was absolutely beautiful. This is both of their second weddings, and they are like giddy teenagers- they make each other so happy. It was great to celebrate them.

Road Trip Day 8: Liberty Jail

 On our last day we went to Liberty Jail and the Independence Visitor's Center.

This is Camille testing how uncomfortable and cold the floor was that they slept on. She said she would NOT want to ever sleep on that, but the prisoners did every night for 4 months.

All of their trials were for this reason right here:

A replica of a cabin at the visitor's center:

They had copies of The Book of Mormon in over a hundred languages, many of which we had never heard of. It was really cool.

This is the temple of the Church of Christ (the reorganized  church). We learned a little bit about them- mostly that they have stripped themselves of all things that make Joseph a prophet and the Church the Church. They have now lost all of the restoration truths and are now aligned with the national protestant coalition. It is no wonder our church has grown to over 17 million and they have lost members and are now at 250,000 members. This temple, in fact, is called a temple but is really just a regular meetinghouse.

After that tour, we decided to go home. We had done everything we wanted to do, and we were ready to come home. Even though we already paid for the hotel, we decided not to stay another night. It was 1 PM, with a 9 hour drive ahead of us. But because we were ready to be home, we packed up "quickly but thoroughly" and headed out.

Here are my thoughts on the trip that I posted on Facebook:

The girls and I just got back from a road trip (sans Ben who would rather have a permanent mullet then go on a road trip).

7 states. 2,493 miles. 4 different hotels. 36 hours driving.

The purpose of the trip was to visit Church History Sites. The history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is filled with tragedy and joy- and an overwhelming legacy of faith and love by those who came before, including my ancestors.

I’ll post my deeper thoughts in the comments for those interested.

Highlights and surprises:

-Stop at an original Pony Express station- oh, The Young Riders with Stephen Baldwin memories!

-Des Moines, IA is surprisingly beautiful- I would love to go and explore it someday

-Wisconsin Dells are a random tourist spot, but so fun- we all loved Noah’s Ark Waterpark

-Nauvoo Temple is beyond stunning. Audra wants to get married there. (early church members built Nauvoo as a refuge from persecution. They built a temple which mobs burned down, but it was rebuilt in 2002)

-Got to walk on the ground of my 5th great grandma and grandpa Allred who lived in Nauvoo

-Got to stand on the grave of my second great aunt in Winter Quarters (after being forced out of Nauvoo, the saints went to Winter Quarters, where half of the children died of scurvy, including two of my great aunts at ages 1 and 6)

-Nebraska has great rest areas (take note, Wyoming! You can learn a few things!)

-The performance missionaries at Nauvoo are fantastic- I hope at least one of my girls decides to be one! (performers aged 18-25 can go and perform plays, dances, and in a band for the summer tourists)

-Joseph Smith was murdered at Carthage Jail and imprisoned on false charges at Liberty Jail. We visited both jails and it was very powerful- the sacrifices he made for the Gospel of Jesus Christ are awe-inspiring. I have such great love and respect for him.

-Our 2009 Sienna is a beast! I love it- it just keeps on going!

-Camille kicks and punches in her sleep. It is not fun to share a bed with her. But apparently my snoring isn’t great to sleep with, either.

After 8 days we were ready to come home, and ended up coming home a day early as we had seen all the spots and were ready to be home. It was an incredible trip with a million memories, but I am glad to not be kicked in the back at night (though apparently I learned a few things from Camille and kicked Ben last night...oops!)

My deep thought comment:

I have always wanted to visit these sights. I love my faith. I love the legacy that the Saints left. Seeing the places where they went through so much suffering and trials, but where they also experienced so many miracles was wonderful. I was surprised by the ordinariness of these places. The Lord works with us in the ordinary.

I love The Book of Mormon (if you want a free copy, let me know). I love Joseph Smith. I love that I get to walk on the shoulders of those who came before me- and that I get to pass that on to my children. I prayed that my girls would each have a spiritual experience while we visited these sacred sights. I don't know if they did or not, but I hope they took something away from this trip and remember a little bit of the sacrifices made so they could have the gospel of Jesus Christ in their life.

Above all else, I want my children to know that their mother has a testimony of the Savior, of The Book of Mormon, and of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ (we believe Joseph Smith literally restored the Church that Jesus Christ taught while on the earth- that is why we have prophets and apostles, temples, and so much more. It isn't just showing up for church on Christmas and Easter- it is daily striving to be like Him, even though we fail as much as we succeed). If they can know that their mother KNEW, then I figure I'm doing something right.

Road Trip Day 7: Carthage Jail

 This was a powerful day, like so many others. 

Carthage Jail.

Wow.

We started the day stopping at the graves of Joseph, Hyrum, and Emma, and one last stop at the temple. I really love that temple! We tried to go to church but we were told the wrong time at the visitor's center so got there an hour late. Claire and Audra decided to go to Sunday School while Camille and I sat in the hall waiting.

Then we drove down to Carthage, about 30 minutes by car- 6 hours by horse.

The front room. It was a house/jail combo.

The debtor's prison on the main level- it was very unsafe, so they were moved upstairs.

The stairs the mobs ran up to murder the prophet.

This is the criminal jail, on the second floor. It was pitch black. They were held here for a couple of hours until the jailer was like, "you aren't criminals. Come down to the debtor's cell." Notice the shackles nailed to the floor.

The room where it happened.

The window Joseph jumped out of.

The bullet hole that hit Hyrum.

The front of the jail.

Where Audra is standing is the exact spot where Joseph landed.

It was a sacred experience to be there. To think of what happened there...

But then it was on to our next and final stop- Missouri.

Camille got some cross stitching in.

We stopped at Haun's Mill. Due to bugs, we didn't stay long.

 

Then we stopped at the Far West Temple site. This is one of the four cornerstones, laid by Brigham Young and the other members of the First Presidency in the middle of the night before they left on their missions.