June 29: Kirtland, OH

I didn't take a lot of pictures this day for some reason.

Monday morning we were up and on the road bright and early.  After a quick stop to fill up the cars, we were headed north to Kirtland, OH.

Kirtland is an important city in our church history.  Jay and I had been there several times before, but this was the first trip for the kids.

It was another chilly, misty, gloomy day on our drive up.  After a quick stop for lunch, we started at the church history sites just outside Kirtland.

We were greeted at the visitor center by a senior couple who were from... Katy, TX! They were from another ward in a different part of the stake, but were thrilled to see us.  They handed us off to our tour guides for the day, who were two sweet sister missionaries.

We started off by watching a movie about the events that happened in Kirtland and the surrounding areas.  Then we stepped out to tour the different buildings.

First was the Whitney Store, where Joseph Smith and his family lived for awhile.

The whole gang in front of the Whitney Store.

We visited the other buildings on the property, then headed up the road to the Kirtland Temple.  We had very enthusiastic tour guides and a lengthy visit there.

Ben actually fell asleep on my lap during that tour; he was done with all this history.

We decided to drive out to the John Johnson farm, which was another home for Joseph Smith and his family.  By the time we got there, the kids were really getting antsy and tired, but we continued our tour.

Originally we had planned to drive into Amish country for dinner, but it was getting later and later.  We had a hotel reservation in Amish Country, but stopped at Bob Evans on the way.  As we left the restaurant, Ben announced that his stomach really hurt.  We gave him a bag and he fell asleep again on the way to the hotel.

We got in late, and as soon as we made it to the room, Ben crawled up on the bed and fell asleep.  Apparently he had caught Abigail's bug.  We had a great day, but another late night!