Trip to Independence

Engineer Alan

He loved this engine at Union Station

Far West, MO

Liberty Jail -- notice the thickness of the walls. Sorry you can't see the

darkness, dampness and coldness of the dungeon.

Christus -- at LDS Visitors' Center in Independence

Burning Bush -- hanging layers of fabric
(Community of Christ Temple)

Tree of Life -- all made of metals

(Community of Christ Temple)

Monday morning Alan and I decided to throw some things in a suitcase and go to Independence, MO. It was literally throwing things in too, as he had a piano to tune and we had to be out of the house by 9:00. What a week to go somewhere! We must have picked the hottest week of the year, as it was in the upper 90's with heat indexes of 106-108 degrees. Luckily we have working air conditioning in the truck and we stayed in a hotel with an indoor pool. We used it too! Sorry, no pictures of us in our swimming suits. My photos aren't the best but it sure is an interesting place to visit. We went to the LDS Visitors' Center. There's a lot to see there. They are now showing the new Joseph Smith video - the same one they show at Nauvoo. It's great! For the first time we went across the street and went inside the Community of Christ Temple. It was interesting. There is some nice art work there. We went again to Liberty Jail and then drove up to Far West. It was getting late so we didn't make it to Adam-ondi-Ahman. On our last day, we went to Union Station in Kansas City. As you probably all know, Alan loves trains. His mom grew up in Kansas City too so this is the station that they used when going somewhere on the train. His mom left for Massachusetts from this station when she was going there to get married.

Sierra's Dance Recital

On Thursday, June 11 I drove over to Edwardsville to attend Sierra's dance recital. I met Laura and we went together. It lasted a long time (almost three hours), but it was oh, so good. Sierra really knew her moves and did a great job! We were very proud of her. She looked so cute in her dance costume too, with her hair all curled up and pulled back with a flowery headband. I took some photos and have attached a couple. I also took some movies with the camcorder. We can look at those when everybody comes down for Drew's blessing. Congratulations, Sierra, on a job well done.

Drew stayed awake to see Grandma

I went up to stay at Karen and Michael's on Wed. of last week and stayed through Sunday early evening. It was fun to actually spend some time with both Karen and Andrew. Michael was working most of the time, so I barely saw him. I hope he gets a chance to sleep sometime. Speaking of sleep, I don't think Karen or Andrew either one got much sleep. Karen said that he had been sleeping really well, but when I arrived he decided to stay awake a lot. I figure he just wanted to spend time with Grandma; I'm not sure that explains staying awake at night when I wasn't there though. I spent the nights at David and Wanda's (Alan's brother who lives only about a mile from Karen) Thank you David and Wanda for the use of your home. Andrew may have been awake a lot, but I must say he is a very sweet spirited child. He was so much fun to hold and talk to. He's a very good listener. As I said, I stayed through church on Sunday. It was nice to meet some of the Jacobs family's friends. I ended up even knowing a couple of them myself. Strangely while I was staying in Dave & Wanda's house and attending church in their ward, they attended our branch on Sunday and came to our house for dinner afterward.

Ok, here's the rundown on the photos I am attaching:

Grandma and Andrew

Mommy and Andrew - doesn't she look good?

Andrew in his Hippo hat

Doctor's visit - He really didn't like the cold stethoscope

Michael and Andrew dressed up for church

Drew is Here!

Well, it was a long wait, but Andrew Wyatt Jacobs is finally here. Then you had to wait for me to get around to posting it. Andrew was due on May 22, but for some reason he chose to wait for a later date. Karen was induced on June 1, but it was 3:36 A.M. on June 2 before he made his appearance. We were afraid that Karen might have to have a C-section for awhile, since things were going slowly and Drew's heart rate was slowing at times. Then finally it all sped up and here he came. Most of you have already read Karen's, Jeanette's, and Amy's blogs so you have seen their pictures of Drew. It won't hurt anyone to see them again, so here you are. As you can see, he is gorgeous. These pictures were taken on the day of his birth. Karen says that he is even cuter now (six days later) I will be going up in a couple of days to stay a little while. Michael is working hard, long hours so Karen may need a little help.