You knew this oober long post was coming!! Let me just tell you about all the things that I got to do in a span of 8 days. *WARNING* 100% chance that you WILL be jealous of me. Just sayin.
On July 22, 2011 I flew to Washington, Dulles Airport in Virginia where my dad picked me up (he had already been there for about a week with my mom and sister). We got to my brother Erik's house around midnight eastern time. When I got there, I basically said goodnight to everyone and went to sleep in my nieces most outstanding princess bed. I wish I had one just like it..
DAY #1: Driving to DC.
-DC CUPCAKES!!!! Not a lot of people watch this show, and to be honest I have not watched it much either, but ever since the first time I saw it, I just HAD to go there. Cupcakes are my favorite dessert food in the whole world, so this was a great first thing to do in DC.
-Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Veteran Memorial, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and The White House.
It was hot, and our feet were already hurting so we took a rest. Look at this cute bunch!
Don't act like this picture isn't kinda cool okay?
-At the Museum they had Dorothy's ruby slippers :). The Museum was huge. They also had all of the first lady's gowns they wore for the inaugurations. I wont lie, I wish Michelle Obama would let me borrow her dress for my wedding.
-Surprisingly the White House was not as cool as I imagined. When I was told that, "the building over there" was the White House, I really didn't believe it. I guess I expected it would be bigger or something. I really like this picture of Rachel, Erik, and I in front of the White House.
Day #2: Washington DC Temple, Diner, Fathers Day present, and Fireflies!
-I really wanted to visit the temples everywhere we went and try to do baptisms. It was a success! The Temple in DC was REALLY pretty and my dad and I did baptisms there, while Rachie and my mom did sealing's.
-Dinner at a diner with Erik, Amy, and their kids. Best diner we went to on the trip by far. Here is me with little Liza Loo. She ordered pancakes :).
-For those who did not get to see Dad open his fathers day testimony book from all of us, this is what it looked like immediately after it was opened. SUCCESS!
-Erik, Rachel, Pearl the dog, and I went on a walk in search of fireflies. First time I have ever seen them! Rachel and I were trying to catch some and unfortunately I accidentally killed one. I was searching with my hands by my side when I felt something in between my fingers. My first reaction was SQUISH. His light was permanently on after that.. Woops! The flash was too bright so I had to take the picture without it. The blurryness of this picture makes Erik look extremely creepy ha.
Day #3: So long Amy, Erik, and kids, thanks for letting us stay! And, HELLO NEW YORK CITY!!! We drove through Philadelphia to New Jersey and rode the train to NYC. Once we got to Penn Station, we had to trek through the city with all of our suitcases to our hotel.
-Right away we went to a Pizza place called Posto Pizza. YUM.
-A whole lot of walking. We went to Little Italy, Chinatown, 911 memorial site, TIMES SQUARE, and Grand Central Station.
We saw this guy while walking, he wouldn't stop talking to us!
-We took a bus up to Times Square and it was super awesome. That is all.
Of course. Spiderman was there saving us.
My sister is SO FUNNY. Thank you so much Eric for letting her come play with me.
My dad and I posing in front of Radio City!
On our long walk back to the hotel we took some pics of the Empire State Building. New York just legalized gay/lesbian marriage can you tell??
Day #4: Plaza Hotel, FAO Schwarz, Central Park, NYC Temple, ABT, Harry Potter Exhibition, Mary Poppins, and elevator up to the top of Empire State Building!
-Home Alone ring a bell?
I wanted to play on the Big Piano but there were WAY to many people.
-Central Park was GORGEOUS! I wanted to scream out "That's How You Know" -Enchanted, when I saw the bridge.
-NYC Temple! We did not get to do baptisms here but it was so weird to see the temple surrounded by tons of buildings!
-I saw where American Ballet Theater performs and took a picture. I didn't get to see a show but maybe next time!
-Rachel and I went on a private date to the Harry Potter Exhibition. I can't even explain to you how awesome it was. It was the last stop in America so naturally, we HAD to go. It had rooms and rooms of items from the set, props, creatures , and costumes from ALL off the Harry Potter movies. Rachel and I were like little children. About every five seconds we would say "OH MY GOSH LOOK IT'S ____!!!!!!" I couldn't really understand how some people weren't freaking out like us but just so you know we weren't the only ones our age freaking out about everything we saw. Best 30 bucks ever spent.
-Mary Poppins! My dream of seeing a movie on Broadway came true! It was really good I highly recommend seeing Mary Poppins!
-Although I didn't meet a boy at the top of the Empire State Building, I did get to be up there at sunset. Please note that mom's camera kept adding dates to the photos. Don't look too closely, you will see that the date is completely wrong.. WOOPS!
Day #5: Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn, and got our suitcases to walk back to Penn Station, to ride the train back to NJ, to get a rental car to drive through Pennsylvania to Palmyra :). We got there pretty late so we just went to bed at the Palmyra Inn.
-Us girls in front to the statue. We wanted to take the ferry but the line was 4 miles long. Seriously.
-Cool.
-Me on the Brooklyn Bridge! Please note that ANOTHER item was checked off of my bucket list, I got an I heart NY shirt ACTUALLY from NY.
When we crossed the bridge, Rachel and I did a
Newsies sling shot pose when the character Spot Conlon says, "Never fear, Brooklyn is here." We are geeks, so what? We ate pizza in Brooklyn and took the subway back to our hotel to get all of our stuff to go to Palmyra.
-On the way to Palmyra, we drove through Scranton Pennsylvania. Did somebody say
The Office?
Day #6: Sacred Grove, Chill and Grill, Book of Mormon Publication Site, Hill Cumorah, and Chill and Grill AGAIN. Coolest part of the trip BY FAR.
-Nothing (not even all the sweet things we saw in NYC) was as cool as being in the place where our church began. It was incredible being in the place that I have heard about my whole life. We toured a replica of the Smith barn, and saw exact places where the plates were hidden. The Sacred Grove was so peaceful.
-Hill Cumorah
Now can you see how I turned out so good looking. Serrriously people.
-Book of Mormon Publication Site
-Chill and Grill. Dads most favorite spot in Palmyra. you get hots (hot dogs), Hamburgers, and ice cream. It looks sorta "rinky dinky" but it was delish. They were very generous with the amount of food/ ice cream they give people. Which probably isn't something to brag about. Here are most of the Chill and Grill pics, you better believe we went there every single day we were in Palmyra.
-We went to the Hill Cumorah visitors center and watched The Restoration video. Such a testimony builder after having been in the Sacred Grove only hours before.
Day #7: Big Book of Mormon, Whitmer Farm, Sauders, Governer John Wood Mansion, Palmyra Temple, and last but not least Chill and Grill.
-I like this picture of my dad by the Whitmer Farm.
-Here is my mom in front of the Sauders sign. Sauders was a Mennonite grocery store with a ton of homemade food. We got salsa, jam, chap stick, and mini pies. I wish that I could have bought all the candy there.
-Governor John Woods Mansion was a really pretty place. It gave me some ideas for my future home...I'm lame, I'm not even gonna put pictures of the house up because I have a feeling Rachel will.
-Palmyra Temple! My family and I did baptisms there and little did I know that it was my moms first time doing baptisms!! I was glad to be an old pro and tell her what to do :)
You could see the Sacred Grove from the window of the temple. Here it is behind us now.
Last but not least, Day #8: NIAGARA FALLS. Canadian side Doy. The falls were pretty sweet and we all did Maid of the Mist. That's where you go on that little boat down there and get really close to the falls. CAUTION- You will get soaked. Mist my butt, but it was so stinkin cool.
-Then we shopped around for a bit in Canada at these weird lookin shops, went to Margaritaville, and bought my dad Tim Hansen doughnuts. They are better than Krispy Kreme. Seriously.
He was pretty happy!
My s'more flavored doughnut. YUM.
After a long day in Canada we went back to our hotel. The next morning we shopped around a bit in Palmyra, and of course went to Chill and Grill one last time before we all went to the airport to go to our homes. As you can see, it was a pretty dang Superawesomewayfantasticreallyamazing Summer Adventure. Thanks for sharing it with me Mom, Dad and Rachie!!!
However, the summer adventures are still not over! I go to the HP marathon next week, the next day head off to California for a few days for my sister Aimee's birthday, and then I will drive home to AZ to be in my nice cozy bed and play with my very best friends!!!
See Ya, wouldn't wanna be ya!
