NY Trip - Baptism, Palmyra and Cousins!

Whew what a trip! We are so glad to be home but at the same time so sad to not be in New York anymore! We had such a fun time and did too much! I have 430 pictures to show for it all so be warned!

The girls did a great job on all the flights. My parents went out with me and that helped A LOT! My dad pretty much held Mabel the whole way and it was so nice! I really appreciated every one's advice for traveling. It was all great. The thing that was absolutely indispensable was the DVD Player. I think next time I will definitely pick up a headphone splitter and better headphones but the one pair of skull candy we had worked ok.

They really were great and there wasn't too much complaining. The only thing I wouldn't recommend is sitting on the runway for 1 1/2 hours in Chicago while waiting for a thunderstorm to pass. Apparently kids aren't too fond of that. I can't say that I was either! They announced that the cockpit was open and that people could come and take pictures if they wanted. Luckily my kids didn't know that was because they don't know what they missed out on! There was no way I was going to haul all 3 of them up there though. Looking back it would have been fun to have a picture of that but at the same time, it was not a moment I want to remember! Luckily they fell asleep after about an hour of being on the runway and pretty much slept the entire flight home. It did however put us into Salt Lake around 11:15 which made for a very late night getting home! Doug's used to getting home at that hour during tax season but I wasn't! Especially when I had been acclimated to the eastern time zone! Oh well. We made it and that's all that mattered. If I could have picked the flight to have that happen on it would have been that one. Everyone around me was super nice and understanding though so that helped. It also helped to have my stroller and car seat at the gate! I wouldn't recommend having it for a layover though. I didn't and didn't miss it. Just check it all the way through. Here's my other suggestion. I was super paranoid about the airplane trays and totally brought Lysol wipes to wipe down everything before my kids touched everything. While we were on our trip though, my SIL introduced me to these and they are amazing! If you haven't seen these yet I highly recommend them. I used them on they way home right on top of the airplane trays and they were perfect! They would also be great for a restaurant or anther time when you're paranoid about germs or your kid making a mess. The cleanup is great! I got some at BJ's (same thing as Sam's or Costco) but I'm sure you can get them elsewhere. Awesome! Thanks again for the recommendation Hiromi (who was introduced to them by Kim - another awesome SIL!)

Now onto the pictures! Here are the girls getting ready to take off! Sophia really was more excited than she looks! Here's Mabes with her best travel companion! I seriously considered paying him to fly back out to come home with us!

We finally made it and it was time for some cousin time! Here they are in their pillowcase dresses before church. I was so glad they all fit! I love my sister's house! She has the best neighborhood and her house has so much character. I kept telling her that it totally reminded me of the Leave it to Beaver neighborhood. I loved it! She has this awesome front bay window that made for some excellent photo ops.

Bruce was lucky enough to make it in a shot too! Poor guy had to put up with these 5 girls! He was a good sport about it and loved playing with Mabel. Sophia also informed me that she is in love with Bruce. I think it's still legal in some states so it's ok. JK! The day after we got there my sweet and BEAUTIFUL niece Jane got baptized. Here she is with Sophs before getting ready to go to the church.

Here are the twins. Everyone seriously kept mistaking them for each other. They're only about 5 months apart and were too similar in so many areas. At one point I was downstairs and had a complete conversation with Kate upstairs. Halfway through the conversation I realized she wasn't Lilly and she realized I wasn't her mom! It was hilarious!

Here's my cute sister and her cute family before the baptism.

And here's the group after. I was so impressed with my sister. I know it's not a huge surprise but she's the RS pres in their ward and it was obvious how much of an effect she has on her ward there. They got an amazing turnout! Jane was the only one getting baptized and they had to use the chapel because everyone wouldn't fit in the RS room. They also had 5 non-member families from school and their neighborhood there. My mom and Jane's grandma Damstedt both spoke and they both did a great job. She had cookies and yummy treats in the gym after and it was packed. I told Jane to look around and see how many people love her! It really was obvious how much her family is loved and how much of an influence they're having on the people around them there!

Sophia with the beautiful baptism girl. Luckily it was a beautiful day just for Jane and her baptism. This was seriously the only nice day we had there. It rained, snowed and was freezing the rest of the time. Jane was definitely blessed! Afterward we headed back to their house for New York pizza and Buffalo wings (we were in Buffalo, NY after all!) and lots of this. There was plenty of this the whole trip. They have the best back yard!

The next day was Sunday which made it a great day to head to Palmyra! These two cuties were a little tuckered out on the way there.

Our first stop was to Hill Cummorah. Sophia managed to injure herself on the hike up to the top which made her very happy to pose for this picture.

The last time we were here was the week before the pageant and so it was a little crazy. It was nice to see it without all the set decor and everything.

Here's our Bohemian child making her way to the top.

After that we went to the Palmyra temple. What a gorgeous place! I loved the stained glass of the First Vision. So beautiful!

Apparently this is the only temple in the entire world that has a clear window to the outside (I think it's the one in the middle). I guess when Pres. Hinckley came to see the progress of the temple he asked why you couldn't see the Sacred Grove from the temple. Because of that this window was added (and a few trees were cut down that were blocking the view) and now you can see the Sacred Grove from the temple and vice-versa. Kind of neat. I was pretty sure that I took a picture of the grove from this view but I can't find it! Oh well. You get the idea.

After a quick stop at the temple we headed to the Sacred Grove. It was so beautiful and peaceful. We did make an interesting observation though. We realized that the First Vision took place around this same time of the year (early in the spring). I looked around it's not as luscious as a lot of pictures of the First Vision make it appear. It was still beautiful but definitely not as green. Interesting.

Me and Lilly in front of the Smith's Frame Home. She was really happy to be there.

Here's a view of the temple from the Grove. I still can't believe I don't have one take from the other direction. Oh well. Liza and cute kids in front of the Smith's Log Home.

Beautiful flowers on the temple grounds.

We didn't go in but we did drive by the Grandin Print Shop. It was closed so I'll have to do a tour next time!

This is a really bad picture but this is a shot of the four different churches at the same intersection. You can kind of see three of them.

And that's it for the first few days of our trip! I'll be sure to post more later! (after I do more laundry!)