Palmyra, New York Trip

We just got back from a trip to upstate New York. We have wanted to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant for a long time, but it’s never worked out- we’ve been out of town, or busy, etc. This year we finally made it. We finished packing and took off Saturday morning. It’s a pretty long drive, but we usually enjoy road trips together. I love having time to visit with Jeff and the boys do surprisingly well- we didn’t even use the DVD player this time. Another thing great about this drive was that we found out that all three car seats will fit (snug but not crunched) into the back of our new Jetta. We were thrilled, especially getting 30 miles per gallon on the trip! The trip up went pretty well, even though we did make some wrong turns- some of the road systems in northern PA are horrible when it comes to labeling! The only real incident during the drive up was Matthew’s major blow-out. I couldn’t figure out why he was so grumpy and wouldn’t sleep. I figured it out pretty soon though, and boy was he a happy little camper when I got him out and changed his diaper. He fell asleep within 5 minutes after he was back in his seat. His poor shorts didn’t fare as well and spent the remainder of the trip in a plastic bag. We made it up to the Palmyra area around 6:00 and stopped for some dinner. It was amusing to see all the little signs posted at the stores as we entered the town, (Welcome LDS!) I wonder if the people in Palmyra really like the LDS people who come sight-seeing because they spend money & help local business, or dislike them because there’s a big crowd of people and a suspiciously high number of suburbans and 13 passenger vans with out-of-state plates. Again we got a little turned around, but eventually made it to the Palmyra Temple, the Sacred Grove, and Smith Farm. Jeff and I had been there before, but it was the first time we’ve taken our boys with us. We first made a stop at the printing press in Palmyra where we got to take a small tour. It was great- I only wish Caleb would have been as good. He found it amusing to jump, dance, and run on the hardwood floors. It sounded cool, but didn’t add much to the tour presentation. Actually given how long they’d been in the car, they were all pretty good boys! From the printing press we drove by the Palmyra Temple and stopped at the Sacred Grove and Smith Farm. It’s such a beautiful, peaceful place. I love how green and pretty everything is. We were able to walk through the Sacred Grove and had such a neat experience with our boys. They really enjoyed it and I’m sure they could feel the special spirit that was there. They really enjoyed the farm as well- it’s so fun to see the log cabin and frame home. Matthew was a sweetie and loved being with everyone- we also found out that he has quite the love for flowers- that is, he thinks they’re tasty. When we put him down on the grass to play (a much needed break for him) he took the opportunity to munch on the local plants. (I sure didn’t encourage it, but figured clover was probably okay- at least while we got a couple pictures) By the time we finished up at the farm it was time to head over to the Hill Cumorah for the pageant. When we got there it was easy to see there were Tons of people!(They have seating for 9,000 people) We pulled in and they told us there was no parking, but to go to the huge overflow parking down the street. As we were pulling in to turn around, we found one little parking spot someone had left right at the front, Score! So we gathered our things and made it over to the seating area. Once again we had another incident. I went back to get some water from the car and while I was gone, Caleb decided to take a little walk. When I got back I asked Jeff were he was, and he didn’t know. So a little worried, I start to go look for him (in our crowd of about 7,000 people) I know it was a huge blessing that one of the ushers was walking our way with Caleb in hand just as I was heading up that way. I’m still not sure exactly where he went, but I’m grateful we got him right then! He told me he had wanted to go for a walk. He got a little talking to after that!

(Love Caleb's face in this one..)

We eventually got settled in and the pageant started. It was so neat to see. Everything was fantastic. I wondered if the boys would be attentive during the entire thing, especially since it started at 9:15pm, but they were great. They were quiet and watched the entire thing, Matthew watched for about 15 minutes then fell asleep and slept the whole time. It was so neat to watch with the boys and talk to them about what was happening- I especially loved it when they already knew what was happening and were telling us. My favorite part of course was when the Savior appears to the Nephites in America. It was a wonderfully touching scene. The whole pageant was wonderful though, and I’m so glad we had the chance to go. (Actually I asked Jacob what his favorite part was and he told me it was when the people were fighting…great.) Okay, that’s the type of answer I might expect from a 4 year old boy, but he really did love the whole thing. From there we headed to our hotel where we all crashed. The next morning we headed to church at the Palmyra chapel. Needless to say, it was packed! We ended up taking off after sacrament meeting- Jeff had to get back for work. The drive home was a little longer than the one up to Palmyra- at one point we were stuck in an almost-standstill for over an hour. The boys were good though, and we had fun together. We finally pulled in Sunday afternoon and Jeff headed off to work. I don’t think Matthew has ever been so happy to be free to crawl around!
I’m grateful we had the chance for this trip- it was fun to make some memories with our little family- especially based around church history and spiritual things. Those are the types of trips and memories I love the most.