Easter in Palmyra

How cute is this bed and breakfast? Nearly 10 years ago when I went to Palmyra with my parents we stayed here and I knew I wanted to bring my littles back to this exact place. It's called Liberty House and if you are going to Palmyra you MUST stay here. The owners are the nicest people you'll ever meet, the breakfast is delicious, the rooms are comfortable and it's close to everything you want to visit. Seriously, stay here! We're sure glad we did. 

Because our priorities are totally in line, we arrived in Palmyra on Saturday night and our first stop was to Chill & Grill where we feasted on hamburgers, fries, and the best ice cream ever. Not to mention those portions, right? T and Ever both got half kiddie cones--yes, those are HALF of a kiddie cone (with rainbow sherbet on the bottom and soft serve on top) and James and I got a kiddie cone which was THREE scoops of ice cream. We kept commenting that it would have cost us a fortune to buy that much ice cream in the city! It was as good as I remembered it being.

We woke up the next morning to find that the Easter Bunny had found us all the way in Palmyra. The boys got watches, books and candy and Quinners got some books, sunglasses and a new sippy. There were eggs hidden all over the house and the kids were wildly searching for them with the biggest smiles on their faces. It was such a great morning!

And then, oh then, breakfast was served to us in the parlor and it was a million times awesomer than anything I ever could have/would have made. I mean, those bunny pancakes though? How adorable is that? And peeps in our hot cocoa? We also had fresh fruit and orange juice, warm muffins and eggs, milk and bacon. It was an Easter dream come true!

I feel like none of the next few pictures will mean much or look all that interesting to anyone reading this post because frankly it's just our family standing in front of a bunch of old houses and big groves of trees. That being said, these pictures mean the world to me and if you could go beyond seeing these pictures and feel the feelings I/we felt and the memories I hope we created for my babies you would totally understand why I'm including every single last one of them. 

The reason we went to Palmyra is because it is the birthplace of our church. Joseph Smith, a young boy living in this small, farming town was confused about what religion to join. He attended many different denominations, read the Bible and finally prayed in a grove of trees asking God to help him decide what church he should attend. During that prayer God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ appeared to Joseph Smith and told him not to join any church but instead he would restore Christ's church in it's fullness, and thus The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints was born in the early spring of 1820. 

So here we were, so very many early spring's later visiting the exact location where Joseph Smith lived, where he prayed, where he saw God, where the church was organized and where so many other remarkable things occurred. In fact, the church was officially organized on April 6th and 185 years later we were at the exact place it was organized on April 6th. How cool is that, right? Our time in Palmyra was cold and snowy and the kids were rowdy, crazy little kids but you know what? It was awesome and memorable and they came home knowing the story of Joseph Smith and our church's history backwards and forwards--even little Ever Knight. 

The log house Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith shared with their 9 children. Here's the funny thing. When I came here with my parents I remember thinking it was so, so small but when James and I walked into this place we thought, "Wow, this is super roomy!" I guess that's what having 5 people in less than 500 square feet will do to you. 

When one of their sons Alvin died, they planted a tree in his honor. This is the tree nearly 200 years later and for some reason it was so touching and beautiful to me.

They upgraded to this little beauty right up the road. That red door had me swooning for sure!

Watching my boys hold hands and run through the farmland had me imagining how special it must have been for Joseph and his siblings to have so much space to play and run and be independent little creatures. Sure they worked hard (and my city self would probably go crazy) but there's no doubt my boys would love this. How cute are these little lads?

The above pictures were all taken in the Sacred Grove. In all the videos and pictures you see of Joseph's first vision the trees are always green and lush but turns out early spring in Palmyra still parades bare trees and no greens. It was great to see the grove how it would have really looked when Joseph Smith went in to pray. Birds were still chirping, bees singing, there were even deer prancing around the gorgeous stream. It was beautiful.

This is a replica of Martin Harris' home, which James said is his dream home--every last stone. Martin Harris mortgaged his farm to pay for printing of the first 5000 copies of the BOM, which was actually printed here:

E.B. Grandin Printing Press.

On Monday morning (April 6th) we went to the David Whitmer farm. And that cute little house pictured above? That is where the church was organized (well, that house is a replica, but you know)!

Before jumping back into the car to go to NYC we hit up Chill & Grill one last time. And it was just as good as the first time.

Palmyra was a really special place to spend Easter and remember our Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of Him I can be with these little rugrats forever, and for that I am ridiculously grateful.

Niagara Falls

Who knew that a couple of car seats and a red, shiny rental were all these kids needed to produce sunshiney smiles the likes New York hasn't seen in months? I'm pretty sure we could have driven in circles through Queens and the boys would have been in highway heaven but instead we drove north about 7 hours to see the most spectacular waterfalls the US of A has to offer.

I learned a few things about cars during this trip, and seeing as cars and I don't have much experience together I think it's smart to note (for the benefit of my future self): 1) Three kids in the back seat worked, but boy would I have liked more room (or an extra row) so that I could sit next to my chickens and help with bottle feeding and binky finding. 2) Quinn and the car seat are best friends. She slept like she's never slept before--long and hard. 3) This is weird, I'm well aware, but I'm not used to not seeing my kids straight in the face at all times. So maybe I now have a phone full of selfies so that I could see who was smiling at me from the backseat.

Back to the trip itself--fab-u-lous! I'm not one to romanticize things too much, I'm all about keeping it real, but this trip was pretty dang spectacular. It was the perfect mix of seeing natural wonders, having some kiddie carnival fun and then a spiritual adventure on the way back to NYC (visiting Palmyra, pictures to come). The weather was cold, but we had a good walk around the falls both days we were there and then headed to Fallsview Indoor Waterpark which was connected to our hotel to play the rest of the time away. The boys were the perfect age for the park and played for hours and went down every slide, and by the time the day was done we cuddled up next to the fireplace in our hotel room and watched the light show in the falls until we fell asleep. One piece of advice if you're planning on visiting the falls--splurge for a room with a view. It felt so fancy and meant that even when our littles were fast asleep James and I could enjoy the spectacular view out our window, and oh was it spectacular.

Here are a whole lot of pictures of the falls fun we had:

The American Falls were partly frozen and it was amazing to see. God's work is truly incredible!

Horseshoe Falls were my favorite, with force I can't even begin to understand. And PS, Everett decided that every picture in this trip needed to include a tongue!

So glad that our family got to experience this fun vacation together, even Quinny who was tucked inside someone's jacket the whole time (darn wind).

The Rainforest Cafe made for such a fun dinner after a full day of fun. Our "cultural" Canadian experience was getting a Shirley Temple, Canada style (they add orange juice). We also got a giant and delicious volcano dessert.

My Easter Peeps

I took 200 pictures thinking that maybe I'd get one good shot (because that's usually how it goes) but as I flipped through photos of my little loves in their Easter garb I was overcome with how adorable they were in each and every one. Yes, I loved all 200 of them! {Don't zone out, I will not share all 200 of them! But I will share a few more than I probably should!} I couldn't stop smiling at T's squinty, laughing eyes and Ever's fingers in his mouth and Quinny dead-panning at the camera. I didn't get a single picture where all three of them were smiling but hey, the three little people I love the most are in a single picture--isn't that the greatest, luckiest thing? I sure think so.

I had always wanted two little girls because growing up I learned the bond between sisters is the greatest and most special relationship in the world, but I must say that the bond between these two brothers is mimicking the beautiful relationship Ash and I share. T and Ever are opposite in almost every way and yet compliment each other perfectly and just adore each other. They will disappear to their bedroom and entertain each other with make-believe and legos and reading for hours...and I really mean hours. I look at these pictures and see a lifetime of memories and fun yet to come and I can't wait to watch them grow together. They're lucky to have each other and of course I'm lucky to have them.

Daddy was successfully making the little boys laugh but Quinny? She didn't think he was funny at all! Poor baby is still having sleeping problems and I think she may have wanted to fall asleep sitting up at this point!

These two pictures right here are going up on my wall ASAP. Seriously though? In the history of cute pictures this has gotta rank somewhere near the top, am I right? I loved it so much I gave it to you twice--one in color, the other B&W. {And you see what I mean about Ev's fingers?!}

You can't see Quinn's sweater in this picture but trust me when I say that it has the cutest little bunny rabbit pocket you have ever seen. I ran into H&M last week to return something and definitely left with that sweater, and how could I not? Quinn could be my only girl and I don't want to regret anything--including dressing her in a Easter bunny sweater! ;) Picture to come!

Pretty, pretty Quinny. Happy first Easter week baby girl.

That looks comfy, Quinn!

Quinn hates sleeping on her cozy mattress in her nice, warm crib. She prefers falling asleep on the hardwood using a pokey toy as a pillow. Because that makes total sense.

Also note that this mid-afternoon snooze occurred while I was doing the BBG and listening to Uptown Funk radio super loud on Pandora. This girl...!