Part Deux

Part Deux- “I knew it and I knew that God knew it…”

Next up on our world tour was Palmyra, New York/Church History sights. After staying the night in Newark, NY (not NJ) we cruised into Palmyra at about 9:30 or so in the morning. Earlier we’d received a hot tip about eating at the Chill and Grill in Palmyra. But first as we arrived in the town we saw the Book of Mormon Publishing house, which is where we would get our first dose of Hermanas. I had already been to the Book of Mormon house in Nauvoo so I was a little skeptical. Just as they were about to start our tour, in walks a very large crew of Pageant ground’s crew, making out tour quite full.

They walked us into the building and you could immediately tell it was a special place. Not only could you feel the spirit but there was further miracles explored. We saw the bookstore where every book was white and paperback except 2- the Biblia and the newly finished Book of Mormon which sold for $1.24 which was a chunk of change back then! This was somehow very cool, and I thought of the sacrifice it must have been to buy one, especially when not too many people could read. I call your attention to the story of Parley P. Pratt and his experience with that old 1830 edition.

Anyway I’d have to say that among the church history sites, I would rank the Publishing house first or tied with the sacred grove. It took almost 3 years to publish the first edition of 5,000 copies, and they couldn’t just produce 1 sample. The miracle of the Book of Mormon should not be taken lightly. We also saw where they printed them on huge sheets which they later folded into 8 sections (pages) and then they had to tie it together. My HP would disagree, but printing was a huge job. Huge. So what I’m saying is read your BOM everyday!

Afterwards, we went up to “4 church corner” perhaps the corner that started it all, in his words “ 5 Some time in the second year after our removal to Manchester, there was in the place where we lived an unusual excitement on the subject of religion. It commenced with the Methodists, but soon became general among all the sects in that region of country. Indeed, the whole district of country seemed affected by it, and great multitudes united themselves to the different religious parties, which created no small stir and division amongst the people, some crying, “aLo, here!” and others, “Lo, there!” Some were contending for the Methodist faith, some for the Presbyterian, and some for the Baptist.
6 For, notwithstanding the great alove which the converts to these different faiths expressed at the time of their conversion, and the great zeal manifested by the respective clergy, who were active in getting up and promoting this extraordinary scene of religious feeling, in order to have everybody converted, as they were pleased to call it, let them join what sect they pleased; yet when the converts began to file off, some to one party and some to another, it was seen that the seemingly good feelings of both the priests and the converts were more bpretended than real; for a scene of great confusion and bad feeling ensued—priest contending against priest, and convert against convert; so that all their good feelings one for another, if they ever had any, were entirely lost in a strife of words and a contest about opinions.”

Then we headed up to visit old Alvin’s Grave. It was hard to find because the cemetery had a weird layout but eventually Stanley got his picture taken with it.

Afterwards, it was on to the Joseph Smith farm and the sacred grove. Ponder this for a moment- they showed us the house where Moroni came to visit Joseph to tell him about the plates. They always show Joseph in his bed asleep and shielding his eyes at the Angel- Alone. However it is almost impossible that Joseph was alone as his 4 brothers were also in the room. Never thought of that. Always assumed he was alone. But that almost makes it even cooler. The house was tiny- hard to believe 11 people lived there, but as the guy at the barn said, “everything they did was hard back then.” Some of the tour was overcome with the fact that they were in the same room where Moroni once stood. Chilling.

Returning to the narrative… “14 So, in accordance with this, my determination to ask of God, I retired to the awoods to make the attempt. It was on the morning of a bbeautiful, clear day, early in the spring of eighteen hundred and twenty. It was the first time in my life that I had made such an attempt, for amidst all my anxieties I had never as yet made the attempt to cpray dvocally.”

As we moved between various Hermanas, soon it was time for the main event- the Sacred Grove. Joseph was getting a little cranky but even he had a certain degree of excitement. In the end the serenity of the grove would allow him to sleep in the shady woodlands. To summarize the grove- there are only a handful of places on the entire earth where we know Jesus has personally visited- even fewer has the father visited. And even fewer where they both visited at the same time. We know for a fact that this is one of those places. And the spirit manifests this truth throughout. Cool, shady, well preserved and spiritual the Grove was everything it was supposed to be. The power of the place in undeniable, despite the fact that I had never seen it I was able to tell the people of Paraguay about it and the miracle that happened there, and so great is the power they believed me. It’s much better seeing it for yourself.

I don’t really need to return to the scriptures here because you should know it by now…but let’s just say- wow. Incredible. Afterwards we crossed the street and went and took some more Stanley fotos at the temple. Joseph was feeling free so whilst his diaper was shed he made the most of it and pooped on the temple grounds. Right in the grass. Now that’s freedom. It was also a nice place to rest because we still had a long evening before us.

After that, we headed the 2 miles to the Hill Cumorah where the plates were found and where the pageant would be performed. The Hill Cumorah monument was cool but not overly spectacular. Maybe I was just tired by then. Then more Hermanas at the visitor center as we watched the restoration video.

After that we were outside “proselyting” with the cast who turned out to be our cousins. So we hung out with them and I even got to touch Wes’s Mullet. That was probably more special that touching the plates! Soon it was time for the show. The show was good, but I thought some parts of it were kinda hokey. Don’t get me wrong the message was cool and the savior parts were quite spiritual but some of the dialogue was unintentionally funny. King Noah: “NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNYYYYYYYYESSSS!” I still give it like 8 stars out of 10 but I guess Annie and Diana loved it so much they wanted to see it again (see part IV Post Script)

Though it was past midnight our church history experience was not over. (We went home and slept) but then it was on to the Peter Whitmer farm, site of the translation of the plates and the site of the world’s first sacrament meeting. Did you know that on 04/06/1830 Joseph and Oliver were baptized for a second time as a symbol of their entrance in to the kingdom? Neither did I but a friendly Hermana told us that, and was blown away that I would speak Spanish with her, especially after seeing her placa. Again the farm was cool, but I think by this time I was reaching overload on church history. I’m not like anti-spiritual or anything it was just a little much in such a short time. Which I suppose could be the theme of our whole trip.

We're Official!!

Thanks to some major butt kicking by our loan shark Mark we found out Thursday night we were closing on Friday morning!! All I can say is Mark really earned his money. I would recommend him to anyone. He ended the lien dispute by paying the lien out of his own pocket to clear our title so our loan would be approved. He was suppose to be paid back at closing but we are not sure if that happened. Our closing was kinda strange because no one from the seller bothered to show up. Mark our loan guy couldn't make it and our realtor showed up half way through. Closing was much easier and a lot less stressful that I was expecting. Also the stack of paper was really not too big. I think we had to sign more paperwork to put our offer on the house. We had everything signed in 1 1/2 hours.
We owe a HUGE THANK YOU to Holly, Stacey, Our parents, Diana & Andy because they moved most of our stuff yesterday. We have a little bit unpacked but still have 1/2 a garage full of boxes. Stacey unloaded most of our food and played with Joseph which made the day MUCH easier especially since he is getting a new tooth and has been cranky.
Once we finish unpacking we plan on having a Titanic house warming party that you all are invited to. We started planning it this morning and it should be a blast!! Or if you are in the area feel free to stop by anytime. We love company.
Then we get to start the task of taking all the ugly wallpaper down. Anyone needing a place to get their frustrations out is more than welcome to take them out on our wallpaper.

Sad News on the Home Front

Last night we went to a farewell party for our friends Ryan and Amanda Davis and their three cute kids. Ryan was our home teacher for the three years we lived in the Northridge ward. We were so excited to have found a house in the ward boundaries so we could have our beloved Ryan back. Sadly they decided to join several of the other families from our ward Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Decision to move to Utah. It seems like we have lost half of our ward to Utah. In May Adrie Petersen and family left us for Kaysville. The funny thing is she now lives in my sister Donna and Grandparents ward. So hopefully I'll be able to see her on my several adventures over to Utah.

We miss you already!!

Also to add to our sad news we found out today our closing has been delayed because of idiots that can't seem to work together. There is a $6,000 lien on the house. The seller is responsible for paying all liens in our case the house belongs to a bank. They are willing to pay the lien but not until closing. However the title company will not clear the title until the lien has been paid. And to add to the idiocy the loan will not approve until we have a clear title to buy. Our loan shark Mark Hendrickson aka loan broker has been working hard to get everything resolved. Unfortunately he was unable to get everyone to come to an agreement in time to meet the 72 hour requirement to have everything submitted to close by the 24th. The worst part is we have to pay $100 everyday past the 24th we don't close. This is the part that makes us the maddest because we have done everything we can to close on time. We are hoping to close on the 25th but haven't heard yet. We will keep you all posted especially all you that are going to help us move. :)

World Tour 2008- PART I

Denver, CO-Detroit, MI- Rochester, NY- Utica, NY- Cooperstown, NY- Fly Creek, NY- Newark, NY- Palmyra, NY- Niagara Falls, NY- Niagara Falls, ONT CAN- Buffalo, NY- Minneapolis, MN- St. Paul, MN- these were the stops on our world tour. Getting in to Rochester was fine but getting out…

Tuesday was a travel day, we arrived (on time) to Rochester from Detroit. We arrived at our pretty nice hotel, Hotel Utica. I think we were all pretty bushed from traveling so we got some Mexican food. Somewhere in this sequence Joseph, wearing socks for the first time in awhile, lost one of his Lightning McQueeen socks (Kachow!) it may still turn up but as of now he’s only got 1.

This is Annie in the lobby of our hotel. Pretty nice for being in the Comfort Inn Family

This is from the lobby as well.

That night was the All-Star game and I intended to watch a little and then go to bed early because the next day was Cooperstown. We got back from dinner and I turned the game on just in time to see Matt Holliday take a pitch and deposit it into the seats giving the NL a 1-0 lead. It looked as if the NL was going to win but the AL tied it up in the eighth. I shoulda just went to bed there but I stayed up and watch the rest of the game which wasn’t over till like 2 am. NL lost again. Again! But our hotel was nice and I did get a little sleep until it was time to get breakfast.

Then it was on to Cooperstown. The Baseball Hall of Fame, which is certainly worth the pilgrimage for all you fans out there! We took a bunch of photos (about 800 total for the trip!) but the video was screwed up so there is little Cooperstown video. Mostly we stayed on the 3rd floor where we took a tour about stadiums and got to see some of the really cool artifacts and the record room. Our own Todd Helton was mentioned on a view, bolstering perhaps his chance at the HOF. We also watched the movie on the 2nd floor and hung out at the Great Bambino room (The King of Crash, The Colossus of Clout) It was cool to see his old bats and a spiffy signed ball. It was certainly enthralling. They also had an olde tyme movie playing about how a certain play would be ruled in like 1860. Very cool. They even had a special display on the 2007 World Series which was cool because it was our own Rockies! Joseph got his picture taken at the exhibit marking his first ever game!



Then we made it to the holy of holies the first floor where all the plaques were. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond my control we were rushed out of the first floor and so I had to miss the broadcasting/writing wing. But we strolled through the Plaques and took some pictures with a few of the interesting ones. Very cool, certainly a moment of reflection. I enjoyed it very much. The history and the memories was all right there- they even had Tulo’s triple play ball.

Then we had about 10 seconds to explore the town of Coorperstown which really had some amazing shops. We had to miss seeing Doubleday field (and there was a baseball tournament going on too!) I missed out on some sweet shops but in the end I got a pretty good deal on a Slugger bat (though it is engraved erroneously with some other kids name) but it was only $20. Not bad for a fine piece of Ash. We also got 2 HOF plaque postcards, a keychain/ornament, a HOF mini Slugger bat and a tiny cute baseball mitt for Joseph that actually fits him. But we have many memories. I’d say my favorite part was either the World Series exhibit or the Plaque room.

By the numbers:

Hotels stayed in: 4
Cities visited: 13
Movies watched: 5 (the Sandlot, (twice) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Ghostbusters, 13 Going on 30
Money spent: I don’t even want to know
Different Airplanes: 4
Times at the Airport: 8

For some unexplained reason, after that we were rushed out of Cooperstown and we ended up stopping at Fly Creek so Leigh Anna could get a free apple slushy. We stopped and ate and enjoyed the little homestyle mill (where they have excellent Cider- it is very sweet and delicious) We saw Mullet Ducks and ate a lot of free samples of Salsa. It was a good place to let Cooperstown linger over us!

Then it was onto Newark, our Hotel which was about 1.5 hours away. We finally made it there, pretty tired and went down for a nice night’s sleep.

I plan to present our vacation in several parts so it doesn’t look so long. This is Part I. I’ll try to break it up into events- Cooperstown, Palymyra/Church History, Niagara Falls and Post Script. Come back later too for the fotos. As mentioned earlier there are hundreds of fotos so it’ll take us awhile to get through them all. But they’re coming. Also an update on the Thrill the Wedding Video everyone has been clamoring about- I am borrowing a firewire cable from my brother to be able to convert onto youtube. The hardware I have is insufficient and I wasn’t able to get the footage off the camera. Look for that in the coming weeks as well.

Come back soon for Part II.

We're Under Contract!!!

Well after much searching we found a house that we both loved. I had seen the house a week before and showed it to Jared on Father's Day. It meets all our musts and most of our wants as well. The staircase is our favorite feature of the whole house. Strange we know but it's awesome!! It's a bank repo but is surprisingly in pretty good shape. At least it appears to be, our inspection will be done within the week to confirm that. Mostly it needs some cosmetic changes. The biggest is that every room is wallpapered and it's gotta go!! The best is the Master bedroom and bath that has curtains that match the wallpaper exactly. This would be find if I liked peach, pink and country blue (I still hate pink). Also the yard is pretty dead and might have to be redone. I want that fake grass that looks and feels real but Jared response is "we are not white trash"
Since it was a repo we were planning on putting a super lowball offer in and see what the bank reply was. However we found out there was another offer on the house already so we placed a higher but still much lower that the asking price bid and hoped for the best. We put an offer in Tues 6/17 and were suppose to hear back within 72 hours which should have been Friday 6/20 and thought it would fun to find out while we were in Utah surrounded tons of family to celebrate with. Apparently the listing agent for the bank didn't feel he had to honor the offer contract that stated a decision would be made within 72 hours and didn't get back to us until 6:30 PM Tuesday 6/24. We were really worried that our offer was not high enough and the bank decided to keep the house on the market though the weekend in hopes of getting a better offer. We signed the counter offer tonight that didn't really change much from our original offer except it stated that after closing if we found anything wrong we could not sue the bank.
We are scheduled to close on July 24th. So anytime after is you are needing a place to sleep you are welcome to use one of our many rooms.

Here are some pictures I took from the listing.

http://www.coloradohomes.com/CustomModules/Property/PropertyDetail.aspx?SearchID=2837914&PropertyGUID=2D1272D4-A043-4E52-A9AB-C2BE76207D2F&TotalRows=32&CurrentPage=5&SortValue=0&LastResultsPage=1&SearchType=0&IsBranded=1&AgentID=989

Korimar!!-Ma-Ma-Ma-Ma

How was the wedding? Thrilling. See for yourself this awesome video of the Thriller dance in action. We ended up doing it twice because we botched the first attempt and pride wouldn’t allow us to leave it at that. The corresponding video is a conglomeration of both Thriller attempts. It brought down the house by the way. An otherwise stoic Robert commented that it was “Awesome.” Siskel and Ebert gave it 2 thumbs up. The kid-on-fieldtrip-at-Cave-of-the-Winds said “that was Awesome.” MJ himself would be proud- perhaps we’ll send him a copy- just make sure Joseph is not the one delivering it.

I’d say under the circumstances, the background dancers were really good. Some better than others. And special props to William and Ethan who really outdanced me. Not bad for white guys. Notice in the video how the bride and groom are nowhere to be found…

Also keep your eye on the “zombie” immediately behind Ethan. Her name is Haylee and she’s from Stephanie’s side. Specifically watch her eyes in relation to Ethan’s butt. Ummm Hmmm match made in heaven. Apparently Ethan and Haylee hit it off, exchanging phone numbers and email addresses. Nothing brings together families like thriller. Stay tuned I suspect another wedding in 5 or 6 years, and they’ll owe it all to Thriller. I am proud of Ethan, he handled it with grace and sophistication. They talked throughout the 2 day event and they danced together- a lot. When Soulja Boy was selected by the back-up DJ, Haylee knew the dance so well, William was “embarrassed to continue because she’s so good.” If you woulda told me one of the Christiansen boys was gonna score I wouldn’t have believed it- the magic of….the Thriller.

Other than that, the Artist Formerly Known as Mr. Stinky Face (Joseph) was all dolled up for the wedding. He even got his hair parted and combed for the first time ever. Couple that together with his baby blue 70’s Leisure suit and the growth of a second tooth and you got yourself 1 cute kid. There will be pictures of him later, once I get them. It turns out he likes to Splash in the fountain at the temple. You’d think his parents would stop him…

As far as the wedding itself- pretty normal nothing extraordinary. Went to the temple said a few words came out married, the usual. Although it was weird to have the bride take her endowments out only 24 hours before the Sealing. Yes I know that’s how it used to be but it seems strange to me. They seemed pretty happy. As it turns out I ended up on the same flight home as the newly weds. You think they’d talk to me on the flight home- no. And I even gave them a ride back to their/our house. I dropped them off at their/our house (due to our unfortunate housing situation we are currently staying with the old in-laws, as are they.) Well who wants to be stuck in a house with 2 people who’ve been married a matter of hours? Not me- so I bailed and went to stay at my Bro. In Law’s house Saturday night.

I went and hung out with my parents (my family was still in UT) all day Sunday, which was a nice opportunity to rest, skip church and de-stress. Sunday night rolls around and I’m like well I guess I better risk it and return “home.” As I approach, I see the unmistakable Mercury boat in the driveway- oh great, still here.

So I do the Christian thing and knock real loud before entering. I thought about turning around but I was too tired. So I finally get the door open and newlywed Carl says, “Hey what are you doing here?” I say, What am I doing here?, What are you doing here?” Carl: “We’re not leaving for the Springs till tomorrow.” “What are you doing here.”
Me: “Um…I live here??!”
Carl: “So are you going to come in or what?”
Me: “Um…yeah…I live here.”

Anyways the night didn’t get any less awkward let me put it like that. I ended up taking a shower and going to bed (because I felt dirty? Who knows) but needless to say it was a weird night.

Kylie came to visit

I meet my new cousin Kylie over the weekend when Uncle Ben and Aunt Jenni came to CO for a wedding. She is 6 weeks old, super tiny and everyone says she is really cute. Mommy picked her up and said "Joseph I don't think you were ever this small" Grandma said that I was smaller than Kylie was. I think Mommy must be losing her mind cause it's only been 7 months since I was the same age Kylie is. How could she forget such important things about me. Her job is to remember every moment of my life.
I was excited to have more people come to play with me but Mommy, Grandma and Aunt Diana all kept doting on Kylie and ignored me!! I even caught mommy kissing Kylie several times!!! I tried to tell her that she should NOT be kissing anyone but me and daddy but she pretended she didn't understand me. Personally I thought she was boring, I can sit up, crawl, use my hands, don't have a floppy head and laugh at you when you are funny. All Kylie did was sleep, cry and eat. To top it off everyone kept trying to get me to hold her. I kept pushing her away clearing stating the fact that I did not what her on my lap but again no one listened to me!! I tried to be nice though and shared my toys and listened to Mommy when she told me to be soft and not kick, punch, or drool on Kylie.
Overall it was a good visit and I'm sure Kylie will be a fun cousin when she get big like me.