Vacation Day 4-- Niagra Falls-- The Candian side

Day four of our vacation was devoted to Niagra Falls. We got up and got going. It was a Saturday and we knew it would be busy. We crossed over into Canada first thing. It was much easier than the last time we went to Canada (ask me about it sometime) even though it required passports for Greg and I, as well as birth certificates for the kids. Once you find a place to park you have to walk and walk and walk. The Canadian side of the falls is just crazy. There are so many people there! People from all over the world. It is also a really commercial area. It is not a peaceful communion with nature by any means. Fortunately though, even with the all the distractions, the falls are still amazing! You can just feel and see the POWER. You can even HEAR the power. Awesome.

Niagra Falls wouldn't take you long if all you wanted to do is take a look at it and snap a picture, but we were there to do more than that. Our next stop was the Maid of the Mist. After paying and waiting in line for a long time you get on a boat with hundreds of other people. Everyone is decked out in their snazzy blue, plastic, rain ponchos. The boat takes you as close to the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls as it can. The closer you get it gets louder and wetter (although not too wet). You can also feel the boat fighting the falls for position. The falls just won't let you get too close. But you are still close enough to see how you would be tossed and churned in that water, how the falls are strong and powerful and majestic. If you take the time to think about it you are in AWE at this amazing creation. You can see the different characteristics in the Lord's creations, and this one just exudes power. In others you will find peace or beauty or serenity or uniqueness. In the Falls you feel power.

On the boat we were standing with an Italian couple. They were very kind and asked Greg about our family and commented on how wonderful it was that we had 5 children and said at their age (with their children grown and gone) you realize that is what life is all about. I appreciated their kindness so much because we often get negative comments about the size of our family, but we realize that is what life is all about. We will have lots of wonderful grandchildren to love and visit. Our golden years will be full of doing things that matter. (Sorry for this little tangent, but it was something that I was very grateful for).

Here I am with all the kids just after boarding the boat.

Very close to the falls. We are getting wet now.

Adam looking thrilled to be so close to such an amazing site!

After our trip on Maid of the Mist we headed up the street away from the falls to play a little Glow in the Dark Mini Golf. Now folks you would not believe this street we walked up. Talk about a tourist trap. Adam thought it was kid heaven, I thought it was more like a kid Las Vegas. Gaudy, and way over the top. Not this mom's favorite place. Fortunately the kids know how cheap we are so they knew we would only be doing this ONE activity on this street of their little dreams. Adam loves mini golf so this was for him. It is hard to get good pictures, but here are our attempts at them.

I will save the trip to the American side of the falls for another day. Ahh, I love vacation. I even love reliving vacation!

Vacation Day 3--Kirtland, OH

On Day 3 of our vacation we spent time visiting some places that were important in the history of our church. Our faith is something that is at the center of our lives and it is inspiring for us to remember the early saints who sacrificed so much for what they believed.

This is from the lds.org website: Come visit Historic Kirtland, a small settlement in northern Ohio, where members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered shortly after the Church was founded. Between 1831 and 1838 Joseph Smith and early members of the Church established Church headquarters in Kirtland, built a temple, and laid a foundation of strength for the future.

The first place we visited was the Kirtland Temple. The temple is not owned by our Church anymore, but by the Community of Christ church, a church that broke off ours at the time of Joseph Smith's death. It has been 10 years since Greg and I (and Adam) have visited this area. Our experience this time was excellent compared to the past. We appreciated the respectful attitude that our guide had for our church and for the temple. It is much simpler than the temples we have now, but it is amazing to think they built it all themselves so long ago when the church was just beginning. I truly appreciate the sacrifices made to forward the Lord's work in that time. The dedication of that temple lasted a whopping 7 hours! I asked our guide if children were in attendance and he said yes. Unbelievable. It was interesting to be reminded of the details surrounding this building and its dedication.

One of the things that struck me the most while we were in Kirtland, and that I find unique about our church, is its emphasis on education. There in Kirtland on the top floor of the temple they held a school for anyone who needed some educating. They also started a school of the prophets where they learned Hebrew and other things. The need for educating ourselves is still something that we are taught by our leaders today. There is even a fund set up to help educate members in poorer countries where it is difficult to obtain an education. It is a privilege and responsibility to "Seek learning, even by study and also by faith" (D&C 88:118).

We also visited other restored buildings in Kirtland that are run by our Church. This was a rough time for Jacob so I spent a lot of time with him, but I was reminded how much the leaders of the church learned about the organization of the church and how many revelations that become a part of our scripture, The Doctrine and Covenants, that were received in this Kirtland era. We were also able to go out to the Isaac Morley farm. This was a very reverant place. There was a soft rain that was coming down while we were there, and really some of our reverence was felt because several large youth groups were there and they were so quiet and peaceful, it helped our children to act that way too. Over and over Joseph and Emma were helped and cared for, just as they did the same thing for others. How generous they all were! It seems it is sometimes harder for us in this day and age to feel safe and good about welcoming people into our home or tending to someone else's grieving or sick family. We do it, but it is not quite the experience it once was.

After seeing the Kirtland sites we drove the few hours to the Niagra Falls area.

Here are some pictures of the Finches at the Kirtland Temple.

Not exactly reverant faces and attitudes, huh?

Vacation, Day 2--Spontaneous Fun

You are going to be tired of my travel log by the time I get through our trip, but I am mostly writing for me and not for you!

We had a lazy morning in Chicago, knowing we wouldn't be going anywhere fast during morning rush hour (yeah, I can definitely knock Chicago off my list of cities I hope to live in). We did finally hit the road about 9:30 and traffic wasn't too bad. I think we only had to completely stop once. We then spent several hours on the road. We arrived in Kirtland, OH about dinner time (but it didn't feel like dinner time to us because of the time change). We didn't want to see any of the Church sites we had come to see, so Greg had the brilliant idea to go to the beach. We were close to the shores of Lake Erie. He asked the clerk at our hotel about it and she printed up directions for us. Being from the midwest our kids have only been to one beach when we visited my brother Todd while he was at Yale in Connecticut 6 years ago. I doubt they even remember it.

We thought we would take a leisurely stroll along the beach in our barefeet. The kids had different plans. First of all it was way too hot to walk along the beach in your barefeet unless you were in the water. At the water's edge, though, the beach was too rocky. This was no Florida beach. We all took our shoes off and stood in the waves. You can see what is coming. It wasn't long until first Ben and then the others were "accidentally" getting wetter and wetter and falling down in the water. Ah well, that is what vacation is for right?! The water was shallow enough the kids could go out a little ways and still touch comfortably. Jake stayed with us right by the shore, but he loved every minute of it. In fact I was surprised at how much they all loved it. They loved playing in the waves. They found an old log that they played on for a while. Greg and I didn't go all the way in ever in our clothes. We stood in the waves or sat on the shore. I even laid down for a bit. It was lovely listening to the consistent, constant sound of the waves and the happy sounds of families enjoying being together. It was very restful for me. I also played in the sand for a while. It was one of those happy accidents, going to the beach unplanned with no swimsuits. I think the kids enjoyed it more than the waterpark the day before. Sometimes spontaneity is more fun than the variety of fun that is planned.

Just getting their feet wet.

A Little Deeper

Just a Little Deeper

AHHH!! Now this is swimming at the beach.

Vacation--Day 1--Water Park

Some of my favorite memories from growing up are from vacations we took as a family. I guess we did a lot of vacations after my parents were divorced because we would spend some of the summer with my dad and some with my mom, going on vacation with each of them. We got to see a lot of different things, go a lot of places and make wonderful memories. Greg also has fond memories of his semiannual treks to Las Vegas to see his grandparents. Now as parents we really want our kids to have some experiences that they will remember fondly.

This year for vacation we headed east. We wound our way to Palmyra, NY and back. I always find I have more time to think and reflect on vacation. They really are relaxing and renewing.

The first day we got up early(ish), stopped at Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast and drove to the Chicago suburbs, where there is a fun waterpark that we went to, Rainbow Falls. We had packed the car the day before so we were able to get there with plenty of time to swim. It is so great that the kids are getting taller. All of the kids, except Jake, were able to go on all of the waterslides. Adam of course , with no hesitation, headed straight for the waterslides all by himself. The other kids eased into it by doing doing some regular swimming and the lazy river. Greg used his amazing persuasive powers to get the other kids to try something they had never tried (I think Lizzy was raring to go and put in her two cents on why Ben and Anna should give it a try). He got the kids started on the slides by going down with them on a double or triple tube, but after a while they were all doing it on their own. It is great for a parent to be able to see their child try something new and feel confident and successful. I was especially proud of Anna because she is so cautious and careful about trying new things.

I enjoyed spending a lot of one on one time with Jacob. He loved going down this little slide in the little kid area over and over and over. How can you not love the enthusiasm and joy that exudes from a 2 year old? I also got to help Liz with her front crawl for a while. It helped me remember how much I love to teach just about anything. It is wonderful to know you are helping and changing someone just by sharing what you know. I also loved going down some of the slides with Ben and Anna.

I think Greg enjoys being a kid again. He and Adam were the only ones to brave the funnel slide where you drop in at the top of this big funnel and go around and around and then drop through the bottom. It was fun for us to watch them. I have found that as I have aged and had children I am content to watch and enjoy the fun others are having. I don’t have as much need for the adrenaline rush you get from doing crazy rides or slides. I am happy letting the others get to do those things while I stay with Jake. It is hard to believe he is the only one that really needs me a lot anymore. ( I know they all need me, just in more independent ways.) It was a great first day. Unfortunately it all came to a quick end when someone at the pool threwup in the pool where the slides come out. No more slides. I am just glad it wasn’t one of my children! No pictures from the first day. Most swimming places don't let you take cameras in anymore. I hope you are all enjoying your vacations too.