Day 11- July 10th
Today, we went to Sacrament Meeting in Independence, Missouri, which happened to be right next to the visitor's center. Afterwards, we went to the visitor's center. It was a really nice visitor's center, with lots of interesting things for adults and children. They had several "Book of Mormon"s in many different languages and even the first edition of the Book of Mormon. The kids especially enjoyed the playroom downstairs, which included a small log cabin and a covered wagon. They loved pretending to be pioneers! It entertained them for quite a long time, which gave me the chance to feed the baby. (Meanwhile, Grant and Dan went and checked out the other church's temple and such. I had no desire to go. I wish, since they don't consider Joseph Smith a prophet any longer, they would just sell his things and properties to our church.) Then we headed upstairs to go to a special part of the visitor's center. We had a personal tour of the presentation by a really sweet Sister missionary. We watched a different part of the video, in each room, which was decorated with items from that part of the video. For example, a crib and toys when they talked about the girl being a baby. It followed a family through different circumstances (birth, death, a wedding, etc.) and talked about families being together forever. It was a neat little presentation. I enjoyed it. When we left the Independence visitor's center, we stopped at the temple site (which was dedicated to be a temple site by Joseph Smith), which is owned by the "Community of Christ Temple Lot Church," yet another branch of the reorganized church (there were lots of branches in Missouri and Illinois.) Then we headed to Liberty, to see the Liberty Jail. Joseph spent several months in this dark jail, (due to false accusations, yet again) and ended up receiving several important revelations there, which are contained in the Doctrine and Covenants. It was so interesting to see just how small and how dark, this jail was. I couldn't even imagine spending one day in there- for one thing, they used a bucket to do their business! The details we learned were so fascinating! For example, we learned that even the jailer was a prisoner, while he was on guard, until the shift was over and someone came to relieve him, as there was no door knob on the inside. Also, the jail was quite secure, as the walls and roof, were built with rocks and stones and thick wood. We also learned that the original jail broke apart. However, right before this happened, a church historian, who was visiting the jail, was inspired to measure and write down the exact measurements of the original jail. Because of this, they were able to recreate it exactly- so neat! Even though Calyssa had a hard time at the Liberty Jail, and cried a lot, which made it hard to get the full effect and feel the spirit, I still enjoyed being there and learning about the Liberty Jail. When we went back to the car to leave, the temperature in the car was 109' F!! It wasn't really quite that hot outside- the car was parked in the sun. (Although, at 8 o'clock that evening, it was still over 100' F!! Crazy!) Then we headed to the new Kansas City temple, which is being built. We saw some pretty cool houses, on the way (and on the entire trip.) The temple was beautiful! Grant and I especially enjoyed seeing the rules for construction workers, on the temple site- 1) Wear ID, 2) Keep the grounds clean, 3) No inappropriate language/no swearing, 4) No tobacco use, 5) Hard hats must be worn, 6) Only park in designated areas, 7) "Golden rule policy is required when interacting with neighbors of the project site." It was cool to know that even when a temple is being built, they are required to maintain high standards. That night, we arrived in Kansas (another new state!) and at the home of our friends, Dan and Celeste. (Actually, we were able to visit their old home and their new home, as they were in the process of moving. It was so nice of them to let us stay with them while their home was on the market.)
Day 12- July 11th
We spent the day in Kansas, just relaxing! We so needed that! It was really nice! (Well, except for the fact that it was 104' F, but most of the trip it was a lot cooler than it should've been. Plus everyone has air conditioning, so we can't really complain.) We spent most of the day at the new house, which was good because someone called to see the house (so Grant and Dan put our suitcases in the garage.) At the new house, the girls put on an American Doll wedding, using the one with the shortest hair, as the boy, and an American Doll ice skating competition. We also ate lots of yummy foods, just like the rest of our time with Dan and Celeste. Celeste is an amazing cook! Then we went to a splash park and the kids had a blast!! Trieste also invited her other best friend, and her family. She was so excited to have Riana meet her!! It was cute! I really enjoyed visiting with her friend's Mom, and Dan and Celeste. (Grant stayed and took a nap with Aurora and Colette.) Her friend's family was originally from Egypt, I believe, and we both learned some new things that day. (She didn't know that in our culture, you can pick your childrens' middle names. I guess in the Muslim religion, they all, even girls, take their Father's name, as a middle name.) I learned things about Egypt and about the Muslim religion. It was really interesting to talk to her. Later that evening, Trieste and Riana played a game of Jenga and invited their Daddys to come see. The Daddys ended up taking over- LOL! The girls thought it was hilarious!! Then we all went on a hunt for fireflies. They fly fairly slow and thus, are pretty easy to catch. Even the younger girls were able to get some. After catching about 20 or so, they let them all go. Then we ate some trifle, which was heavenly!! Yum! :) And played some "Just Dance- Kids." Even the adults joined in! It was really fun and especially cute to see all the girls dancing together. Adorable! At one point, Colette and Aurora let us know they were going to bed and then climbed into Dan and Celeste's bed, and shut the door. I figured we would find them in there, jumping on the bed- seemed too good to be true! However, to all of our surprise, we found two toddlers sleeping soundly!! Amazing!! They must've had a long, fun day!! We all did!
