LIVIN' THE DREAM (STILL)

We started this month by walking to the Sacred Grove hoping that it would not rain.  Not so.  It poured and we were very far from the entrance as it is now bigger than over, 60 acres.  We tried standing under trees and that helped but all the time we were having so much fun and feeling such a choice Spirit.  We were almost out when Dad realized he didn't have his hat.  I stood under a tree while he marched back and found it. 

We were drenched by the time we got out.  What a great way to enjoy the Spirit that is always there.  Nothing can dampen it.  We saw birds, frogs and squirrels.

This Sunday, just a week after her mother's memorial, Debby sent us home with a picnic basket for us to stop at a park on our way home and enjoy.  She is just so thoughtful.  It even had a flower and a vase.  She amazes us.  she used to own a trucking business.  It took us 4 hours to get home.
On our way home we got a little lost and found these 2 beautiful cemeteries on an old out of the way road near Lockport.

 included a mausoleum

August 6th we went with the missionaries to Letchworth State Park to enjoy what they call the NY Grand Canyon.  Not even close.  It was beautiful and had 3 falls that were huge and beautiful.  We ate lunch at the Glen Iris Inn, which was very nice.

 Pickups, Barlows, Barrett

 Mills,Lindsays,Flints

Seamons, us, Myers(friends) Barbers

We hiked for a few hours and enjoyed the beauty and than headed back.  It was a hot, mosquitoy, beautiful day.

   

Max & Ruth Seamons

 missionaries at the middle falls

                              

 lower falls

We loved Watkins Glen better but then it was very different.  We were with the Seamons and of course had ice cream at Pulcini's on the way home.(Palmyra)

Mills truck load

 Barbers joined us

finally the Pickups  and the Barlows

 Wednesday, Aug 8^th is our day off and it was pouring rain.  The Seamons decided to take us to see the new way (dairies that are prosperous) milk their cows by laser technology.  We’re not sure how we feel about it but they sure do get the milk.
The cows automatically, (because they have been trained since 2 months old,) line up to get a bath and scrubbing.

Water Beds

After seeing the cows we went to the Belhurst Castle.  Not much to see but had some beauty.

 lots of wood

view from the back

 We continually have so many wonderful experiences in the temple each day but feel they are too sacred to put in a blog.  I do keep them in my journal and hope I can remember the feelings we had.

We had a fun experience in the temple Saturday.  A girl came up to Dad and said "You were my high school Principal."  What a surprise.  She was also a student in my third grade class when I taught.  She is still the wonderful, cheery girl she was then. She is in Syracuse with her husband while he works on his doctorate.  She said "Wow, you have white hair now."  Yup.
I had looked on the schedule just because and there was a name for endowments...Mahlon Grass.  We thought maybe it could be the man who taught Scott in fifth grade but decided not.  We waited in the lobby until the session was close to starting and sure enough there walked in Mr. Grass.  I think he was more surprised than we were.  He looked good but too thin and definitely older.  We love being here and seeing old friends.  Many tender moments.
Well, we had a very long Sunday.  It takes 2 hours to get to church and then the 3 hour meetings. We love going over the bridges on this side of Grand Island and then we drive on and go over the bridges going off Grand Island on to Niagara.

The missionaries were the speakers and again they had someone baptized this week.  They work so hard. 

We can't remember when Bev and her daughter were baptized but it's somewhere in here.  They both have shown the power of doing the right thing.  We love them so much and they have overcome such hard times.  We are hoping for the older daughter to come unto Christ and be baptized.  The mark over Bev's eye is a fall.  We love them so much.

We decided to go a different way home so we could see more of this beautiful country.  We decided to follow the Niagara River to Buffalo

and then Lake Erie south to Dunkirk.  What a beautiful ride.  We saw the lake all the way and enjoyed its beauty so much.  The Great Lakes are so beautiful and huge.  They wouldn't even name Deer Creek, it's so small.  We found Dunkirk to be such a beautiful little port.  We turned East to head home and looked on our GPS to find it was 6 hours away.  It is still in our temple district but we had no idea it would take so long.  We loved this time together and enjoyed going up and down some hills.  Everything is green and beautiful in this area of NY.  One place advertised a mountain view hotel, but we never saw a mountain.  There was a little mound though.  We love this beautiful country we are blessed to live in and the freedoms we have to enjoy. I took a gazillion pictures of barns but thought this was nice.

  Our Father and his Son love us so much.  We can overcome anything with our attitude and Their help.  We finally got home at 7:30 that evening, very tired and hungry.  Dad had driven longer that he had in any day on our trip out here.

Monday was another fun day with the other missionaries.  It is our P-Day and drove 2.5 hours to Alexandria Bay to take a boat on the St. Lawrence Sea Way, called 1,000 Lakes.  It is so beautiful.  Our cruise included lunch on the sea and was very good.  

Barretts, Pickups,Pres. Miner, Lindseys, Seamons, Barbers, Sis Flint (don't know where her husband is), us, Barlows

fun little light house

I loved this island home.

We sailed a little over 2 hours and on the way back we took a tour of the Bolt Castle.  It is the only thing on this island. 

George C. Bolt built if for his wife to show her how much he loved her.  There are hearts everywhere; carved in the wood, in the flowerbeds, an on many things.  It has 5 floors.  He came to America in 1864 from Prussia, the son of poor parents.  He became a multimillionaire when he was the proprietor of the Waldorf Astoria in NY City.  He was a trustee of Cornell University.  This shows how a poor man came to his dream of America the land of freedom and worked hard.  We are so blessed to live here even with the struggles of today. The castle was never finished because in 1904 his wife died and he never set foot on the island again.  He left it to his son and daughter. It remained vacant and subject to vandalism for 73 years when in 1977 the Bridge Authority of the Lakes bought it for $1. They have paid over $15,000,000 to restore it. 

These are pictures of the restored part as it looks now. 

                         

 play house with bridge to the main island

staircase

ball room

the top

He had 5 other mansions on the lakes and

                   a huge boat house across from the castle.  

 during the renovation

 before and after the stairs

 yet to be done

There is a small pool in the basement that needs work.  Scott and Beth this would be quite the project for you.

We enjoyed the day and of course had ice cream when we got off the boat.

Wednesday is our day off and the Seamons took us antique hunting.  I wanted to buy this real spinning wheel but there is no way it will fit in our car and it was $250 to ship it home.  Dad had fun. 

Facsimile of Jim Brown's World Championship ring when Cleveland was good.

Again ice cream after shopping.  Every crook and cranny has an ice cream shop.

Friday I worked our whole shift in the office on the computers.  Needless to say not my favorite time.  Kristin, you would be proud of me.  I did not damage anything and recorded over 200 ordinances. Whew!  I also did the prayer roll that people called in, and set appointments for people.  Still, not my favorite thing,
Saturday was a fun day because again we were in the temple for 5 hours.  It is the most peaceful place on earth and we love it.  About dinner time we decided to have salt potatoes, fresh corn and steak when the Seamons walked by.  They joined us and we had a great dinner.  Some other missionaries happened by and so we all went for ice cream at Pulcini's.  This is what we call heaven.  We'll probably have to roll home.
Sunday is always good in Niagara.  We love the spirit of the 4 missionaries and the beautiful ride each way.  You can see 2 goal posts in this field; the other one is in the middle behind the tree.  Go figure.

 The people are so engaged in the work of the Lord.  They all have to travel a long distance compared to Utah.
It was the 19th and Deb Targan had another full meal for us.  She is unbelievable.  She sends us so much home.  Again, we decided to try an new way home.  We found new barns and a beautiful waterfall right in the middle of the village.

 Honeoye Falls

As you go to the Hill Cumorah from our house you can see some graves in a little spot by the road.

 The land was owned by Brother Griffin's grandfather who was one who persecuted the Saints in early Palmyra.There is also a cart on the cover of the well that Joseph dug.

This is how neatly they stack the bales of hay to take to the barns.

Monday was another day with the missionaries.  A brother in charge of seminaries around here, took us to the Tomlinson Inn in Mendon NY.  We went there at the very first of our mission but he had so much information for that area.  Joseph Smith sent his younger brother, Samuel Smith to that area to sell the Book of Mormon an teach the Gospel.  This was in 1830 and he was the first  missionary called in this dispensation. His courage had him go across the room at the Tomlinson Inn, and ask Phineas Young if he would read the book.

 Tomlinson Inn

 listening to Bro. Gammon

 barn where Samuel slept

  Phineas decided to read it so he could announce its faults.  He read the whole book in one week and couldn't find anything wrong so read it again.   His father, John Young Young read it and then his sister, Fanny.  Fanny gave it to her brother, Brigham young, who gave to to his friend Heber Kimball.
April 15, Brigham Young was baptized in his own mill stream and made an elder, "before my clothes were dry on my back" 

stream

 missionaries

missionaries walking out from the mill pond stream

Heber C. Kimball was baptized the next day and their wives Miriam and Vilate within a few days.  The way barns were built in that era.  This one is Brigham's father's.

The way the walls were buit

Basement of barn where the young missionaries keep their bikes.

Heber C. Kimball home

The Mendon Branch was organized the spring of 1832 and soon had 30 members; 11 of which were Youngs.  The Inn became the meetinghouse for the branch.  By September most of 1833 most of the members had moved to Kirtland, Ohio. Brigham's wife, Miriam had died of TB.
After the tour we went into town to see the 2nd oldest RR station in the US.

After the 6 miles of hiking we went to the East View Mall and ate.  The kids would love the carousel.

That evening Elder Cook who was greatly responsible in the building of the Palmyra Temple took us through the steps of getting all the papers and legal stuff in order for the building to begin.  It was amazing.  From beginning to end was less than a year.  A modern miracle.

Aug. 21st  We had 12 hours in the temple because we were called to go in early to be at the veil.  Wonderful.  We love it.

While walking in the grove one evening, we took this picture of the sun going down.  It was so quiet and peaceful.  We are usually there alone.

These are trees cut out of our neighbors back yard.  They have hauled off 3 loads like this and are still cutting.  Beautiful tree in their front yard that we don't know the name of.  It has bloomed for a month.

Nixon Scott turned 7 on the 22^nd.  He is such a fun and active boy.  Granddad misses his time playing with the cars and soccer.  We are excited that we will be home for his baptism next year.  We sure do love that boy.  He loves his family, even his sisters.

 Wednesday was our day off so we took the Seamons to the NY State Fair.  It's supposed to be the largest in the US.  We had so much fun.

Fair.This huge sculpture is made completely out of 800 lbs of butter.  It took 2 people 10 days in 60 degrees to complete it.  This year was the 50th anniversary of the event.

This next part is for the kids.

other attractions

                              We also enjoyed the exhibits.

sand sculpture  It is much larger but we just chose this view. 

The next day was 12 hours in the temple and I served for 5 hours in the office and they did not have to fix 1 mistake.  I just hold my breath in there.  I am learning to love it.

The 25^th the Niagara Ward youth came to do baptisms.  It was such a joy in that we got to serve there at that time.  A girl who had been baptized just a few weeks ago was there and has progressed so much since her conversion.  She is so strong.  It was a great time together with the youth.  We finished our shift and decided to go to the 1:30 Endowment session with the adults but none came.  They chose the 9:00AM time instead, but we still did a session.  We love taking our names.

The next day the year missionaries and the young missionaries who were going home did the 9:00 session.  It was filled way over capacity so the men carried in chairs.  There were over 50 people.  What strength was in that room and such power.  It was felt so strongly.  It regenerated our testimonies of the strength of the youth and the great power of the priesthood of God.  We could have stayed in that room for a long time.  One of our missionaries from Niagara was there and it was so good to be with him.  He’s the one who talked about mothers in church.

After the session the year missionaries went to lunch at Noonans to celebrate 2 of the couples going home. We will so miss them.

AtElder and Sister Mills have become very special to us.  They are the ones from Malad and know our families who have lived there especially Uncle Jay, Aunt Bev, Karen and Bert. 

At 6:00, we met at the temple for pictures.  It was very hot and muggy but fun to be all together.  Of course after that we all met at Chill N Grill for ice cream.  Yes, we are gaining weight.

us and the Seamons

Today is Erik’s 43^rd birthday.  We called him this morning and it was so good to hear his voice and talk about his family.  He is such an amazing father and so proud of his boys.  We love that family and he chose the very best girl to be his eternal companion.  They work so hard to train those boys to follow Christ.  We love that family so much.  We are so blessed.

 We could not find a recent picture of him alone so we got this old one.  We think he hasn't changed much but is now a man with a great family and strong testimony.  Can't ask for more than that.

 Wednesday, the Seamons picked us up for a trip to Canondagan and the story of the Seneca and Haudenoaunee (Iroquois) people who settled here.  It was a great museum with many of their pieces of art and the history of their culture.  It was an amazing museum with a replica of their long houses.  These people lived together as families.  When the children married the man lived in the long house of their wife's mother.  

                                         
                                 These sections of walls are bark from the trees.  They cut the bark off the tree in one section and flatten it and fasten it to the poles.  It is very secure and weather does not get in.
                               

The inside walls are woven mats.

The families live in their section but all are together.  The women garden and cook and the men hunt for food.

After this amazing museum, we went antiquing, finding many treasures that we don't know how to get home.  It was in this old church.

 On the way home we passed this vegetable stand.  They are every where but this has been our favorite.

 We ate at Charlies Philly Steaks and had homemade root beer.  YUM!

August 30th, was the morning shift at the temple.  We were the officiators and were thrilled to have a couple as the witness couple.  They had not been to the temple in 18 years and were so nervous but so happy to be returning to His house and renewing promises they had made so long ago.  Yes, I got teary.  It was so beautiful in that we were the only ones who knew.  They said they would go often.  What beautiful things are accomplished in the Lord's house.  It was wonderful.

 We love the flowers that surround the temple.

  

 

 The parking lot.

 bottom of stairs

 top of stairs

 entance

 along the walkway

 Another month has ended and we feel like we just got here.  It is going way too fast.  We feel such peace as we serve  in such a holy place,  We love it.  As we serve our testimonies grow stronger daily.  It is where we want to be and pray that the day will come when we can be eternally together as a family.  Our grandchildren  and greats bring us such joy and pray for them individually.  Their parents are wonderful friends and such good people to guide our grandchildren.  The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is so true and the only way to be together eternally.  Remember to read the scriptures as a family and to never go to bed without family prayer.  We pray you remember some of the good things we modeled when you were young and we are so happy that the Lord chose our home for you to be a part of.  That is our greatest joy and blessing.  All of this is possible because of a loving Father and His Son.  Bless you. 

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