Easter Sunday

After the continued driving, this was the fist opportunity to have an easter egg hunt.  Look, Luke found one!

Brandt is ready to go hunting.

Rex was on his way to get more.

Even Spencer is still getting in the spirit of it all.

Zachary sure had fun.

Brandt found another one....run little boy!

Thanks Rebecca and CW for hosting our family on Easter Sunday and Spring Break.

Liberty, Farr West, Hans Mill, and Adam Ondi Ahman

Next on our list was Liberty Jail.

This was the original key.  We thought that was neat that they were able to get a hold of that.

This was a replica of the original one built only a few feet from this one.   Take note of the thick walls.  approximately 5-6 feet wide.

The boys with their cousin Levi infront of the front door to the jail.

Joseph Smith and four others spent several months in the jail.  It was humbling to see the circumstances they lived in for so long.  The ceiling below is only about 5 feet tall. 

This is at Independence. This is a picture of the temple built on top of the original site of the LDS temple.  This land and temple are owned by the Community of Christ. 

One of the rooms of the museum had a before and after of Independence.  If you look closely in the distance of the middle of the picture, there are still stones where the early temple was.  Picture was taken in early 1900s.

This is a picture of after to be compared with the one above.  You can see where the old temple was and where now the Community of Christ temple stands.

Our beautiful family in front of the Christus at the Independence visitor center.

Outside of the visitor's center at Independence. 

Original corner stone which was laid for the building of the temple at Farr West. 

Farr West site of where the temple was to be built.

We almost made it to the Hans Mill, until we ran into this stretch of road.  We almost got stuck in the road where we were, so we decided not to push our luck.

Our family standing in Adam Ondi Ahman.

This little area was where Joseph Smith said stood an ancient Nephite Structure.

Pictures of the fields through the trees at Adam Ondi Ahman.  I'm sure during the summar the green is amazing.

A picture of another area within Adam Ondi Ahman.

Visiting Wells at Ft. Leavenworth

Thanks to the Wells for hosting our reunion at their house at Ft. Leavenworth.  It was great to see the Kratts, Lokodis and the Wells.

These two acted like they were already married before we left for the evening. 

The boys all had someone to play with and spent a long time playing outside. 

They wore themselves out after all that playing. 

Kanesville Tabernacle and Mormon Battalion

Next stop on our list was the Kanesville Tabernacle in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Not talked about a lot, but a very special place.

This is where Brigham Young was called and sustained to be the next President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Mormon Battalion also left from this point.  We even found relatives of ours that served in the Mormon Battalion. 

I love the face on this missionary's face.  He's showing Zach how they used the weapons and this wire whip. 

This was the inside of the tabernacle.  This is only a replica of the original one, because the original one sat about two blocks away where now a Catholic church is built over top of it. 

Little did we know, the base we stayed on for the night was the same base where the Mormon Battalion came to train before they left.  (Ft. Leavenworth)

Winter Quarters

Most important - Brunch to start our trip off.  When you are in unfamiliar places, be prepared to have a picnic!

Can you imagine our family taking the place of this family pulling this handcart?

Thanks Mom!  for the creative "Passports" which helped us find all the interesting sites.

Just a touch of home.  Julia Ann Shumway was my Great Great Gandfather's (Charles Shumway) first wife who died and was buried in Winter Quarters along with their daughter Harriet.

The statue overlooking their child which they have just buried.  There were approx. 300 buried in this cemetary of which most were children. 

The stain glass windows on the Winter Quarter's temple were amazing!

We're grateful to be striving to be an eternal family!

We felt so lucky and blessed to be at the same place as our good friends the Barnharts!  We were so glad it worked out for us to meet up on this one day. 

The boys were able to dress up like pioneers. 

The sister missionaries were wonderful and kept the kids attention so well during the visitor center tour.

If you look close you can see an odometer behind the big wagon wheel, this is how they kept track of how far they had travelled. 

Just by placing one little rock under the wheel of the wagon, it became very difficult to pull the wagon.