Vacation--Part 2:Niagra Falls

After our day in Kirtland, we were on our way to our next scheduled stop in Palmyra. Upon further inspection of the GPS, Josh realized that we were SO "close" to Niagra Falls, so we had to go. This is Josh. He is willing and quite enjoys a bit of spontaneity, as do I in controlled settings, but being on the road with two volatile boys in the back seat does not count as controlled for me. However, in the spirit of true road-tripping, and held back my initial reaction to scream "NO! think of all the things that could go wrong" and simply said, "OK".

Things were going along fine until we realized that we weren't sure exactly what exit to get off of to reach the falls, and then things started getting a little stickier when we saw a sign that said 3 miles to the Canadian border. With this sign came 3 miles worth of traffic that was sitting at a complete stand still. Here is something I learned: if you are really trying to catch the spirit of a road trip, then it is important that your posture and sounds remain in sync with such spirit. Here is an example of what not to do: Upon seeing that you are 3 miles from entering a new country that you do not want to be in, and never wanted to even be in this situation in the first place, do not angle your body away from the "spontaneous" person who the idea in the first place, while crossing your arms, and letting out a sigh. This is to be interpreted as a "bad attitude", thus resulting in a sour mood for all parties.

After my quick realization, I was sure to praise Josh for his great idea of taking us to the falls after we got there. They really were amazing, and completely worth the extra time and effort.

next stop, Palmyra.

The Vacation--part 1

We have been home for a few days now, and I've been too intimidated by all of the pictures we took on vacation to blog. Baby steps.

When Josh and I were planning this vacation I was skeptical to say the least that it would be 1) any fun and 2) that it would actually happen. We were, after all, taking our kids who, since birth, have been notoriously crappy car riders. It didn't seem like the recipe for fond, family memories, but I can now say with more certainty than ever before, that miracles do happen. It can be added to the list right after "with few loaves the multitudes were fed"..."the Brown boys were incredibly well behaved in the car---the WHOLE time!"

Those teeny tiny people are us, sitting on the steps of the Kirtland Temple

This is how Isaac and Will passed the time waiting for Josh to get out of his temple tour. We realized very quickly that although the boys were shockingly good in the car, they really were still themselves, and the historic tours offered for these sites did little to hold their attention. If we (meaning Josh and myself) wanted to get anything out of this trip, we would have to do the touring solo--so we did.

We first went to the sites that our church owns and operates, and then to the tour of the temple that is owned by the Community of Christ Church (formerly known as RLDS). It was a bizarre feeling to be in the building where so many miraculous things happened at it's dedication, just to feel like it is really only a shell of itself now. It was a little sad for me.

Picture of us at the visitor's center

Newel K. Whitney store.

More to come!

Day 1 Eve

We just returned from a vacation that I swore that I would never do with kids, especially my kids--but, 9 days, 9 states, 2600 miles, $100 in tolls, and 2 birthdays later, we are back! Interestingly enough, it was an awesome time.

As most of you know, Josh and I have had a 1990 4-Runner since we have been married. It has been good to us, and although old, we both really liked it. The kids were attached, so much so, that at the mere mention of possibly getting a different car, it sent both of them into hysterics. The only way we could convince Will that maybe a new car wouldn't be the end of the world was when we told him that a new car could go faster and pass other cars on the road better than the 4-Runner did. So, on a whim (quite literally) and thanks to Cash-4-Clunkers we traded in our 4-Runner and got our brand new car.

We sealed the deal on the car purchase the day before we left on our road trip. I think that it made a big difference in how comfortable the driving portion was.

On behalf of the whole family, though, we bid our beloved 4-Runner adieu. You were a special car, in fact, maybe even one of a kind. We bought you 7 years ago for $4200 and traded you in for $4700. That just doesn't happen. You will be missed.