New York Trip

After Andrew and I got back from our big long vacation we decided it would be fun to head up to New York and visit the sights together that I've always wanted to see. Poor Briant was working so hard this summer and while we still had fun with him, it was nice to go on a trip with him after he was all done and spend some quality time as a family.

It was only about a five hour drive. New York has beautiful country side.  

It was nice to see NY as something other than NYC.  

But, let me tell you, it takes a long time to cross this bridge....

The rainbow bridge that connects the United States and Canada.

Here is the Country Line.

My first time in East Canada. Don't worry Chantelle, the
French didn't "east" me.

Our first encounter with the American Falls. I barely got
Andrew to look at the camera, he was fascinated.

The American side has rocks at the bottom.
One nice lady selling pictures pointed this out to me and then to
help me remember said, "America ROCKS!"  Well spoken.

Here is the Canadian side.  It is horseshoe shaped.  Over the centuries it has eroded.
A lot.  The upcoming pictures will show you just how much.

Did you know that the river and falls flows South to North.  Something new I learned.

See the horseshoe?

Things always look different up close.

"O, Canada!"

I love how Niagara Falls can count a little as a science lesson.
I found this very interesting. I always loved the Geology part of
Science in school. It seems so fascinating to me!

Somebody was not happy that it was time to get ready for bed.

We decided we had to go on the Maid of the Mist.  I mean, if you've ever watched Jim and Pam's wedding day on The Office, it's a must.  Plus it is just awesome! I didn't take too many pictures with my nice camera(s) because, well it is super MISTY!  We got soaked!

Getting ready to go.

American up close.

You could really only see one side of the horseshoe falls, the
other side was way too misty. So this is the clear half it.
We chose the wrong side of the boat to be
on and Andrew hated all the water in his face.

I never got wet because I used the hood.  It was a memorable experience.

They took a picture of us in front of a green screen, with both of the falls.
It was like $30, so this is my attempt to recreate it. I loved Briant's hair.

We went to the Chocolate World there.  They
had some stuff that isn't sold in America.

There is all kinds of cool stuff by Niagara Falls
in Canada. It's pretty commercialized.  There
were a lot of World records museums there.
And the funniest thing for me was
all the haunted houses we saw!
I guess it's an all year long thing there.

Taken on our way back over the bridge.  We had to declare our Nationality as we
re-entered the US. I was a bit off guard by the guys question. So I mumbled, and
it made me feel so stupid and sound not proud.  I want a redo.
I am an citizen of the United States of a America... home of the brave!

We decided we had a little time to kill.  Lake Ontario was only like an hour and a half away.  So we thought, why not!  

I've seen at least two of these lakes and from what I've seen,
 they do not look like lakes at all! 

We tried out the water and it seemed kind cold, even thought they told us it was like
75 degrees. Andrew seemed apprehensive about playing in the water, and loved
playing in the sand. So I didn't think we would need suits.

I was wrong.  His dad got him to play in the water, and soon
he didn't want to get out!

Little boys just need their dad sometimes.  It was cute to watch them play together,
while I stretched out on the sand and enjoyed the warm sun.

Briant wanted to say he'd swam in Lake Ontario, so he took a dip.

From there we drove to Palmyra.  We ate in the town and planned to see the attractions the next day.  We came upon a parade on Main St. while we were waiting for our dinner.  It was pretty cool.  It had a ton of fire trucks and after a while they started scaring Andrew.  We also saw the Printing shop where the first Book of Mormon's we printed.  I wish I'd gotten a picture.

The next day we started off at Joseph Smiths home when he lived when he received the First Vision.

I was surprised at how little their house was and how little they lived with.

This is the next home Joseph lived in, the Frame Home.  His brother Alvin started building
it.  You can see the first couple beams are perfect and straight.  The guy who finished was
not so careful.  It shows alot about Alvin and the kind of guys he was. 

One of the rooms with original white wash.

The fireplace. Joseph actually hid the gold plates under these bricks at one point.

Their kitchen.... again very modest.

Crazy how little the kitchen actually was.  A table, a stove, and a little sink.

The grove was indeed very peaceful.  I felt God's love for me there.

It was beautiful there.

The flowers by the visitor center were gorgeous!

Then we went to see the Hill Cumorah.  The visitor center had a Christus statue.  We watched a video there too that was very touching.

I think this is my favorite picture from the trip!

Andrew loved "Jesus" and always wanted to be near the statue,
(and climbing on it).  I hope he always wants that in his life.

Cool Stain Glass window.

The Hill Cumorah.  It was the tallest hill all around.
Really neat!

We felt the Spirit there and the Spirit of family.  We know how important families are not only for ourselves but to our Heavenly Father.  The Spirit was so strong in this area, a testimony to me of what truly did happen there.  Personal revelation from God, for each of us is real.  We can pray and receive answer's from him.  They are rarely visions, but that doesn't make the answers he does give us less real.  I'm so grateful for the knowledge of the gospel and to Joseph Smith for all he went through to bring us this knowledge.  Many don't understand who we know Joseph Smith to be.  He was a prophet, called to bring Christ's Gospel and Church back to this dispensation.  We worship Jesus Christ and strive to follow him. I know he is my Savior, my teacher, and my friend. I know that the inhabitants of Ancient America had special experience too and that they intended to share them with us.  Joseph Smith translated their writings into the Book of Mormon, a treasure to us all, containing many precious things that compliment the Bible and enlighten us further in Jesus Christ's true church.    

I think Palmyra was the perfect way to end our trip!