Palmyra

We slept in until almost 10:00 this morning. It was nice. The kids got to swim for a couple hours.
Hayden hung out on the stairs the whole time as happy as can be.
Then we went to Palmyra for the day. We visited the Smith Family home. This is the log home that Joseph Sr. and Lucy Mack and their 8 kids lived in when Joseph Jr. was 14. This particular structure was recreated on the original foundation. A view of the log home from the outside.Here's the kitchen area. On the table is a period Bible (but not the Smith's) open to James 1:5.We were lucky enough to be able to go upstairs. I guess they don't do it often. Behind McKinley and Hayden is the room where the girls slept. And the room the kids are standing in is the boys room, where Joseph would have been visited by Angel Moroni. Hayden walking along the road on the Smith Farm. It was a beautiful piece of land. You can't tell from the picture because I made him smile, but he was complaining the whole walk down about how tired his legs were and how much he hurt! (Miraculously though his legs heal when he wants to run around later)
On the road to the other Smith home (the Frame home) you can see the Palmyra temple. On one side you see the temple, and on the other side you can view the sacred grove.Here's the frame house that the family moved to after the log home. It was here in these original bricks of the hearth of the fireplace that Joseph pulled up the bricks and hid the gold plates. In this home he also hid them in his sister's bed one night, and out in the barn he hid them in a glass box but then was inspired to move them, which he did, under some flax.Down the pathway from the homes is the sacred grove. It was just something special.

At one point while we sat on one of the benches Kent pulled out his phone and read the Joseph Smith History account of the first vision and Moroni's visit to Joseph. It was a good family experience. I hope the kids remember something about it someday.

And here a couple missionary offered to take a family picture. P.S. I am pregnant, not just fat.

After the grove we stopped by the Palmyra temple.

I liked the stained glass windows with the sacred grove depicted in them. And there was a nice vantage point overlooking the Sacred Grove on the Smith Farm.After dinner at Burger King we headed over to the Hill Cumorah pageant.

Here is the Hill Cumorah, with the stage all set up for the pageant.
While we waited the 2 hours for it to start the boys played transformers on the grass. It was the highlight of their day.

The characters walk around before the pageant to greet guests and do missionary work.

We were "missionaried" quite a few times, and were grateful when the pageant started.

The kids liked the pageant and paid attention the whole time. The boys kept asking questions throughout, which was a great teaching opportunity. They had a hard time distinguishing the real people from the characters. I don't know how many times Hayden asked if someone had just died "for real"?

It was a fun time. On Sunday we woke up and drove the 6 hours back home. Our next vacation isn't until August, so until then we will get back to real life and rest up.