Last week we flew to New York. I had never been to the state of New York and Jonny had been a couple of times but not since he was 15. We flew out of Little Rock Wednesday July 3 and arrived in Buffalo New York late that night. We ended up getting back to Jonny's parents RV, where they are staying for the next couple of months, around 1am. It was a long day and we were all pretty tired.
Thursday July 4, we all slept in. We all got ready for the day and visited our first church history site, the Sacred Grove. Talk about some seriously amazing stuff. I know it might just look like a regular forest/grove of trees to the average person but you start to walk in there and its undeniable the spirit you feel. Although it did rain on us for about 20 minutes of our hour we spent in there, it was still so amazing. We took pictures, discussed church history, bounced where we thought Joseph Smith, our churches first prophet, had the vision, and listened to Jonny's parents tell some pretty incredible stories.
The Sacred Grove was sold to 10 different owners before the church bought it. Time after time, owner after owner, they tried to tear down parts of the Sacred Grove to clear for building. Every time, every owner, had the same response. They all said they would walk into the grove and have this overwhelming feeling that they could not clear the grove. People, not even members of the church couldn't deny the feeling they get when walking in there.
It was such an amazing feeling to be walking on such a sacred ground. I got the chills so many times just thinking about what happened there not too long ago and to someone that was even a younger age then me. Learning about all of this and then visiting the sites has strengthened my testimony drastically.
Also by the Sacred Grove is Joseph Smith's house, log cabin and barn. We were able to go and walk around there. We saw they different places that Joseph hid the plates from the mob, where Moroni came and visited him by his bedside and where his family met for family dinners. I loved listening to all the cool stories the tour guide and Jon and Lynnette told us about. I felt like we were talking about church history pretty much all day. It was amazing. I kind of got a glimpse of what it would be like to be on a mission. I think I really would have loved that but I am also glad what my life is and to have met Jonny and now have this baby on the way.
Friday July 5 was another awesome day. We woke up and did a session at the Palmyra temple. I have never cried so much in a temple before. The spirit was incredibly strong and it was exactly what I needed. I could blame my pregnancy hormones but then I don't know what excuse Jon, Lynnette and Jonny have...I am pretty sure it is just the spirit that we were all feeling. After we got out of the temple, we took pictures. The light wasn't great but we still got a few. We ended up going back to the temple to take pictures 2 other times to get better ones with better light.
This was taken after our session on Friday. Pretty amazing temple. I can't wait to show you the other ones that were taken on our camera. Way better and make the temple look amazing!
Saturday we woke up early and drove to Canada! It was about 3 hours from where we were staying. We went to a place in Ontario called Rockport. It's right on the other side of the border, right along the St. Lawrence River. We had some lunch there in Canada then hopped on a tour boat and took a 3 hour tour. In the St. Lawrence River, there is a place called "The 1000 Islands." There is actually more than just 1000 but that's besides the point. The islands range from big pieces of land to just big enough to have a tree and a bush. Some pieces of land had houses that WAS the island! The edge of the house was on the very edge of the island. The river actually splits halfway down to be an international border between Canada and the US. On our boat tour, we actually saw the smallest international bridge that went from one island in Canada to another small island in the US. The owner owned both islands, one in Canada and one in the US. Pretty funny! Check out the pictures to see all the cool stuff we saw.
Also on that boat tour, we stopped and got let out to walk around a castle that was on one of the islands. This castle was built by a guy who was building it for his wife. He wanted to make the perfect house for him and his children. He started constructing the building many years ago. It was planned to have 127 rooms, 6 stories and a total of 11 other different buildings on the island, including a children's playhouse that was probably bigger than my house right now. The wife died before the castle was even finished. The husband left the island and never returned. For many years, it sat undone and in the mean time got vandalized until someone came and bought it for the purpose of finishing it and making it a tourist place. Slowly over the years, the owner has worked to get the rooms finished. It is not completely done yet but what is done is beautiful.
Monday July 8, we got up super early and drove to Buffalo where our plane would be leaving around 1pm. We wanted to hit up Niagria Falls though before we left for home. We were able to be there for a couple of hours. We took the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride which is the one you go on at the bottom of the falls. It was awesome! We got blue ponchos to wear because at the bottom the mist is so strong that it feel like we were getting poured on!! We got some pretty awesome pictures and I am glad we were able to go to a place that has been on my bucket list! :) yay. Niagria Falls...check! We then drove to the airport and had a safe trip home!
The one with all four of us was right after we got off the boat. It was too hard to get one with all of us on the boat without losing our awesome spots by the side. The one with Jonny and I was taken on Jon's Iphone on the boat at the bottom of Niagria Falls. It was "misting" which pretty much felt like a downpoor of water. Jonny and I couldn't see a thing out of our glasses by the end of the tour.
Once getting back from New York, life has been pretty normal. Got back to work and have still been pretty crazy. Summer time is our busy time because of the weather but I love being busy at work. It makes the day go by so much faster. I would much rather be busy then just sit around at my desk all day doing nothing. We are back in the swing of things for volleyball practice and lessons. It was a good couple week break but it is good to be back. We sure do love it. And we are also trying to finalize the babys room and get everything ready for whenever she decides to come.
Little side note: When we got back from NY, we had so many packages to open. Two of them were for our friends that just moved here from Utah. One of them had the adorable handmade headbands that my sister in law made for me. I am so excited to put them on baby Neeley's little head :) And two of them were filled with these gems. I hope I won't have to use them but hey, if I do, at least I got these for free!
Total weight gain so far: Officially hit 20 pounds at my last doctors appointment last week. I have another appointment in 5 days and then we are into weekly appointments from here on out! I guess this is the best time to be gaining weight because I am supposed to be gaining a pound a week and the babe is supposed to be putting on half a pound a week. That means half of the weight I gain is going straight to her!
How far along are you: 35 weeks
Maternity clothes: Yep. Pretty much living in dresses. They seem to be the coolest and most comfortable.
Sleep: Sleep varies from night to night. I had a night this last week that I was so tired all day but when I laid down to go to bed, I was wide awake. I ended up staying up for another hour hoping I would get tired. But once I fell asleep, man oh man I was out!
Best moment this week: All of the cool stuff I learned and saw in New York. It will truly be a trip I will never forget. I hope I can go back one day and take our children.
Miss anything: Family. Hopefully we will be able to have some come and visit when the babe is born but I know it is not easy nor is it cheap. Still crossing my fingers!
Movement: I feel everything these days. Sometimes I think that she just likes to roll around in circles. I feel her high and low, and sometimes even at the same time. Crazy! It is just amazing to think that a human is living inside of me. God is amazing.
Food cravings: No. And sometimes I have the opposite where I could think of 10 different things to eat and none of them sound good. That's pretty annoying.
Anything making you queasy or sick: No except with the stronger sense of smell, it seems like these days I can smell B.O and smokers from miles away. It's hard not to make it noticable that I am plugging my nose or gasping for air.
Have you started to show yet: Yes. I truly get bigger every day...gaining a pound a week!
Gender: Girl
Belly button in or out: Just flat. Still in though
Labor signs: Nope. I told Jonny that I don't think I can tell when I am having Braxton Hicks or if the baby is just moving so much that she is pushing out all over. I guess if it doesn't hurt then it probably isn't labor signs.
Wedding rings on or off: On. My ankles swelled a little bit in New York. I think with the traveling and the lack of water really gets to you fast. After a few days it got a lot better with excersize and lots of water.
Looking forward to: Our child birthing class this weekend. I am not even sure what it will all consist of but I am just glad to be learning about it all and making it just that much more real. And looking forward to of course meeting our baby girl sometime in the next few weeks!!
Until next week peeps....take care!
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