Lindsey's heart

Lindsey was with Mike & Candy on the drive up to Worland. They stopped at an Indian Reservation and Mike & Candy bought her this. She doesn't know that I snuck and looked at it (so I'm post-dating it).

"Legend of the Dreambox" The Legend of the Dreambox suggests writing down your fondest dream, greatest desire, strongest wish on a small piece of paper, putting that paper in a Dreambox and placing it beside your bed. Every evening as you retire and every morning as you rise, hold your Dreambox and think on your dream, believing with all your heart that it is so. Legend has it, if done faithfully...your dream will come true."

Lindsey's dream:

"My dream is that one day I will be with the Rasmasins."

I guess I'm not the only one missing our Rasmussen family!

Bees Baseball game

We went to a Salt Lake Bees game this last week and had a great time! (Thanks to Becky for the free tickets and 1/2 price food!) The stadium where they play is absolutely beautiful. We love sitting there watching a baseball game and looking at the beautiful mountains! Jack LOVED watching every minute of it (he didn't even want a hot dog until the 7th inning or so). The highlight for him was when someone hit the ball and the bat broke. Kate's highlight was seeing Bumble, the mascot. It was such a difference from 2 years ago, when she'd scream and tighten her grip when she even saw him from a distance. She was thrilled when Bumble signed her arm. What a great way to spend a summer evening!

Me and my brother, Mike

Candy (my cute sister-in-law) and Becky

All the kids with Bumble

Two happy boys!

Visit to see Uncle Rich

(I'm jumping ahead a bit...but will get back to blogging about the move).

Last weekend, my mom, Becky and the kids and I drove down to Las Vegas to visit my brother, Richard. Richard has been working and living in Vegas for 2 years and was just transferred to a firm in Utah, so he'll be moving back home too! We had always wanted to go see him and it was our last chance to do it.

We arrived to squelching hot Vegas on Friday afternoon. We swam at the pool in Richard's complex and then had a yummy dinner at The Claim Jumper. The kids then loved watching a movie on Richard's big tv.

On Saturday, we got up and drove to a different swimming pool and had a blast swimming most of the morning. It felt so good to be in the water and the kids loved it! It got up to 115 degrees that day, so our options were either be in water or inside. Then, we got dressed and went to a buffet (does anyone visit Vegas without a trip to a buffet?). After getting Hannah and Richard down for naps, my mom, Becky, Emily and I found a quilt store and then a fun cupcake bakery. There is something very therapeutic about being with the girls in the family, shopping at quilt stores and eating fancy cupcakes!

We ventured down to the Strip to see the fountain show at the Bellagio! It was super crowded and hot, but it was fun to see the fountains. The kids loved it!

Richard, thank you again! We had a blast! It was fun to be spoiled by you! We love you and can't wait to see you soon!

Emily, Hannah & Kate

Richard

Kate - doing what everyone wants to do after a buffet - sleeping!

Bellagio's fountain show

Ohio to Utah - Part I - Nauvoo

Our journey from Ohio to Utah began on Saturday, June 27th. Our first stop was Nauvoo, IL which is about 515 miles from Columbus. For the entire journey, my mom and I were in the minivan with usually 3 or 4 kids, and my dad and Jon were in his car with Jack. We followed each other and made stops every once in awhile.

We arrived in Nauvoo in the late afternoon and it was really hot and humid. (For those blog readers that are not LDS, Nauvoo is a city along the Mississippi River, where thousands of early Saints settled after being driven out of Missouri. We stopped at several church history sites along our way). We went to the Visitor's Center, watched a short movie, and then went and found something to eat. After dinner, we went to the Smith family cemetary and saw the gravestones of Joseph, Emma & Hyrum Smith as well as Joseph Smith Sr. & Lucy Mack Smith.

We then had tickets to see "Renedevous of Old Nauvoo" (or something like that), which is a production put on by the senior missionaries at the old Cultural Hall. It was okay, but made for a late night. We stayed across the river in Keokuk.

The next day was Sunday and we got up and drove to Carthage, IL, where the Prophet Joseph and his brother Hyrum were martyred. It's my favorite church history site! We had a great tour of Carthage Jail and we loved the sweet feelings of peace and love that are there now. Lindsey, Emily, Kate & Jack in front of monument of Joseph & Hyrum

This is the window that Joseph fell out of after being shot by the mob

Emily is pointing to a bullet hole in the door, which may have been the bullet that hit and killed Hyrum

After eating lunch, we drove back to Nauvoo, and met our good friends, the Christensen's. I knew Dawn and Randy when I was a missionary in Ohio and they were some of the first people to welcome us when we moved there in 2002. They had moved to Cedar Rapids, IA two years ago, and when they heard we were coming through, had called us and then drove 2 hours down to Nauvoo to spend the afternoon with us. We loved it! It was so great to see them and their darling kids - Benjamin, Sierra & Eve. The kids had a great time playing and being together.

We spent a fair amount of time at the Family Living Center, where we were able to see some of the ways the Saints made and did things. We saw how they made rope, rugs, candles, fabric, dishes and bread.

Emily & Sierra making a rope

Kate on the wooly lamb

Lindsey & Jack with a homemade candle

Then we went to a park and dropped off the dads and kids. Then Dawn and I went on a wild-goose chase for my lost cell phone. It ended up being in the van the whole time, but Dawn and I were able to enjoy one another's company and chat. Then we went to the Nauvoo Temple, where we met my parents. Dawn & Randy - thank you again so much for driving down to see us. Our Nauvoo experience was much better because you were there!!!

The Nauvoo Temple

R1: Lindsey, Sierra, Emily & Jack

R2: Randy, Eve, Dawn, Jeannette, Hannah, Kate & Jon

R3: Benjamin

The last thing we did in Nauvoo, was find an old cemetary where several people are buried, including two of my ancestors. George Washington Clyde (who actually escaped the Haun's Mill massacre) and Zina Huntington Baker. My mom had done a great job of explaining to us how we were related to them a little about them. I am so grateful for those ancestors that gave up so much and remained so faithful to the truths that they knew.

Revival of the Cracker Jack Pajamas

It's rare to have a vintage pair of pajamas within a family, but we are fortunate to have a set! This little pair of pajamas was made by my Aunt Claudia for her little boy when he was probably about Jack's age. That little boy is now almost 40! Then, her second little boy wore them. Then my brother, and another brother and then another brother wore them. Well, they were dusted off and now Jack is the proud owner of a vintage pair of cracker Jack pajamas - every little boy's dream. (Not very often, does one know the ancestory of his pajamas)!

Saying Goodbye

I have dreaded this post for 2 weeks now. It brings up a lot of emotions and tender feelings about very dear friends and the heartache of saying goodbye. So, I will let pictures do the "talking." I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I would have liked, but those of you not pictured, know who you are!

The Larson family (Becky, Joseph, Cecile, Emily & Thomas) - they moved to North Carolina at the beginning of JuneGretchen, Samantha, Katherine, Lindsey, Avery & Grace - these cute girls are from Lindsey's class and they threw her a surprise "going away" party

Hannah's face says it all!! This is Lenore! Lenore was our "angel" who took such great care of us all 7 years that we were in Ohio!

Heather Parks & I

Jodi Shealy & the kids. Wow - this was a hard goodbye!

Kirsten had an openhouse for us our last night in Columbus - this is just a sampling of how wonderful it was!

A book could be written about the adventures of this blonde and this red head! Kate and Hailey! This very day - Hailey had her front tooth pulled! Could she be any cuter? (She had broken it from running into another little boy in the airport several days before).

Nine of the greatest kids you'll ever meet!

The dearest friend I've ever had

(Time to go wipe my big sloppy tears!)

Packing Up & Loading the Truck

If I never have to move again....I will be happy! I will be honest, moving is horrible! We started packing a couple of months ahead of time, but we still did so much work the last week before we packed the truck. My mom and dad came and were so incredible in helping us pack and clean. We couldn't have done it without them! We knew we wouldn't be able to fit all of our things into a U-Haul, Penske, etc., so we reserved an ABF truck. We reserved 24 feet and knew that we'd fill most of it.

On the day of our load, the trailer was dropped off and my dad and Jack went right to work (I think Jon was finishing up some requirements). They started loading boxes. My dad would set a box in the truck and then Jack would push it all the way to the back.

That afternoon, Kirsten came and took the kids to the Bunny Park (splash pad) - which was a lifesaver! The kids had a blast and we were able to get so much more done. We had a lot of great friends from the ward come and help us haul stuff out of the house and onto the truck. We were so grateful for all of their help! Our piano alone, is the heaviest thing you've ever seen and took 4 men to get it loaded! We slept on our mattresses that night and then loaded the rest of the things in the morning. My good friend, Elaine, came over and helped us clean. We got everything out and then went and checked into a hotel. We stayed at that hotel for 2 nights, which ended up being such a blessing. It was clean, cool, away from any "moving" things and gave us the chance to do the rest of our last minute errands (turning in cable boxes & keys to the landlord).

Jon would proudly announce that rather than our stuff fitting in 24 feet, they packed it to fit in 19 feet! It was amazing - not an ounce of space to spare! Again, thank you to all of our dear friends who helped us pack and load!

The ABF truck at the side of our apartment

Jack - excited about pushing boxes to the front of the truck

Hannah - trying to find something fun to doJack, Emily & Kate on the truck

Jack, Kate, Lindsey, Ethan, Emily, Hannah, Brynlee & Hailey

(Oh, I wish we had just packed all of those cute kids with us!!!)

One of many, many, many things my dad hauled out of the apartment

Dad & Jon on the truck (at times it had to be 120 degrees in there).

Leaving our apartment - I have a huge smile on my face - I was SO done with packing, cleaning, etc., that I was just ready to be at the hotel.