I need apoligize for being slothful in posting more pics and telling more about our trip. But here we go. First of all I would like you to meet Sister Mitchell and Sister Knowles.

They were our guides when we went to Kirtland to the visitors center. They did an excellent job. You could tell they loved what they were doing.

Next we have some pictures that were in the visitors center. They are some beautiful paintings.


Here are a few pics of Marc and Candace's home plus a couple of Marc and Candace themselves.
And of course we couldn't leave out Buster. Thank you again for putting up with us for a few nights. We love you.

Our trip home turned out to be an adventure. We were supposed to have left Detroit at 1:30 in the afternoon, but it was 4:30 before we finally got to leave. You ask, "why the delay?" Well I'll tell you. The plane that was supposed to have left from the same gate as ours developed a hydraulic leak. That made it unsafe to fly. So they had to locate a mechanic to fix it. It took forever. They finally wound up putting the passengers from that plane on another flight from a different gate. They still thought it would be fixed in time everyone on our flight to make their connections. But that didn't happen. By the time they got it fixed it was too late for us to make our connection in Chicago to Albuquerque. So they pulled those of us that were going to Albuquerque, Little Rock, and Oakland and put on different flights. Those going to Little Rock were sent to Dallas where they had to spend the night. Those going to Oakland were put on a different flight. I'm not sure which one. Those going to Albuquerque were routed through Nashville then to Houston and then to Albuquerque. We supposed to have arrived in Albuquerque at 5:00 pm, but it was 9:45 pm when we finally got there. The funny thing is, our luggage beat us to Albuquerque. We got home about 12:40 and it was a little after 1:00 when we got to bed. I had major TB by the time we got home LOL. Then I had to get up at 4:00 to go to work. But we made it home safe and sound. We're still glad we went. We had a great time.

Our trip

As all of you know mom and I just recently went on a trip. Tuesday evening we drove to Albuquerque and spent the night at the Fairfield Hotel. When we told the clerk we needed to be at the airport at 5:30 the next morning they said we could leave our car there and they would shuttle us to the airport and pick us up when we got back. That saved us about $30.00. We flew to St Louis via Denver where we rented a car and drove to Quincy, IL. We stayed at the Microtel Hotel in Quincy. It was pretty nice. The bed was comfortable and the breakfasts were very good. While we were there we drove around and took pictures of some the old houses. Here are some of them we seen.

Mom had a meeting Thursday morning. After the meeting we drove down to Hannibal, MO. This where Mark Twain was born and where the stories about Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn took place. We didn't get to take as many pics as we wanted. Our camera ran out of battery. Anyway, here are a few pics. There's Lovers Leap and the ferry boat. Across the river from Lovers Leap is Jackson Island. There's a couple of pics of Hannibal taken from Lovers Leap.

Friday morning we drove out to Heartland, which is about 40 miles west of Quincy, where mom had another meeting. The spouses and families were invited to this meeting. After the meeting there was food and intertainment for everyone. There was lots of food-hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, roast beef sandwiches, fries, chips, all the water and sodas you could drink. You could eat as much as you wanted. Then there were several different shows. Air, tractor, and car shows. There was also a rodeo, games for kids. Here are pics of the shows.

Saturday morning we drove back to St Louis and then flew to Detroit. Candace met us at the airport and took us to Toledo. We had a great time visiting with Marc and Candace. Marc had to work Sunday, so he didn't get to go to church with us. Everyone was real nice. Tuesday Marc took us to Kirtland to see the temple and the visitors center. The first set of pics is the Newel K Whitney home.

This is the store owned by Newel K Whitney and where the plans for the temple were drawn up and where Joseph Smith received several revalations. It was also where he received the Word of Wisdom.

Kirtland Temple. Unfortunately we didn't have time to take the tour through the temple. But just being on the grounds, you knew it was a special place.

I really enjoyed the visit to Kirtland. Thank you Marc for taking us.

More blog and more pics to follow.

Reunion

Good news!! It looks like we will get to go to the Fuentes reunion. We will leave on Thursday evening when I get off work and come home on Sunday. That's the weekend when Brianne will be here. It's been quite a few years since I've gotten to go to a reunion. It will be great!

Trip to Toledo

This week mom and I get to take a trip. We will flying to St Louis and driving up to Quincy, IL on Wednesday. Mom has a convention she is supposed to be at Thursday and Friday. Then on Saturday we will be flying to Detroit where Marc and Candace will meet us and take us to their home (I hope LOL). We will come back home on Wednesday. It will be great to see them and spend some time with them. It's been quite a while since we've seen them. I love them and miss them.

What is your goal?

Benjamin Mays, mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King, said "The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach. It isn't a calamity to die with dreams unfulfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream. It isn't a disgrace not to reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for." No matter how discouraging things may seem, in the world around us, or in our own lives, it's important to have a goal... and to teach our children to set goals. Then press on, every day, to reach them, supporting each other as you go.

Nat and Ling

We are losing our girls tomorrow(6/8/09). :( We are going to miss them. They are special young ladies. They have been a great help around the house. We don't have any dirty dishes. They do the dishes every day, they've helped dinner and even made dinner when mom couldn't. They've become good cooks. They are both friendly and outgoing. They've made a lot friends at school and at church. They've attended an english class with the missionaries and have learned more about the church. They learned how to pray. They even say the blessing on the food they prepare each morning. They have told me that when they get home they are going to contact the missionaries. I think I will send the missionaries to them. I've grown to love them just like my own family.

So, last Monday, Nat took to lunch in Aztec at the Thai restaurant. She ordered for us, since we didn't know what we would like. Most of it was pretty good. After that we went to the Vanilla Moose and had ice cream. It was a good day.