After packing out of the CT house, I picked Jonathan up from the airport at 11pm and crashed at a friend's house. (Thank you Madsen's!) Early the next morning we loaded the troops into the car for the long 20 hour drive to Iowa. We only lasted about 20 minutes before the girls in the back were fighting so horribly that we stopped the car and rearranged luggage so that there was a huge suitcase separating them. This picture was taken the next day when they were along well enough to only need a small suitcase as a divider between them.
The first day we stopped by Palmyra and climbed the Hill Cumorah. Wow. It's steep. And beautiful with the fall colors. It was also very peaceful there.
Then we went over to the Smith farm. We stood in this little cabin with no kitchen, no bathrooms, no family room. It was just a hearth, a table, two chairs, 2 bedrooms and a loft. With just our little family, I felt claustrophobic. I couldn't even imagine what it must have been like for them to have 10 in such a small space. I felt spoiled knowing that I was moving into a house with 2 kitchens and 4 bathrooms. We also went to the Sacred Grove, but it was so cold we didn't linger and the girls were having so much fun kicking up leaves that it was hard to feel peaceful when all you can hear is the crunching of leaves. So many people have talked about how they gained their testimony of the First Vision while there, but they must not have had 4 cold, hungry, and hyper kids with them at the time.
The next day we had planned to go to a Museum, but we stopped first at McDonald's for lunch and the kids were having such fun there, that we decided to forgo the museum and just let them play. That night we stayed in a hotel with a pool and the girls had a blast in it.
Our last day of travel was the shortest, but it felt the longest. The highlight of the trip for me was when Jonathan announced that we had passed into Indiana. After looking around for a few minutes Miriam asked, "but where are the Indians?" We finally arrived at the new house.
With limited stuff until the shipment arrived we ate on paper goods and cold cereal.
The kids love the barn and all the hay and straw and tormenting,... I mean, playing with the cats.
The other advantage of the new place is the nieghbor and their horses and cats the kids can see and play with.
After all the driving the kids had plenty of energy to get out.
Here is our new kitchen.
We have a lot of newspaper from packing. It makes great drawing paper for those extra large pieces of art.
We took the kids to a park and got some pictures of the family.
There was a skateboarding area associated with the park. I don't think our kids know what skate boards are, but they sure had fun trying to climb up the slick surfaces and then slide down.
Here is the whole family.
Grandma and Grandpa Fox were able to stop by our new home for a night on their way to the MTC in Utah so we celebrated Miriam's birthday a few days early so they could be there for it. Isabelle helped fix up Miriam's hair for the night.
All our neighbors are well spread out with loooo-oooong driveways, so we went into town to go trick or treating. It was pretty cold, so we didn't stay out long.
For Jonathan's Birthday a week later, we invited some friends over for cake. It was a great time.
With limited stuff until the shipment arrived we ate on paper goods and cold cereal.
The kids love the barn and all the hay and straw and tormenting,... I mean, playing with the cats.
The other advantage of the new place is the nieghbor and their horses and cats the kids can see and play with.
After all the driving the kids had plenty of energy to get out.
Here is our new kitchen.
We have a lot of newspaper from packing. It makes great drawing paper for those extra large pieces of art.
We took the kids to a park and got some pictures of the family.
There was a skateboarding area associated with the park. I don't think our kids know what skate boards are, but they sure had fun trying to climb up the slick surfaces and then slide down.
Here is the whole family.
Grandma and Grandpa Fox were able to stop by our new home for a night on their way to the MTC in Utah so we celebrated Miriam's birthday a few days early so they could be there for it. Isabelle helped fix up Miriam's hair for the night.
All our neighbors are well spread out with loooo-oooong driveways, so we went into town to go trick or treating. It was pretty cold, so we didn't stay out long.For Jonathan's Birthday a week later, we invited some friends over for cake. It was a great time.
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We then headed over to the rides where the kids each chose one. I thought their choices reflected their personalities quite well. David chose the cars that go around in a circle. He was so excited to get to "drive" a car. Miriam chose the merry-go-round with the "pretty music" and "the horses that went up-and-down". Isabelle chose the obstacle course and she raced against another kid to see who could get through it the fastest. She has always been my competitive child.
