Niagara Falls

Rant on hotels: Why is it that when you stay in a nicer hotel you have to may for more things.  Let me explain.  When we stayed at the Super 8 we got free breakfast, free Wi-Fi and free parking.  But at the Hilton we paid $20 for parking and $9 for internet...I don't even want to know how much breakfast was here.  We paid $3 for a pint of milk in the lobby and ate cereal.

We only live about 260 miles (for you Californians that tell distance by time, it's about 4 hours) so it was on my "short trip" bucket list for Detroit.  We either didn't have the time or didn't have the money until the end of our stay in Detroit, so we lumped it in with our D.C trip.  It was totally worth it.  We got a two room suite so Autumn had her own place to sleep and we didn't have to hang out in the bathroom like we did the night before. We got to the hotel a little after check-in (why is it that when you pay for a hotel you don't even get to stay 24 hours. So lame.)  We went down to the lobby and into a restaurant for dinner.  The service was ultra lame, had to ask for them to bring out my bread and no refills on my drink.  Then we headed to the indoor pool with a water slide.  I was surprised at how much Autumn really loved the pool since she sCrEaMS when we try to give her a bath.

The next morning we took a good 30 minutes to jump on the bed....then we checked out and headed to look at the falls.

Awesome view of the American falls...

And the Canadian falls.  Glad Evan upgraded us to the 49th floor.  Even if it made me sick to use the elevator for that many floors.

Canadian falls. Evan asked some Canadian patrol if they knew where the scene from Superman II was shot. They had no idea what he was talking about and were pretty sure that it wasn't here. Well, they were wrong. It happens just a little bit to Evan's right in this picture. For those like myself who also didn't know what he was talking about, click here, It is a youtube link to said scene. 

The mist off the falls was pretty intense.

Our little adventurous baby!

Last Stop: Kirtland, Ohio

After visiting the Falls we drove back to the United States.  Autumn fell asleep as soon as we got in the car then woke up 20 minutes later when we got to the customs station.  (Is it me or do I talk a lot about Autumn's naps?  I guess it's kinda a big deal around here).  First stop: Kirtland temple.  It was totally different than I thought it would be.  I didn't realize it was three stories and that the first two levels are almost identical.  I gave Autumn my wallet to play with while on the tour (Why is it that every tour we took we were the only one that brought a kid along?)  My library card and American Express kept her mostly entertained.

 The super large front door

The outside of the Temple.  It looks really tiny from the road, but as you get closer you realize it is deceptively  large.

Then we headed to the LDS visitor's center and got a tour of the some of the things our church owns. Including the Newel K. Whitney Store. (Joesph and Emma Smith lived here for a short time.  The School of the Prophets was established here.  The Word of Wisdom and other sections of the Doctrine and Covenants were revealed to Joseph Smith here.  Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father also appeared in the room Autumn and I are sitting in below.  Also the birthplace of the first Bishop's store house.)

See the thing is...when Autumn is tired she doesn't fall asleep she gets really hyper.  Notice how she isn't wearing any shoes...well that is because she kept tossing them down the stairs.

 The Whitney home.  Emma and Joesph Smith also lived with the Whitney family for a bit in their home, before moving into the store.

 This is the Whitney's ashery.  Where ash was turned into other things, like lye to make soap.  The Whitney's consecrated the ashery to the church.  We also saw the saw mill used to build the Kirtland temple and the Kirland Inn. 

Palmyra

Our first stop in Palmyra, New York was the LDS visitor's center.  It was like any other temple visitor's center.  Then we walked up the steep Hill Cumorah.  Where Joesph Smith received the gold plates from angel Moroni.  I'm glad we didn't try to bring the stroller up the hill.

 The view from the top.

 

Then we made a quick stop at the Palmyra Temple.  It is the only temple to have a clear window.  So that the people inside can have a clear view of the sacred grove.

 Evan and Autumn in front view of the temple.

 Autumn and Amber: Side view of the temple and view of the stain glass that looks like the sacred grove.

 Then off to a tour of Joesph Smith Senior's house.  This is where angel Moroni appeared to Joesph Smith before receiving the gold plates.  It is a bigger home than I thought it would be.

 And the "air space" where angel Moroni appeared to Joesph.

 Then it was time for a nap and the senior missionary wouldn't hurry the heck up.  It felt like the tour was dragging on FOREVER.  The road we are standing on was a functional road until the church asked the city to move the road about 100 yards away so they could give tours to people like me.  To the right is the field Joesph worked in the day after the angel Moroni appeared to him, and when he appeared to Joesph again.  You can see the white "frame house" to the left that Alvin Smith built.

Autumn and Evan in the scared grove.  Evan pointed out to me later that there were lots of birds singing, just like the hymn suggests.  I wish I paid attention to those types of things.  Then sweet Autumn fell asleep on my shoulder as we walked out to the car.  Thank goodness, because she was in such a better mood for our last stop...The publication site of the first edition of The Book of Mormon.

This was my favorite stop.  The sister missionary was bothered by Autumn's energy.  She taught us a lot.  She was from the Netherlands.  Cool huh?  This is Evan "binding" a book.

Gettsysburg

On our long way home we stopped in Gettysburg, PA.  We checked out the visitor's center...

And the cemetery where President Abraham gave his famous speech, The Gettysburg Address, "Four score and seven years ago".

I promise I was there too, but I look like a bigger dork than Autumn in the pictures, so I omitted them.

Wooden Anniversary

Evan and I celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary while in Washington D.C.  We went to the Cheesecake Factory.  We had the best waitress.  She was a decent photographer too.

Oh yah, Autumn came too.  I think she looks like a total business woman here.  Our neighbor so kindly let us borrow Autumn's favorite toy for the trip.  Autumn loves to play with it when we visit their house.  Also this is what happens when I packed everyone's bags for the trip...We all end up with greenish stripped shirts.  Haha whoops.

End of DC

The last day we took a tour of the capitol building.  They made me throw away my aerosol sunscreen.  What happened to my freedoms?  We accidently got in line with a bunch of 8th graders.  Bad move.  They were just fine.  But the tour guide was trying to get them involved instead of teaching us about the capitol so it was a little lame.  BUT we got these cool head sets.

bunch of statues...basically that is all our tour guide talked about.  There are two from each state.  Sometimes they switch them out.

 

 Then we walked in the super cool underground tunnel to the Library of Congress.  Lots of people have told me this is there favorite thing in D.C.  Really?  Why?  There is nothing to see there, except a cool lobby that looks like a entrance to a nice Hotel you'd see on TV, but never could afford to visit.  Maybe they let you see more things on the tour, but we didn't take the time since my parents had to catch a flight.

I love this picture.  Autumn is so sad to see them go.

Arlington National Cemetery

Sunday after church the Bakers drove home.  Then Mark and Gail took us and my parents to Arlington National Cemetery.  That place is HUGE!

I love the picture above.  Autumn likes to wear hats.  She often reminds me to put her sun hat on her when we go out for walks.  I bought a new hat especially for this trip, but she kept trading hats with Evan.  I think Evan looks like Mrs. Nesbit from Toy Story in Autumn's hat.

unfortunately she did a lot of this...

Oh Autumn has so much energy.

The founder of baseball

President Kennedy and Jakie O.'s graves.

The Tomb of the Unknown Solider.