Casey's observation

While looking at Riley's teeth today Uncle Casey made the observation that Riley had a movie star smile. Of course, that smile was Sloth from Goonies... Ruth.. Ruth.. Baby Ruth

A Trip to see the Amish / Nauvoo

It's that time of year when we go on our annual trip with Ned & Fayrine. This year we decided that we wanted to go back to the Amish country and shop for some furniture and while we are in that area visit Nauvoo. So on June 9th we loaded up and headed out. The first day we left after work and drove to Laramie Wyoming.

The next day we drove across the rest of Wyoming and Nebraska turning at Lincoln and going down to Missouri. Here is a lovely Walmart in Missouri. We also noticed a lot of sand bagging around houses and businesses along the way because of the spring flooding.

Our first stop was in a small Amish community called Jamesport. We had a ball wandering out through the fields and farms discovering hand made furniture and even cheese.

We visited a church history site called Adam-ondi-ahmon. It is a big valley where the saints are suppose to assemble to received instructions from the savior during the second coming. As you can see, it is a beautiful area.

Next we went down to Liberty Jail. This is a historic site in Liberty Missouri where Joseph was held during the early years of the church. Afterwards we ate at a little restaurant called the "Corner Cafe". It had super good food. I ate way to much as you can see.

We decided to stop in Hannibal Mo to see what was here and what a pleasant surprise. It is one of the cutest little cities I have ever been to. This is the home of Mark Twain and of course Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. It would be fun to come back and spend several days here.

Our next stop was Nauvoo. We stayed in a cute old hotel call "Hotel Nauvoo" and spent the next day exploring the city. We saw so much church history. The burial place of Joseph, Hyrum and Emma plus all sorts of historic homes and shops. It started to rain that night so we ended up going back to the hotel and playing "Farkle" but had a great time anyway.

Our next stop was in Arcola and Arthur Illinois which is the home of another Amish community. Here we stayed in a bed and breakfast called the "Diamond House". We stayed in the Emerald room and Ned & Fayrine stayed in the Ruby room. Next morning we were treated to a seven course breakfast. We had fun visiting with our hosts Bill and Lynn Harshbarger.

The next morning we were off again searching the country side for treasures. We had a great time and we bought a Microwave stand for mom and a patio glider for me. The Amish people are so great and friendly. Sometimes I think they got it right and the rest of us are screwed up but then I like all the modern conveniences so I guess it's a trade off.

Next day we loaded all our treasures into a U haul trailer that we rented and headed back stopping in Jamesport just long enough to pick up some rockers that Ned & Fayrine bought and a few other items and then settled in for the long long long trip home. We made it back safe and sound and everything was in one piece. Life is good!