Palmyra

We went to Palmyra last weekend, and it was awesome. It was made doubly awesome that our great friends, the Wilkes were our tour guides. They went to school at Cornell and know the area extremely well. That rhymed. I think I'll ring a bell. Oops, I fell.

First of all, anyone who travels with me deserves an award. I get carsick going to the grocery store. My ill-faring tummy plus my allergy problems this year meant I was even less fun than usual (and I go to bed at 9 when I'm feeling fun), but everyone put up with me. We have great friends.

We drove Friday until late, checking into the Palmyra Inn. We watched the Royal Wedding as we lazed about Saturday morning.

June was glued to it. She loves weddings and also provided great commentary.

June: Mom, I hope you come to my wedding, so you can see which boy I get.

And then, upon seeing the duke and duchess join hands as the ceremony began, June asked, "Who are THEY?" I told her, and she said, "Oh, I thought we were watching this because it was Jesus's wedding."

In a very fitting turn of events, Dan and I left the royal wedding to attend the Palmyra temple.

We were able to do some initiatories and some sealings, and it was a very sweet to watch a wedding and then remember the covenants we have made to each other and to Heavenly Father.

And we witnessed a miracle.

Dan has had the same white pants for the temple since he was 19. But he hasn't worn them the past few years because . . .  well we aren't 19. Luckily, I have a flowy dress that has been flexible through 3 pregnancies and everything in between but Dan doesn't have that option. So he usually rents pants from the temple.

But Palmyra doesn't have a clothing rental.

We discovered this too late, and I was worried he wouldn't be able to participate with me. But lo and behold, his pants fit for one day. We termed it the Miracle of the Waistline.

After the temple, we met up with everyone else and went to the Grandin Printing Press.

We went to Chill 'N Grill for lunch and hit up a bunch of other sites.

Martin Harris farm:

Hill Cumorah Visitors' Center:

Hill Cumorah Statue:

I don't have pictures of the Smith farm and Sacred Grove, which is a shame because they were the best part.

Dan had a crucial testimony-building moment at the Sacred Grove when he was still in high school. It means a lot to him. Unfortunately, he didn't have a second to himself in the grove, but he was able to have a teaching moment with June.

You see, June was extremely disappointed when we walked through the grove and the Savior was nowhere to be found. Try as we might, we explained to her repeatedly that He wouldn't be there, and yet she was disappointed. I was ready to brush it off, and keep moving but Dan decided to take the opportunity to talk with her. So they sat and talked a long time, and Dan told her about what the Holy Ghost feels like and how we receive answers to our prayers. And then that sweet 6 year old girl asked if she could go pray by herself. And she did. Dan said she was gone for about 5 minutes, and he could hear her talking but not what she was saying. Upon her reappearance, Dan asked her how it went. She said that she asked Heavenly Father if the Church was the right one to go to and that she felt okay about it. She also told Dan that she prayed to know who she should marry (????) but that she didn't know yet.

No more royal weddings for her! I can't handle that conversation happening for a loooooooooooong time.

Sunday, we went to the Whitmer farm, and I wept through a short video they had about small things bringing great things to pass. I cried because motherhood is made up of soooo many small things. And it was a sweet reminder that I'm working toward something great for these kids.

And then the Wilkes went on to Harmony, and the Jolleys pooped out and went home. Our kids were in rare form by this time, and we took them home and put them to bed.

It was the best weekend, and I can't wait to go back.

The End.