Monday, July 29, 2013

Liberty, MO & Independence, MO

The kids and I needed to get back to Colorado at the start of August but we decided to take a different route home so we could see some more church sites.  We stopped in Liberty, MO and did a tour of Liberty Jail and then went to the Independence, MO visitors center.  Afterwards we stopped for some fantastic Kansas City barbecue and then continued on our trek home with an overnight stop in Tulsa, OK.









Monday, July 22, 2013

Navuoo, IL Weekend Trip

Since we were only about 3 hours away from Nauvoo this summer, we decided to take a couple of days and make a trip over there.  We drove over after church on Sunday and stayed at a hotel nearby.  In the morning, I was able to go to a session in the Nauvoo temple while Rob watched the kids (he had been through this same temple a few weeks previous with his cousin Kenny).  And then we went and explored Nauvoo.  We did the oxen ride, played with the old pioneer toys, did dress up, got a treat from the bakery, saw the bricks being made, the blacksmith, stopped at the fudge shop, etc.   After Nauvoo we rushed over to Carthage to take the Carthage Jail tour before they closed up for the day.  Although I have done both of these things a couple of times in the past, it's always a great reminder to me of the legacy of the pioneers and what they sacrificed.












Thursday, July 11, 2013

Blank Park Zoo

Before the summer office went out to work one day, we took a field trip to the Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines.  Everyone raved about this zoo but I guess I am spoiled by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo because I wasn't too impressed.  I liked their rain forest exhibit to start with and the monkeys were hilarious in singing that day and the kids had fun.








Thursday, July 04, 2013

4th of July - Des Moines Style

This year we spent the 4th of July in Des Moines, IA and really loved it!  Besides the humidity, I am a big fan of the celebrations in the Midwest part of the country.  The fun started on July 3rd when we went to a parade in West Des Moines.  We didn't realize the amount of candy that the kids would accumulate during the parade!  They were able to get right up on the side of the parade lines and gathered a bunch of candy.  We were able to sit on the grass in front of the church building that we attended that summer for the parade. That night we went to the fireworks show in Downtown Des Moines that they did over the river.

The next day was the 4th of July and the only day off that Rob had all summer.   We had a barbecue/water fight with the other families from Now Communications at a local park for most of the afternoon, did some swimming, and then went to the fireworks show in West Des Moines at Raccoon River Park.














The next day was the 4th of July and the only day off that Rob had all summer.   We had a barbecue/water fight with the other families from Now Communications at a local park for most of the afternoon, did some swimming, and then went to the fireworks show in West Des Moines at Raccoon River Park.