9 states in 9 days...

Day 1: Recently I was able to have a fun adventure with my mother in law! Jakes parents decided to move to Utah to come join family there so I got to go up to Maryland to join Susan in a long drive! I flew up on a Wedensday! When I got there we went to Walmart and got some treats and then went to PF Changs for dinner! One of my favorites! Then we got to go to the movies and see FAST FIVE! Yes I Love that movie! I realized it was a bit more violelent the second time I saw the movie, but yes, I still love it!

Day 2: Thursday the movers came to pick up the items! It was a rocky and smooth day all at the same time! It was fun! I didn't realize though..moving is a TON of work! Literally, weight...haha my cheesey jokes....I did get some good gameboy time in though. That was a nice touch to the day! I got to meet some of Susans friends and having yummy Panera Bread Lunch and Ritas Dessert! After the movers left around 11 pm, We were so excited to get going and so we started drivng to Ohio! On our way we passed threw Pennsylvania and got to ride of the famous Pennsylvania Turnpike!

After a nap at the rest stop, we continued on way and made it to Ohio at 6am!

Day 3: I was so excited about this stop because my awesome mother in law was taking me to see my sister!!!! I have never been so excited to see Hayley! It was the best being at her home, seeing how she decorated everything so cute, being able to spend time with her and her family and just have a blast! Oh it was the best time ever!

Isnt this the cutest girl ever? This was the best thing ever seeing in the morning! When we arrived at Hayleys we got to play with her for a little bit until the kids woke up! Originally in the driving schedule we were not going to get Hayleys till later on Friday because we were going to be driving there on friday, so it was so nice to have the whole day with her! But she had a doctors appointment in the morning because she is 8 months pregnant!  So it worked out perfect, we got to play with her kids and get some good one on one time with them while she went to the doctors office!

This is the cutest boy ever! I love Reed!

Our yummy gourmet breakfast Hayley prepared for us! She is quite the chef!

I was loving watching my cute mother in law play with my sisters kids! It made me excited for when I SOMEDAY....have kids they will have the best grandma ever!

Mallory and new grandma Susan played Candyland at least 20 plus times that day! What a good sport :) Friday was a great day being able to sit and talk with Hayley! She is such a blast!

Friday night was a treat to have my cousins the Laubaugh family come over! It was so fun because some of their kids were in town! So, it was perfect to have a little early Memorial Day bbq kick off! Uncle Brian and Mitch did a fabouls job grilling the burgers, Hayley made a fabouls fruit dip and yummy appetizers! It was a great meal!

Cute Mallory and Jana! Jana leaves for her mission in Germany so soon! So excited! GO JANA~

Mitch and baby Brooklyn

Uncle B., Rochelle, Mitch

Aunt Robin, Brooklyn

Yes, more players for Candy Land!

The day before we arrived it was Keiths birthday (Hayleys Husband). He was on call at work and had a late night at the hospital. Its ok though because he got to amputate a few toes off so he said that was fun. Anyways the Laugbaughs were so cute and got him a treat and Reed was loving the ballon. 

Alex(Just graduated high school! Whoop whoop!), Kelsey

A night with the Laugbaughs is not complete without a good game of FIVE CROWNS! Funnest game ever! I wonder who the winner was..... :) We got to eat yummy cookies and brownies Hayley made! and a ton of glasses of good cold milk!

I love seeing family! It was the best ending the night talking till 2am! Life is good!

Day 4: We got to go on a fun drive to Kirtland Ohio to go see some church history sites! The kids got a good bike ride in the morning before we took off!

Before we went on the tour we got some McDonalds to eat! We sat on some of the tables they had outside! It was perfect weather!

Reed was cracking me up how he would drink his chocolate milk. He has some good skills.

Walking to the Kirtland Visitors Center!

The mill was Reeds favorite part! Had  fun running around looking at the water!

This ended our tour at the Kirtland Visitors Center. The kids had been so good the whole day! They were troopers! We had the cutest sister missionaries that gave our tour! It made it a blast! Now off to the Kirtland Temple.

We got to have our own private tour for the Kirtland Temple. Now they have a vistors center and a video and fun stuff, but the kids were getting tired and so mama Sue asked if we could just look inside real quick, so someone took us around and showed us it all! It  was cool! We got to see all 3 stories and look around and even sit in a pew(dont know how to spell....! )

Mallory and Tuna really bonded this trip! That made me really happy! On our way home they had fun playing together. We also picked up some hair dye and pizza for a fun night!

Who knew Jalepeno, pepperoni, and pineapple greatest pizza combo ever! After a great dinner, and keith being home we all got to play together! It was great! Then everyone went to bed and Hayley and I stayed up making smoothies and dying each others hair! Oh and watched some Bachlorette! I had so much fun visiting Hayley! That was the best! I was sad leaving Hayleys the next morning, but I was glad knowing I would get to see her  in another week in NEW YORK!

Day 5: Sunday morning we woke up and took a drive to Indiana and Illinois! This day there was some super intense rain. Mom was a great driver and drove threw it like a champ! On this next adventure we were going to the Eppels home! I had heard rumors they were  the neatest/coolest family and after this trip...the rumors were true! They were such an amazing family! I LOVED THEM!


We arrived at their home mid afternoon to all of them running out to great us! Then we had awesome conversations about books, and music! This family is quite inspiring! After the trip I came home and read five books in a week! (Percy Jackson and the Olympian Series). Thats how inspiring they were! I even got my violin out when I got home and practiced a bit. All of their kids love the gospel, love the Lord and love having fun, reading, adventures, being active, music..it was great! Then we had a awesome dinner and topped off the night with poetry reading and a game of Five Crowns!

Day 6: Was Memorial Day! And it was a great day! Got to sleep in, catch up on some phone calls, eat a great breakfast, have fun playing animals with Lily, a fabouls yummy lunch!, Kung Fu Panda 2, Five Crowns, great conversation,...lots of great things! It was an ideal day! Oh and how could I forget..we had MAGNUM BARS!  The best ever!

They always set the dinner table so cute!

Everyone around the table! The picture is kind of dark but you can catch the good times.

A yummy meal! Thanks Eppel family for a great time! I had a blast getting to meet you and hope to see you all soon!

Day 7: Another highlight of the trip was going to some church sites! Next stop..Carthage Jail! The morning started of raining and crackling lightning, but as the day went on, there was a bright sun out all day!

Gun shot through the door.

Left window is the one Joseph Smith was shot and fell out of.

Its always great to see places that can remind you of sacrifices that people made so you can be where you are today. I am amazed at all the people did to help restore the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. After visiting Carthage Jail, we made our way onto Nauvoo!

The first thing we got to do in Nauvoo was go on a cool pony ride! This was a beautiful view of the Nauvoo Temple! It was so cool and beautiful! I was so excited to see it! What an amazing day to see it!

The horse ride was great! It took us all through old town Nauvoo and we got to see alot of places where people lived and worked.

Tuna thinks the old ovens were cool. I do to. I am extremely grateful for a oven in the 2000's and there technology.

I really loved Scovils story of how he joined the church. It was beautiful and an amazing missionary. At his old bakery they give you a ginger bread cookie!

We got to go to the blacksmith and get a perrie diamond ring! It was perfect for a bracelet for Tuna. It was a nail shaped into a ring! Pretty cool! We got to see a man make a horse shoe to! That was neat!

Its fun to see how they made everything back in the day. I was surprised how many sayings we have today are from that time period but I never knew where they came from like "mind your p's and q's" ext. Here is Tuna sitting on a display for making wax candles.

We got to help make a rope. This was a family process for sure!

Shaving stand.

The printing press was my favorite! I think the whole process was so neat! It must of taken so long to print one paper!

The Nauvoo Brass Band! So cute! They preform a few concerts a day!

After a great day at looking at historic Nauvoo, mom and I got to go do a temple session! This temple is so beautiful! 

After a fun day we were hungry! We went to Hotel Nauvoo for a dinner buffet!

round one!

That night we got to see a play put on by the Missionaries! It was so cute! Then we went off to our hotel to get some good sleep because the next day was a long driving day! 

Day 8: Yummy breakfast buffet! The french toast was great! We got to have a good breakfast and take a few fun last looks at Nauvoo before we took off.

It was early...

Susan and Kimball :)
On our drive we got to drive through Iowa. It was fun driving though there because of the windmills, rolling hills and pretty sites.


After Iowa, we came into Nebraska!

    In Nebraska we got to stop in Winter Quarters. We were hoping to go to the temple there but we missed the days is open! Thats ok though we got to go to the cool visitors center! We keep getting the cutest sister missionary guides that are so sweet! It was fun! I really loved this museum/visitors center because it had some really cool artifacts that people had carried during their journey across the U.S.

                           

Before we went into the visitors center we took a walk around the Winter Quarters Temple grounds.

Then we went for a walk around the cemetery. Many of the graves from the pioneers were no longer marked.

A few Harris's. I wonder if we are related? Ill have to look that up.

Front of the Visitors Center.

A log cabin they would of lived in, with about 12 people...

Pulling a demo handcart! We put a rock infront of it (a little one) and it was so hard to pull the hand cart with nothing in it over the rock. I was so surprised! The pioneers were serious troopers!

Yummy Jimmy Johns for lunch! It was really good! This was my first time having it and I really liked it! The bread was way good! I even got a yummy pickle to eat with it!

After a fun stop at lunch, we headed on the road again till we arrived at our hotel! Lets talk about how cool it was! Free milk and hot cookies, hot tub (I forgot my swim suit, so I wore my clothes and hung them out to dry), cozy beds, and more! It was so fun! We got to watch some TV and get some Nintendo going on! For breakfast there was an awesome buffet! I would go back and stay in that hotel in Ohmaha anytime!

Here is Tuna playing some Nintendo before bed! He is so good at the Pirates game. Anyways the next day we head home all the way to Utah! Goodbye Nebraska, Hello Wyoming

 Day 9: Wyoming was more flat and super windy to drive through! It was fun to see it though!

After a fun/long drive we made it to Utah! We pulled up to Jakes parents new house and Jake was there waiting to say hello to us! It was so wonderful to see him! Then him and I headed home!

So remember how I told Jake I wanted an Edible Arrangement someday? Well he decided to make his own! It was so cute! We ate it all that night! I never knew cantaloupe would be good dipped in chocolate.

Friday I was loving to read! I read the whole Lightning Thief book! It was great! (The ones after are even better)

Saturday night we went on a fun group date with Heather Parker, Tanner and some of their family and friends! It was a blast! I love LASER TAG! With TRON music playing in the background, how could you not have fun shooting people! We played girls against boys. Luckily...the girls won!

At the Laser Tag they had my favorite laffy taffys! Cherry SPARKLE! Oh, they are the best!!!! I should of bought more to eat! I guess I will have to go back to play laser tag!

Sunday/Monday I read two other books in the Percy Jackson series. I really liked them! After I read them I realized I was leaving in the morning and needed to pack for New York City and a Arizona trip! Wahoo!