Trip to Kansas City

The weather was so nice the other day that we suddenly decided to just go somewhere.  Kansas City sounded good even though it takes about four hours to drive there and it was almost 3:00 P.M. when we thought of it.  It took us an hour to put ourselves together and then off we went.  It's kind of fun to be spontaneous.  We actually stayed in Independence.  Our first stop since it was close-by was the Truman Museum.  It was interesting to see all the things that were going on during his terms of office.  I didn't get my camera's batteries recharged before we left and the one I had with me went dead in the museum so I didn't get many pictures.  There was a copy of the Liberty Bell outside so I took a picture of Alan with that.

This is a view of one end of the Oval Office while Truman was in office.  They had created everything back the way it was then.  They said that each president decorates it the way they like it.  Notice the old TV in the far right of the picture.  It was the only TV in the White House at the time.

Here we are overlooking the valley at Adam-ondi-Ahman.  The actual Adam-ondi-Ahman is at Spring Hill which was very close to this location.  We went there and of course my other battery went dead before we could get a picture of the valley from there.  Yes, I did charge my battery that evening.

Today we dressed up and went to the Kansas City Temple.  It was kind of the highlight of our trip.

Here it is from the front.  There is a very nice fountain just beyond the green grass you can see here, but the fountain doesn't show up very well in this picture.

This picture was snapped as we were driving so it's not laid out very well, but it does show what the temple looks like from the side.

Here's a side shot of their fountain.  I really should have taken one from the front where the water waterfalls down.  Very nice.

When we went outside there was a man putting gold leaf onto the stone that said "Erected 2012".  Alan asked him if I could do a little of it while he took my picture and he said "Yes."  So when you attend your temple next time, Karen, check out the capital E in Erected.  A little of the gold leaf was added by your mom.  The guy said that each letter takes about three hours to complete so I guess I added very little.

My ring finger ended up with gold on it.  Too bad it didn't last longer.

Our last stop before starting home was the Visitor's Center in Independence.  The Christus statue is the first thing you see when you enter.

Now we are back home again.  That's a pretty good thing too.

Peacock

 I'm not sure exactly where he will look best, but he is certainly a pretty bird.

Laura got him for me for Mother's Day.  Our lawn has really suffered lately.  We haven't taken very good care of it plus there hasn't been any rain for a while so our "grass" has dried out and turned brown.

 

Here he is.

 

Sawyer's Blessing

July 7 was the date for Sawyer's blessing at church.  Most of the family was able to travel to their ward to attend it.  It was a very memorable meeting; I think we all felt the Spirit during the blessing.  It was fun to get together afterward for lunch and time to visit.  Jeanette and Jason have a nice fenced-in yard so the little ones were able to go outside and play together part of the time.  The men mostly crashed after eating.  I must say that I felt like doing the same.  It was fun to have a lot of the grandchildren in one place.

This one was actually taken on July 4th but I didn't get around to posting until now.

This is  so cute.

Is this not an adorable child?  I love his new haircut too.

When did this child grow into an adult?  Time goes so fast.

The babies look so shocked to have the camera flashing in their faces.

Sierra loved posing with her daddy.

I got Daniel & Dominic's individual pictures from this one.  They all look good together.  Laura had a toothache.  How can she look so good anyway?