Road trip second leg

We made a stop at Mount Rushmore.  There was some construction, so we didn't get really close, but we got close enough.  We talked to the kids about each of the men and why they were up there.  The area was beautiful and if I'd done some extra research we probably would have spent more time here hiking or site seeing.  There are some caves and another Mount Rushmore with the face of a prominent Indian that would have been interesting to learn about.  Jay and Emily had just come through the area and gave us their parking pass that is good for a year, so that was nice not to have to pay the $10 for parking.  Thanks guys!

We re-enacted the scene from North by Northwest in this room.  

Ada came up with the idea of taking a picture of the very serious kids as if they were the Presidents on the mountain.  

The favorite part for the kids was on our way out, we let them climb around and play on the rocks.  They were granite with little pockets of quartz in them.  So pretty!  The kids tried to walk all the way around without touching the ground.  Sam was actually very good at it.  It was so cute to see Ada being the helpful big sister and guiding Seth through the rocks by hand.

And Jer, with the new Lion King on the brain, couldn't resist this one.

Road trip first leg

The morning after helping Cristina and Frederico get to the temple, put up, serve at, and clean up their reception.... we headed off to a 3 week road trip.  If it had been any other cause, I would have been angry, but it was a step in their eternal progression and I'm so glad that they made it.  Jeremy was the most amazing man ever!  After I got the food heating up that Cristina made the day before, Jer did everything else so that I could chat with old mission companions that came to the reception.  I really do have an amazing and humble husband.  

Our first day was a long driving day.  We stopped to stretch our legs and have a visit at Martin's Cove.  We didn't do the hike into the cove, but we did all the visitor center activities.... including letting the kids pull their own handcarts on a path, touring some buildings that would have been a main part of life at the fort, talking about people that came in the handcarts, etc... It helps that Sam's favorite church movie is 17 miracles.  We ran into our friend Kathleen Ririe from our singles ward while we were there.  What are the chances?

Robertson Rd.... we had to take a picture.

This brought the phrase 'equally yolked' to mind.  I could see that no matter how hard of a worker Sam is, Ada will always take the brunt of the work if they had been paired up like this.  

They got halfway around the loop and Seth hopped in the back saying, "Okay!  I'm done!"  We humored him for a second then had him get out to help Evelyn again.

I loved this.  No it's not pretty, but it's a lot like the fireplace built by our great grandfather at Bear Lake.  I had fun identifying a lot of the rocks, quartz, petrified wood, mica, etc.... so the missionary there brought out a chart that had all the things labeled.  It was neat.  There were pieces of mammoth tusks, petrified coral, obsidian, etc...

Cristina and Frederico

After being married for 16 years, and two weeks before their 3rd baby was due to arrive, Cristina and Frederico chose to be sealed in the Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It was beautiful.  I hope that the sealing will provide them with strength as they continue to progress as a family.  We were able to get Cristina's mom here from Ecuador for the sealing and the birth of the baby, but because of her arthritis and non English speaking they asked me if I could escort Cristina in the temple and hold Christian at the altar when they sealed the kids to the parents.  It was beautiful.