The 4th of July & Sundays!

Fun on the 4th!

Lane got off work at 3 on Saturday which is about 7 hours earlier than usual so we got to have a fun day together. We went to downtown Rochester and had dinner and a restaurant called Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. The food was great and we had a good time. After that we walked to the baseball field for the Red Wings Game. I'd never been to a baseball game before so Lane had fun explaining everything to me. When the game ended they had a firework show which turned out a little less exciting than my expectations but we still had a lot of fun just spending the day together!

Just outside the restaurant, in front of a cool bridge!

The water here was disgusting!

The Guys: Lane, Tyrell, Dusty, Chez, Eric, Dustin, Taylor, & Alan.

The girls: Kilee, Brooke with Bridget, Nicki, and Rikki

Walking from the restaurant to the game, through downtown Rochester.

Some of these buildings reminded me of being in France and Italy!

Sunday Afternoons are our Favorite!

One of my favorite things about being here in New York is how green it is. I love all the cute little houses and their big yards. On our way to the finger lakes we got a few shots of what typical neighborhoods look like around here.

The Finger Lakes

A few weeks ago we went to the finger lakes for a nice relaxing Sunday afternoon.

The guys had a good time playing ball and taking their mind off work.

Uh huh, looking good!

The Smith Farm, Palmyra NY

We've been out to Palmyra several times since we've been here.  We go to the temple every week and on Sundays we often go to the other church historical sites nearby.  My favorite is the Smith farm and the Sacred Grove.  It's so beautiful.  I've posted a few pictures but pictures just don't do it justice.  

Outside the Smith Cabin.

One of the small bedrooms

The steep stairs leading up to the two small bedrooms where all the Smith children slept.

Palmyra Temple, just across the street from the Smith Farm.

Outside the frame house, just down the road from the small cabin where the Smith's lived when originally settling in Palmyra.  This house was started by Alvin a few years before he died and after a lot of work and many set backs the family was able to move into it.  It's much bigger and accommodated the family much better, however they didn't live there long before they were forced to move back to the small cabin. 

Front room in the frame house.  The house was so much more spacious and I can see why the family would have loved living there.  The box on the dresser is a replica of the box made for the golden plates.  Also in this room is a fire place from which bricks were removed to hide the plates from a mob.  We tried getting a picture of it but it turned out blurry so next time we go we'll try again.

One more reason why Joseph's mother would have loved this house.  This is the kitchen sink which in itself was a luxury but this one drains to the outside of the house.  

The Smith barn (used for grains, not animals).

Outside the barn

Inside the barn.

I'm not positive what these are but I think they are some sort of beehives.

  

More of the beautiful Smith property.

Standing at the entrance of the grove.

We didn't take too many pictures in the Sacred Grove but we definitely will take more next time we go.  It was so beautiful and it was an amazing experience to be in such a sacred place, knowing that our Heavenly Father and our savior Jesus Christ both appeared in that very grove to Joseph Smith.  There is a wonderful feeling about this whole area and being here has helped both Lane and me to have a greater appreciation for the gospel and a stronger testimony of the prophet Joseph.