Part 5: Independence, Mo

On our way west before the wasteland (known as Kansas) and the promised land (Colorado), we made a stop in Independence, MO to see more sites. The LDS Church was located in this area in the 1830's. Harry Truman also was from here.

We stopped at Liberty Jail where church leaders were held and sections of the D & C were revealed:
The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library:

The beautiful Temple of the Community of Christ Church:
And the camper of a man that has a lot to say and whose hypereligiosity is probably a sign of something for which treatment may be advised. He is in front of the Temple Lot:
We did a lot of driving on this trip and Sam was a trooper. Cheyn would sit in the back and try to entertain him while I drove. Cheyney took this picture of our little thinker as we drove out of town:

More Nauvoo

One wonderful thing that worked out in Nauvoo was that we were able to meet up with Misty Lindgren, my (Ryan) cousin's wife and her children. They moved to Nauvoo about three years ago. She gave us an insiders tour of many places and even babysat Sam while we went to the Temple. It was great to get to know her better.

Notable places we went to in or around Nauvoo were:

Joseph Smith's residence:

The jail where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were murdered:

The graves of Joseph his Brother, and his Wife Emma:

The restored building where the Relief Society was organized and Temple ordinance were revealed:

The Nauvoo Temple:

The bakery (I included this because I like how Sam looks like a thug):

Before we drove out of town, we stopped off at the banks of the Mississippi, the area of the frozen river the pioneers crossed in 1846 as the fled for the West. Nauvoo was a historically fascinating and spiritually moving place. We loved our two days there.

Part 4:Nauvoo

As member of the Church Nauvoo has special significance to us. From 1839-1846, the Mormons built up an area near the Mississippi River from little more than swamp land to a city of 12,000 with 2000 wood buildings and 350 brick buildings. Elements of the Church's Doctrine and organization were developed in Nauvoo. After the murder of Joseph Smith in 1844, residents faced increased persecution and were compelled to depart for the West under the direction of Brigham Young.

In recent years many buildings have been restored or rebuilt. The town has Church workers at each building explaining what the building's history and function were. It's a functioning historic village now, much like Williamsburg, VA or Salem, NC.

Cheyney has ancestors who resided in Nauvoo. We were able to visit sites that where important to the Webb family.

We went to the building where members were instructed on preaching and Sam gave it a shot:

We visited where the Webb's worked as blacksmiths for residents of the city and built the covered wagons for the upcoming journey West:

We also went to the Cemetery where two of Cheyney's ancestors were buried:

Part 3: St. Louis, MO

We were so lucky to get to stay with my cousin Jared, Kirsten and family. They are now living in St. Louis and we haven't seen them for about 4 years! Their kids have grown so much. It was so wonderful to have quality time with them. We got to see them all play soccer games, eat St. Louis pizza and carve pumpkins.

At the St. Louis Arch

From Collages

Ethan, Adara and Zachy playing soccer

From Collages

Sam got lots of love and attention.

Royal pumpkin carving

From Collages

Sam during the pumpkin carving.

We made awesome jack-o-lanterns.

Jared and I did the werewolf for Zach. I was pretty impressed!

Daddy and son bonding while watching BYU/TCU football game. Even though BYU is having a tough season, it looks like we have a new BYU fan.

From Collages

I love my cousins!

Part 2: Springfield Illinois

Next we headed to Springfield to visit Ryan's former supervisor, Christine, Bob and Will. The last time we saw her, she was 8 months pregnant with Will. Now we both have little guys that hit it off perfectly, as you can tell.

Then we went to the Lincoln Museum. It was full of artifacts, wax figures, and interactive movies. It even had the gloves he wore when he was assassinated (with blood spots). We also went to his grave site. What a wonderful president.

*please note Sam's onesie courtesy of Aunt Wendy

Road trip: Dayton, OH

Our first stop on our trip to Colorado was to visit Logan, Patrick and Ayden. They have just moved there for Patrick's dentistry residency. It was wonderful to spend time with them and to go to the US Air Force museum

Ayden is 14 months older.

Sam was definitely flirting with her.

Here is Sam with Sam 26000, Air Force One. The plane served for Presidents from Kennedy to Bush (41). It was on this plane that President Lyndon Johnson took the oath of office following the assassination of President Kennedy.

Posing under a stealth bomber

This is the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. It flew from Salt Lake.

Thanks Reillys!

I Can Roll Over

Marbles with Gabe

Gabe and Sam are like peas and carrots.

We always have so much fun with Christy and Gabe. Gabe is so sweet with Sam and gives him hugs and points to his stinky toes. The other day we went to Marbles Museum. The last time I was at Marbles, I was going into labor with Sam and went into the hospital that night. It is fun to revisit it with little Sammers not kicking me from the inside.

Outerbanks

Since we will soon be moving to Colorado, we decided to fit in a beach trip while we still can. We finally made it to the Outerbanks at Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills.

We got to see where the Wright brothers (Orville and Wilbur) did the first flight.

Here is the 180 pound, 12 horse power engine.

This is a replica of the plane. It weighed 600 lbs and had a wingspan of 40 feet. They flew it on Dec 17th 1903 at a speed of 6.8 mph.

Orville and Wilbur flew it 4 times that day ranging from 120 feet to 852 feet.

This is the place of take off and it shows markers of where they landed.

Sam's future is so bright... he has to wear shades.

Then we let Sam dip his toes in the ocean.

We also went to Roanoke Island which is best known for its historical significance as the site of Sir Walter Raleigh's attempt to establish a permanent English settlement in 1585 and 1587. The fate of the final group of colonists has never been determined. Stories about the "Lost Colony" have circulated for over 400 years while archeologists continue to work to resolve the mystery.

Here are the remains of their fort.

To end the trip we went to a seafood buffet and had all-you-can-eat CRAB LEGS. YUMMMMM!