Ideal Getaway

Last weekend was the best experience I have had yet since moving to Missouri! Chase, Emily, Lane and I went to Nauvoo. I have been so excited all summer to go and it was well worth the wait! We left Saturday and saw the pageant that night. I honestly had no idea what to expect seeing as I have never been to one before, but after seeing it, it is something I would love to see every year! They had all these fun things set up a hour before the show, three legged race, potato sack racing, wood cutting, dancing, bands, food, and stick pole ( one of Joseph Smiths many talents :) ). Chase and I cutting our piece of wood off, they then brand it with a Nauvoo pictureEmily and I playing stick pole, this is a real action shot, were not posing its so funny!Chaser and Lane trying not to land on top of each other.The BandLane and Emily in a race, that little boy was so cuteLane and Chase became very close on the trip :)


The pageant just blew me away, it was the story of Nauvoo, the saints, the building of the temple, and Joesph Smiths life. They did such a good job, I want to buy the DVD ( Yes you can buy it ). The music and dancing was great along with the acting. The end was really special because they lit up the new Nauvoo temple which was right behind the stage and had Pres. Hinkley's voice talk about it. It is something I will never forget and feel really lucky to experience. We then spent the night in a hotel with Emily and Lane. It was so old fashioned and small, it made the trip that much better!It was so fun, being in a new place, being in a town that is just so different, and hanging out in the hotel room. Then on Sunday we toured Nauvoo, they still had tours on Sundays but they did not do any of the activities they usually do. I want to go again soon but spend more then two days there! It is such a beautiful place and the spirit is so strong. They had a great Buffet there, we ate so much ( Emily and I looking Prego after taking advantage of the huge amounts of food :) )The Temple was beautifulChase, Lane and Emily standing in front of a Statue of Joseph and Hyrum as they were leaving Nauvoo to go to Carthage Jail.

This was in the school house in Nauvoo, that lady was so funny! We also walked threw Brigham Youngs house, Lucy Mack Smith's , John Taylor's, and many more. I loved this town!

We also went to Carthage Jail . This was such a special place. We sang hymns as we were in there and you just felt at peace...I am so happy we went to all of these places and I hope those of you who have not been yet get to go because it really is something everyone should experience. I hope you can read this, it is a great quote by Joseph and Hyrum and I wanted to share it with all of you.
The sunset on our way home... a perfect ending to a great trip.

Independence

Chase and I were able to spend the whole day together yesterday!!It was the best! Everyday I go to work around five in the morning and don't get home till three, and Chase does not get home till ten at night, by which time I am ready to go to bed. We have not spent a whole day together in a long time, Sunday's don't count seeing as Chase takes about a four hour nap :). We decided to go to Independence this weekend and go visit the church history sites. I was super excited because I have not been before and Chase was excited to show me everything. We went to liberty Jail and I loved it. I love museums and learning about new things, so this was my favorite part of the whole trip. There was such a strong spirit there as they were talking about Joseph Smith and his stay at Liberty Jail. I learned a lot of new facts about Missouri and Liberty Jail, Did you know that up until 1976 it was still legal to kill Mormon's in the state?? Isn't that crazy! We then hit up far West, it was such a pretty drive. I just could imagine how beautiful that temple will be. We also went to Adam-ondi-Ahman. This was a much needed trip. I loved being there and feeling the spirit and just imagining all the saints that stood right where I was and all the history that was created there. It was wonderful. Chase is such a great example to me and I am so glad that he is just full of church knowledge! The whole drive he taught me so many things I did not know about, I am so thankful to have him help me understand the gospel more. Next weekend were going to Nauvoo and we are going to see the pageant. I'm excited!!!!

Walking around...

Chase and I went on a walk the other night around our neighborhood and we found the most beautiful walk! Right next door to our apts. is a beautiful lake with a path that wraps around it. I noticed that I have not posted any pictures of our place yet so here you go! This is the entrance to our apts... This is the club house.. Its so nice, they always have cookies and drinks sitting out. I always stop by before I go to the pool :)
Here is the gym I go to if I don't have a car to take to 24.. it has a T.V in there that I go and watch since we don't have cable :)

We are going to make this a weekly activity, its so calming walking around, seeing the animals, the people fishing, it's perfect.
Here is me looking out on the lake.. It really was so beautiful..
Here is Chase pointing at all the ducks and animals we saw... We saw Bunny's, squirrels, ducks, and fireflies! Look how pretty these houses are.. they sit right on the lake. I can not believe this is where we live, its just amazing!

And im proud to be an American..

Every year on the fourth I always play the song " God bless the U.S.A" by Lee Greenwood and sing it at the top of my lungs, I just love the fourth! Eat all you want, have BBQ's in the sun, watch beautiful firworks, celebrate our freedom and be with people you love. Of course this was my first fourth that I did not go home to California and be with my family and watch firworks at my grandma's which made me miss them so much, but it was my first time watching fireworks with my husband! Last year we went to California and opted to go see Transformers instead of fireworks :) but I told Chase that this time I wanted to actually go and watch the fireworks. Chase and I had a wonderful Fourth of July! and I hope all of you did as well! We went downtown to St. Louis and ate lots of food, people watched, and hung out with Emily and Lane. Emily works right by the arch and her company gave us free parking and we got to go to the top of the building and watch the fireworks from outside. It was really beautiful! I feel special that we already got the hook ups down here in Missouri :) All in All it was a great night!

More Flags, More Fun!

Chase got a phone call from Lane ( Lane is the manager out here for the summer) a hour earlier then their usual meetings and told Chase to come down right away. Chase left and came up five minutes later with a piece of paper in his hands.. Lane had all the salesmen come down and passed out flyer's, the flyer's had Six Flags all over them! We were so excited! Lane took all the guys ( us wife's were aloud to come too :) ) to Six flags for the day for a much needed break! It was such a fun day spending it with everyone. I really enjoyed getting to know everyone who is out here selling this summer and seeing who Chase works with. All the boys work Monday- Saturday from 12 in the afternoon till about nine or ten at night so it was a really nice break. The weather was perfect, cloudy all day with a nice breeze. It was a perfect day for Six Flags! Thanks Lane! Chase had a great idea that after we rode all the rides.. twice :)... that we should go on tidal wave, a ride no one wanted to go on seeing as you get soaked and eventually everyone agreed so before we left the park we hit up three water rides and by the time we left the park everyone in the group was soaked! It was Hilarius.
For this ride I sat in the middle of the boat and had Chase cover me when we went down into the water but for some off reason I came off the ride the most Soaked! you cant see it here, but my pants were dripping wet, my hair was drenched and my shoes were making that gross sound of wet shoes haha but it sure was fun!!!