For Memorial Day weekend we went to Kirtland, Ohio, a city with much of our church's history. We learned more about Joseph Smith and the saints who followed him, were baptized, and were part of the early organization of the church. It was incredible to be there and feel of the awesome spirit of sacrifice, faith, and dedication to God these people had.
It was about a 3 hour drive for us - The boys did great! It was our first time to Ohio. Everything was so green and beautiful. I loved how it reminded me of Tennessee with the gorgeous trees that went on forever like rolling hills. Ohio also had the beauty of the farms, barns, and silos that took me back to memories of Iowa. The weather was perfect all weekend! The boys looked forward to the trip for quite a while, they were so excited to stay in a hotel! Here are some of the things we saw and did.
The Kirtland Temple - Which the saints built out of much sacrifice of their own money, time, and resources. Where Jesus Christ appeared, also Moses, Elias, and Elijah to Joseph Smith, giving him keys to organize the church and perform ordinances on the earth again, that had been lost from the time of Christ being on the earth
Us outside the temple
The temple grounds were so beautiful, I wish I took more pictures.
This picture was taken by Isaac, the flowers were gorgeous!
Newell K. Whitney store - where the prophet Joseph Smith arrived first and announce to Newell Whitney "you prayed me here, now what do you want of me?" The prophet and his family lived here, upstairs, for a time.
A room upstairs in the store where many revelations were received.
The home of The Whitney's.
The saw mill and ashery where much of the work for the building of the temple took place
Getting out some energy, after sitting through another long tour! They really did so well.
We went shopping at the outlet mall nearby to take advantage of some sales! We had to stop every so often for some entertainment.
Dallin and Isaac were so adamant about getting some football shirts with numbers on them. (I don't know where it came from) The Children's Place was full of them and they were soooo excited!
Here's dallin, happy that mom finally said "ok"
FUN
Eating candy in bed!
Not so FUN 
Getting kicked out of bed. What do you do when you can't sleep? Take pictures of those who can.
FUN - 
Staying at a hotel with a pool and awesome water slide!
Not so FUN - 
Not being tall enough to go down the slide. Bummer!
So, Dallin and Isaac are not the best swimmers - we just aren't in the water enough. Isaac especially has been pretty timid and scared of trying new things in the water. He hasn't jumped in the water with help so we were so excited to see him jump in by himself! I'm glad I got it on video because the next day he wouldn't do it. One video was really short so I put both of them on.
Kirtland was awesome. We would recommend it to anyone! And you can visit us on your way!!
