Easter Sunday this year just happened to land on April 1!
No Joke!
This was an Easter to remember for sure!
Garrett has LOVED the Boston Celtics since he was just a little kid!
One of his biggest dreams has always been to see them play on their Home Court
in the TD Garden!
Trav and I decided a while ago, that we'd take our kids on a Senior Trip.
I really wanted to take the whole family on Garrett's trip,
but the expense of it just wasn't in the cards and after talking to some friends,
we realized this would be such an awesome opportunity for Trav and I to be with just Garrett.
We don't spoil our kids very often.
We try to make them work for things.
But.....being Garrett's Senior trip, we figured we'd spoil away!
As I looked into Celtics tickets, we realized if we didn't go over Spring Break,
we may miss our chance of watching them play at the Garden
because we were coming in to Playoff Season and they may or may not make it far in that.
So....We decided the best time would be over Spring Break.
I have been wanting to take Garrett to the Sacred Grove for over a year now.
As I researched some travel stuff, I realized that it was only 4 hours from Boston.
And....another 4 from that was Trav's Mission....Cleveland Ohio!
So....that was the new plan!
We'd fly into Cleveland, tour around the church history sights there and Trav's mission.
Head to Palmyra, and then on to Boston.
Garrett had no idea what we were planning.
We decided it would all be in his Easter Basket Easter Morning.
Ty was pretty gracious in being willing to spend his Spring Break
babysitting Austin and Julia so we could do this.
We threw in a few perks for Ty as well.
We gave him $ to take them and Julia down to the Gateway Children's Museum,
and Jada was sweet and shared her families free passes to the Rush Fun Center.
They were able to do a few fun things while we were gone,
and Julia also helped babysit so Ty could hang with friends a little as well.
It worked out beautifully.
The whole family was in on the surprise for Easter Morning!
The night before, we died our Eggs.
Then it was finally here!
I was so excited I could hardly stand it!
I couldn't wait for Garrett to find his basket.
We usually let the kids go through their baskets as soon as they find them.
But....we didn't want to miss seeing Garrett open his, so we made each one
go separately and we started with the youngest first!
His CELTICS TICKETS!!!!
Lower Bowl Row 6!!
He kept asking "Is this for REAL?"
Such a fun, fun Easter Morning!!!
We spent the next night, April 2nd at Uncle Nate and Aunt Ally's for
our annual family Easter Egg Hunt.
The kids love finding all of the hoards of junk Gma Davies buys!
Ha ha!
Garrett, Ty and Ella get it all ready and hide it for the little kids to find!
These cousins have so much fun together!
The next couple of days were spent packing our bags and getting
some meals ready here at home for the kids to have while we were gone.
We took the red eye out Tues night the 3rd of April.
About 3 hours before we were supposed to board our plane,
I got an email from Jet Blue saying they had changed our tickets and we were no longer
flying into Cleveland and would be rerouted to Boston!!
I was heartbroken.
That would have kept us from making it to see Trav's mission and would have kept
us from the Sacred Grove.
I'm so glad I checked my email, otherwise, we would have found out
I'm so glad I checked my email, otherwise, we would have found out
when we arrived at the SLC airport and it would have been to late to make other arrangements.
We called Jet Blue and threw a little bit of a stink!
They were ruining a major part of our trip!
They were able to get us out of SLC at the same time, and fly us through the night
into the Pittsburg airport.
This added another 2 hour drive to our trip, but that was just fine!
Atleast we were still able to see Travs mission and all of those awesome Church Sites!
Ty and the kids drove us to the airport late that night on the 3rd.
I died laughing when I woke up half way through the flight to see this!
We made it to Pittsburg safely and got our rental car so we could get on the road fast!
We drove straight through Sharon Pennsylvania where Trav served
and from there went to Youngstown Ohio to see some of Trav's apartments.
We had brought some of his letters he had written home to read,
and he shared a lot of stories of each area with Garrett and I.
It was awesome to travel through his mission.
These are some of his apartments!
After driving around some of Trav's areas, we went to Hirum to the John Johnson Farm.
This is the home the Prophet Joseph Smith was in the night he was tarred and feathered.
We then drove to Kirtland.
I love Kirtland.
It's so beautiful and full of history!
We barely made it to the Kirtland Temple in time.
We had no idea their last tour started at 3. We pulled in at 3.
Luckily, a gentleman walked us over to the Temple and let us in with that last group!
I would have felt horrible if Garrett had missed that.
We had a special time there.
It was us and one other family from Utah on that tour.
The lady giving the tour spent a little longer time with us, since it was the last of the day.
She took us into the chapel area of the temple where
Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, Moses, Elijah and Elias all appeared
during the dedication.
She turned the spot lights on to the pedalstals where the Prophet stood,
and asked us all to stand and sing "The Spirit of God!"
I had a hard time getting through that.
There was an incredible spirit there with everyone singing.
What sacred things took place in that special Temple.
I'm so glad we made it on that tour!
We drove down the hill to the Newell K Whitney store.
The church has changed that whole area so much since Trav and I were there 20 years ago.
The Newell K Whitney store has a sweet spirit to it too.
I loved it 20 years ago, and I loved it now!
I loved it 20 years ago, and I loved it now!
We didn't get much time there, because it was getting dark,
and a snow storm was rolling in.
We had 3.5-4 hours left of driving to get to Palmyra that night,
so we had to get on the road.
We wanted to stop and show Garrett Lake Erie really quick!
Boy was it COLD!!
We took a couple of pics as fast as we could and got out of there.
Part way there, the storm was coming so hard and fast that it was hard to see the road!
Those storms coming off the lakes are a little scary!
Trav did a great job getting around in that storm in our tiny little tin rental car.
We made it safely to Palmyra and were exhausted!
It felt good to sleep!
We woke up the next morning to another huge snow storm.
I kept praying that when we made it to the Sacred Grove,
the storm would stop so we could have some time there together!
I was so hopeful!
We got up, got ready and went to breakfast.
The drive to Martin Harri's home and downtown Palmyra was so beautiful
I would give anything to see it when it's all green.
Rolling hills, trees everywhere and little farms all over!
I loved it!
Someone is currently living in Martin Harris' home,
but they allow people to stop and take some photos.
The weather wasn't good, so we didn't stay there long,
but it was neat to be there and see that the land surrounding the home,
is what Martin Mortgaged,
to help fund the printing of the first 5,000 copies of the Book of Mormon.
Down the hill from his home, is the Printing Press.
We learned some really awesome things there,
and to see the work they had to go to to Print the Book of Mormon
was incredible back then.
Next.....the Sacred Grove.
I prayed down that street that the weather would clear up.
It just had to.
It was so bitter cold and the snow was falling so hard.
As we pulled in, we went right in to the visitors center.
The Sister there spoke with us for a minute and explained what was all around there.
Then, we started on the tour.
As we did so, the snow slowed and the sun started to peak through the clouds.
I couldn't believe it.
We were able to walk through both of the Smith homes before going
into the Sacred Grove.
Looking towards the Sacred Grove.
The home Joseph lived in at the time of the First Vision.
This is a replica, but infrared was used to get the exact location of the
original home where he lived.
This is the view he would have had as he walked out of his home
that spring day to go to the Grove to pray.
The Sister also mentioned, it was early spring then too,
so this view we had is almost identical to what Joseph had that day.....
rather than the luscious, dense greenery we've always envisioned.
That was a neat thought to think we were there at almost the same time he was all those years ago.
We continued down the trail to the other newer home the Smith's had built,
when their family got bigger.
Along that trail, you can stop and look up in the trees and see the Palmyra Temple.
From there, we walked through their barn and out the back down the trail to the Sacred Grove.
The Sister Missionary said goodbye to all of us and told us we could spend all the time
we wanted in the Grove itself.
We walked down that trail and entered the Sacred Grove with a few other families.
Some went one direction, others another.
Within a few minutes, we were in an area all to ourselves.
There were bits of greenery starting to appear, and some flowers,
but for the most part, it was barren, but so, so beautiful.
The spirit there is one I'll never forget.
We walked a ways just taking it all in.
It was cold, but we didn't notice that much.
The skies turned blue and the sun was out.
I was so grateful my prayers were answered.
We found a bench and sat down together.
Trav asked Garrett to offer a prayer.
I will never in my life forget that moment in the Sacred Grove as our son
prayed to his Father in Heaven, just as Joseph did.
I hope Garrett will never forget it.
Pretty special moment.
I didn't want to leave, but we wanted to see the Hill Cumorah before dark
and still had to drive 4 hours to Boston.
We drove up the hill to the Palmyra Temple on our way to the Hill Cumorah.
President Hinckley made sure that one window pane in this area was just solid clear glass.
The others surrounding it are stained glass to look like the grove of trees.
The one clear pane of glass is so that when you're in the Temple,
you can look out and see the Sacred Grove.
I loved that he did that.
Hill Cumorah
This gorgeous Christus and the Sacred Grove painted in the background,
are in the visitors center at the Hill Cumorah.
What a beautiful and Sacred place.
We hurried back on the road so we would have time to stop
at the Peter Witmer Farm,
where the Church was first organized.
We were there almost to the day!
The Church was organized April 6, 1830.
We were there April 5, 2018.
I loved this little farm and Cabin.
It was such a beautiful setting when we pulled in.
By the time we left Peter Witmer's farm, it was getting late.
We grabbed a bite to eat, filled up the car with gas and took off for Boston.
I wish we could have made that drive in the day light.
It looked like we were driving through some beautiful areas!
Pulling into the city was awesome that night.
We passed Fenway Park and all kinds of awesome spots!
We had to get to the Boston airport in order to drop off our rental car.
We figured with the subways we wouldn't need a car to get around the city.
It was connected to the Airport, which was awesome,
because all of the subway routes through the city start there and we
were able to take a free shuttle from the hotel, right over to the airport
and use the subway the entire time we were there,
then the shuttle would come pick us up and take us to our room when we'd get home!
It was the perfect location for our trip!
the city of Boston before the BIG GAME!!!
- Friday, April 6, 2018 -
We got up early and ate some breakfast then called the shuttle for a ride
to the airport to get on the subway into the heart of the city!
What an awesome city is BOSTON?!!
We walked over to see the Cheers Bar and get some pics.
We planned to eat lunch there, but it was really busy and had an hours wait.
We opted to keep exploring since we were in a hurry.
But, we got pics there anyway!
Inside looked nothing like the tv show, and no one knew our names.
Kinda disappointing! Ha ha!
We walked a few blocks from there to see some of the old, cool churches.
Some have been there since the 1700's!
We couldn't go in any, but to see them up close was really cool!
We also shopped around in some stores for some Celtics and Red Sox gear!
They were all over the Boston Common's area!
major Historical Sites in the city.
The rain came down and we got soaked, and it was cold.....but so fun!
Right in the heart of the city.
Lots of famous people of history are buried here.
Paul Revere.
Samuel Adams.
We ate lunch at the coolest place called Quincy Market, near Faneuil Hall.
Any kind of food you could want.
and Trav went to a different spot, and then we met back up to find a place to sit together.
There were little shopping booths the whole length of the Market as well.
We walked around looking for gifts for the kids.
Right outside, Garrett found this statue of the Celtics old Coach.
The snow started to fall, and we were wet, cold, and tired!
We took off back to the hotel to get a little rest, and get ready
for the CELTICS GAME!
It felt good to chill for a bit after walking all over the city!
Then it was time!
I think Trav and I were as excited to get Garrett to that game as he was!
He was clapping his hands and cheering walking down those stairs!
We had some pretty fun seats, close to the floor!
Garrett could hardly contain himself!
He stood constantly throughout the game!
Celtics won and we had a great time!
Ha! Not sure what face he was pulling here at me!
Such a fun night watching Garrett's excitement.
He's dreamed about seeing the Celtic's play in the
TD Garden for as long as I can remember!
We went to eat at Boston Beer Works afterwards.
It was across from the TD Garden and it was SO good.
Our friends had recommended we eat there and
it was the perfect spot after the game.
We have never slept so good as we did that night!
Holy Cow, were we tired!
Saturday, April 7th we woke up to tour the city a little more
before heading to the Red Sox Game.
We saw Paul Revere's house, a holocaust memorial that was really awesome,
and some other old cool buildings along the pier!
Ran in to the back side of the TD Garden that we didn't see in the dark the night before!
Trav knows a guy through work that is in Boston.
We contacted him before the trip to get his recommendations and he offered
us tickets to the Red Sox game!
Their business is a huge sponsor of the Red Sox, so he had tickets waiting for us
at the Will Call booth at Fenway Park.
What a fun experience to be there!
The atmosphere was awesome!
They still keep the park pretty vintage.
Someone manually walks and puts up the numbers on the score board!
I thought that was so dang cool!
We sang our hearts out to Sweet Caroline and Take Me Out To The Ballgame!
Such a fun, fun time there!
Red Sox won and we enjoyed every second!
We walked the town a little more, got on the subway, and went back to our hotel
to pack up to head back home to Utah on the red eye flight.
The Greatest Showman.....
And then.....neither of us made it past this scene.
We were out until we landed!
Ty and the kids picked us up at the airport around midnight.
It was so good to see them and be home all together safe and sound.
Thank you Ty for holding the fort down and being so good with the kids!
They were almost sad to see us come home, Ty did such a great job! Ha ha!
Ty and Jada took the kids the The Gateway Childrens Museum and
The Hansen Planetarium one day.
They loved their break and enjoyed being with Ty!
I will never forget this trip and the time we spent one on one with Garrett.
We love him so much and are so proud of him.
He'll soon be graduated and moving on to bigger and better things,
and I just cant even hardly stand the thought of it, yet I'm excited for him.
So grateful for the memories we made in Ohio, Palmyra and Boston.
It was a special, special time for us.
I am already looking forward to taking each of our other kids on
their Senior Trips.....except for that meaning they'll be graduating too!
I know that time with Ty will come faster than I'd like!
The rest of the month was awesome too!
Trav and I enjoyed our April Memory Date at the Hale Center Theater!
We had tickets to see one of my favorites....."The Music Man!"
April 24th was our date night!
We had dinner together, and then went to the play.
Julia's little friend was in it....fun to watch her.
We sat there wondering why we don't do this more often!
We enjoy watching the plays there together!
We have so enjoyed these monthly dates together!
April 27th, the girls answered Garrett and Ty back for Prom!
They had them meet them up at Ensign Peak after they got off work in SLC.
When Garrett and Ty got up there, they had a sign that said,
"We've been on top of the world since you asked us to Prom....YES!!"
"We've been on top of the world since you asked us to Prom....YES!!"
They had some of their favorite treats and they all took some pics,
then hiked down the mountain and went to dinner.
What a fun night!
Austy had his Let's Play Music Recital on Monday, April 30 at the Clearfield Library.
Grandpa Randle came to watch.
Austy did such a great job!
We are so proud of you Aust! Way to play music!
April was an amazing month!
Now.....on to May!
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