Palmyra - The Sacred Grove and Hill Cumorah Pageant

We took some time to walk through the Joseph Smith house and through the Sacred Grove. The boys were cute. Gabe picked up on being reverent in the grove and kept shushing us when we spoke too loudly. It was a beautiful day - perfect for going for a lovely walk. The Pageant was monumental, of course. The boys were rapt while watching it. However, at the part when Christ comes down Ben had a sudden urgent need to go to the bathroom, for the second time during the pageant. Mike was the lucky one to take the trek to the potty with Ben. So, Ben missed the whole Christ descending part. Oh well. Gabe and I enjoyed it.

Doesn't Ben look hip with his new transition lenses? It is to protect his constantly dilated right eye.

Ben the Photographer

We let Ben have a crack at photography. We brought two cameras with us so we let him use the point and shoot camera. Below are his impressions of our trip. ENJOY!!

Niagara Falls/Maid of the Mist

Last weekend we headed North to NY to go to the Hill Cumorah Pageant and see Niagara Falls. We drove about 6 long hours - made even longer because every 1/2 hour the boys would ask us when we would get there. I don't know how or why my parents ever went on road trips with us because I am sure we did the same thing.... and there weren't DVD players that make the trip somewhat bearable.

The boys were pretty impressed with the Falls, although Gabe was terrified about riding on the boat due to being traumatized by a previous canoe trip (see June 2009). He cried and moped most of the boat ride. After it was over he kept exclaiming that he had so much fun and wanted to go on the boat again. Selective memory I guess. Ben loved it. The water freaked him out a little and he tends to be a bit of a worrier, but he handled it like a trooper. Stood by the railing the whole time. I think that amazement won over fear.

4th of July

For the 4th of July we went to our good friend's house - the Anderson's to hang out with Tamara, Jon, Sophia, Sydney and other friends and families. Jon grilled up some amazing ribs AND a brisket. We had potato salad, baked beans, jello, anything you could ask for. It was a lot of fun. And to top it off we had a small fireworks show in the backyard and then we watched the Skippack Fireworks show from the back porch. It was perfect. We all got fat and happy!

Gabe doing his pout face.