Seeing the Carlstons in Chicago!

CHICAGO TRIP OCT. 2013 
Well we did it! After going off track with a fun Halloween party, and Tyler working hard for 3 days so we could go, me cleaning house (packing, laundry, floors, etc!) and Wed. night Tyler went to clean the temple, and Thursday morning we packed up the car to head off on our road trip! Tyler had loose ends to finish up and work, and my earache was so bad that I went to the Insta care after dropping him off at work and stopping by mom and dad's. I saw a good doc who prescribed amoxicillin for my bad earache (my voice still sounded terrible too) and Tyler got lots done! We took off from MVI at 11:30! 

The day was beautiful, then we hit snow in Wyoming but fearless and careful Tyler did well and by 7:30 when we were in Nebraska, it let up and eventually was dry! By that time, Tyler was so awake and excited to put more miles behind us on such a clear road, that we drove all the way to Grand Island, Nebraska! And we stayed in the motel 6 there. Phew! I texted Mom the whole way, and she was happy to hear we stopped. She talked to Laura today, who sounded so excited to have us come out!
I wrote in my journal that night that, "I feel so very very blessed by The Lord today. Safe driving, good doctor, reading scriptures and hearing inspiring talks by John Bytheway. And my ear popped lots on the trip, helping the pain! We only have 620 miles to Chicago!"
 

In front of the Winter Quarters temple!

Part of what we saw and learned in the Winter Quarter Visitors Center

Wow.

LOVE the stained-glass windows in the Winter Quarters temple!

We enjoyed our historical stops along the way!

The Windmill in Elk Horn, the cute Danish City in Nebraska!

We had a nice drive through Nebraska, Iowa, and to Chcago! Stopped at the Kanesville Tabernacle, the Winter Quarters visitors center & temple, and even a Danish town in Iowa named Elk Horn! Tyler did another amazing day of driving! Especially in the evening when I could barely keep my eyes open. And boy, was I excited to see Laura when we finally arrived at 10:45!

REUNITED!!! AND SO EXCITED!!!

Mike has to leave town tomorrow night, so we hurried to their home so we could spend a day with him in Chicago! And wow, what a day we had, walking all over downtown Chicago and then took an incredible architectural boat tour from the river in center Chicago and from Lake Michigan! Soooooo cool! It was amazing to see how Mike and Laura work so hard and are so dedicated to keeping their three kids happy, who are always on the move!

 We had fun taking pictures together!

 Sweet little Ella!

 Da city!!

 So happy to be with these people!!

 The lovely eyes of Laura!

 I told Ella to smile on this one-- for Grandma Cheryl! See the lighthouse in the background, Mom?

 Loved seeing the sun on the lake when we were on Navy Pier! Perfect photo op!

Love this sweet Carlston family!

It was awesome spending the day with them... What fun! And Tyler is so good with the kids! They love him, of course! And he sang Ben to sleep tonight on the rocking chair in his room! Sweet to hear him singing to and rocking a baby. We had Giordanos pizza for dinner and sent Mike and Laura out on a date! The kids enjoyed games and part of a movie until bedtime. They were so good to go down! But I think they were also worn out from a long day. :) I loved singing families can be together forever to Ella and Tyler. I'll never forget the sweet smile on Ella's face as she looked into my eyes while I sang that song.  I'm so thankful I'm part of her forever family!
 
Sunday was fun! We took pictures of the Carlstons...well, Tyler did! (I took a few of my own on my phone... shown below!)....before church and after I made some dinner of Hawaiian chicken, mashed potatoes, and pears. The kids took good naps, thanks to our full day Saturday and later night with the movie! (Sorry to mess up their schedule there, Laura! I'm a sucker for your cute kids!) 

Ella was excited to take pictures with my phone, you can see her cute finger on this one, while you can see Laura is using Tyler's camer! :)

I really enjoyed Laura's ward and I was happy to see they have a wonderful bishop (he spoke for ward conference), friendly people (I went to Sunday school and Relief Society with her), and great families. Tyler went to nursery with Mike and little Tyler, since that's Mikes calling. That night we had to say a sad goodbye after kids napped and we had dinner... Mike left for Connecticut for his out of town work. Poor Ella and Laura were sad to see them go, but we perked up with a fun tea party and then dancing and playing the piano!! Laura and I even did some crazy songs we used to jam to together, and some Christmas duets! Tyler was awesome and played and danced with the kids. He is going to be such a good dad!

We felt bad leaving Monday, especially since Mike had left the day before, but cute "Uncle Tyler" scheduled a WONDERFUL nights stay to celebrate our 2nd anniversary at the Marriott up by the Chicago temple! He scheduled a room that was a suite! It had a fun living room, desk area, and French doors that led to a nice king-size bed! We were going to go to Olive Garden, but decided to go to the pool and then order room service for dinner! Good plan!! The pool was cold, so we enjoyed the hot tub instead and then ordered our yummy dinner! Tyler got meatloaf and I ordered salmon salad. Mmmmmm!

I was nodding off so we went to bed around 9:30! We have so much enjoyed this trip! Reading, relaxing, being together without having to be anywhere! In the morning at 6:30, Tyler was pretty hungry so I told him I'd be happy to get dressed and run to the grocery store! I got snacks and stuff for our trip back. :) Then I got back and changed back in my pjs and climbed back into bed to cuddle! We just enjoyed our time together, got ready, and left by 11:00 to go to the Chicago temple! When we got there, we talked about the last time we had both been there, and we realized it was when Tyler went through the temple to receive his endowment, the summer of 1995. AND...I had been there--my last time too-- in the SAME summer, 1995, when we picked up Brian off his mission! I had done baptisms with my siblings. Little did we know that the NEXT time we would both be at the Chicago temple would be when we were with our spouse! And we didn't know we had crossed paths with each other in the temple that summer!

 Amazing architecture!

After the temple, we did a little shopping and got our spare tire from discount tire and then headed back to Laura's! We picked up another yummy Hawaiian pizza from Giordanos for dinner, and the kids were happy to see us come back! Laura and I were going to take off for a girl's night together, but poor Ella was crying and Tyler was pretty sad, so we decided to stay home and have a movie night with them and then we went today (Wednesday) in the morning while Ella was at school and Tyler stayed home with the boys. We played games and talked until late and it was fun!  

Wednesday we had a good time shopping- how often do you get to shop with your busy mother-of-three sister?? The rest of the day was just taking it easy around the house, enjoying a bacon soup dinner that Laura made, and laughing and having fun with this darling family! Laura got to talk to Mike a lot more, and Tyler and I went out to do more shopping after the kids got to bed. We were excited to be with the kids at the Shedd Acquarium in the city Thursday and for Tyler to go in Mike's place for Ella's daddy-daughter pumpkin decorating night at preschool! Cute!!

That day I remember Tyler was so kind, sweet, reflective, and expressed gratitude many times for me and our love and eternal marriage. What a blessing to have such a grateful, spiritual, positive, and ready-to-serve husband. Tyler wants to stay another day...these kids have grown so much on him, and me too! This trip has gone by way too fast! The cute little things the kids do, their sweet ways, talking to my sister, feeling I'm growing closer to her, especially since we don't get to do this often... What a nice, relaxing trip with my honey! We need to do this more often!

We had a BLAST at the Shedd Aquarium with Laura and the kids! below are just a FEW of the pictures I took! 

Ben was so fun to watch and be with Thursday at the Shedd Acquarium and on the way home he warmed up to me and was totally happy and playful when we came home and Laura took Ella to her doctor checkup appt. I put him down for a nap, which was so fun, but he didn't sleep! He cooed and talked and was so happy. When I went running, Tyler heard him talking, so he got him up. Laura said he was just so happy to be free after being in his stroller and car seat all day! Cute!  That night Ella had a special pumpkin decorating activity that was for fathers and daughters at her pre school! Laura asked if she wanted her mom or uncle Tyler to go with her, and she chose Uncle Tyler! She was also a good sport to miss preschool that morning so she could spend the day at the Acquarium on our last day there...her answer was, "Okay, mom. But this is the ONLY time!" We felt honored that she would miss school (which she LOVES) so we could be with her! And the Acquarium was very cool! I enjoyed  being able to talk to Laura lots on the trip. Wednesday night we went shopping and got a few things for Laura--surprise! And her family and looked for souvenirs. But at the Acquarium we were able to find Chicago t-shirts for us! When Ella and Tyler went off for their "date" together, it was fun for Laura and I to watch them leave from the door. "Her first date!" Laura said. "Are you okay with that?" She asked me.
I answered, "I would let him go with no one but her.":)
Then we watched the Croods, which Laura enjoyed a lot (we like it lots too!) and I had fun playing more with Tyler and Ben on the floor. They were pretty tired after a no-nap day, and went to bed early. We played more fun games that night, Laura and Ella liked scrabble flash so much that Tyler bought their family one from Toys R Us, and I showed her Chicktionary on my iPad, which we had fun playing together while Tyler finished editing and downloaded the family pictures he had taken. They turned out so cute!


When Laura went to bed, we stayed up finishing the pumpkin cookies I made, and wrapping the surprise gift we purchased for the Carlstons! We hid it in their basement crawl space for them to find later. Hee hee. :)

Friday morning, It was very hard to say goodbye to Laura and the kids. In fact, as I was hugging the kids goodbye, I'll never forget Tyler's sweet plea, "Don't go, Aunt Janelle, don't go!" He repeated it many times and even said, "I want to come with you!" I wish they could live closer! I'd love to have those cuties around more! I was in tears to hear his little plea. 

So after the sad goodbye on Friday, we drove the five hours to Nauvoo and saw a few sites on a gorgeous fall day! We also did the 5:00 temple session, and what a gorgeous, amazing site to see the completed temple! I forgot there are many rooms to move to...like the Salt Lake temple, but smaller in size, and they have an assembly room, like in the Kirtland temple! We got out around 7:15 and hurried to change and check in to our hotel-- the Nauvoo Hotel-- too late to sit down for dinner, because we had tickets to the fun 8:15 show of Rendezvous! Tyler really enjoyed it, and I was again wowed by the stamina and musical talent of the senior missionaries! 

 Beautiful fall morning for shopping in Nauvoo!

in front of our hotel

 we saw such BEAUTIFUL artwork in the stores

 LOVED these quotes by Pres. & Sis. Hinckley!

Earlier that day, as we saw a few sites, I was grateful to hear the missionaries testify and teach and relate to us about our Father in Heaven. Here are things they shared:
1. Blacksmiths shop: we are like metal and our Heavenly Father is the blacksmith shaping us into becoming what he needs and wants us to be. 
2. The Post Office: our Heavenly Father has special messages to send to us, and He is sending those to us all the time, wanting to communicate, and we don't have to pay postage! He loves us and will always be there to hear our prayer.
3. John Taylor's home, and the story of the wooden horse: John Taylor's son was embarrassed to tell his dad that he was upset over leaving the rocking horse, but John Taylor wanted him to be happy, so he returned the days journey and risked being killed by the mobs looking for him so he could get his boys rocking horse he had made. Our Father in Heaven loves us, and there is nothing we should be embarrassed about in turning to Him for help in our concerns. I LOVED this, because I often feel my aches, pains, and concerns are not that important and I just need to get over them or not ask for help. But our loving Father wants to help us in our needs!
The session was beautiful, and I loved being in the temple with Tyler again! We shared the new insight we gained in the temple and enjoyed the incredible pioneer-look of the temple. Pres. Hinckley wanted it to look as much like the original Nauvoo temple as it could, and it is breathtaking! 
We went for a walk after the show, as I hadn't had a chance to exercise yet and was feeling greatly in need! So we walked down Mulholland and around the temple. I was pretty emotional, feeling a somber mood, and feeling tired of getting so many stares about my eye. Most people I'm around forget about it, and I forget about it. But when I'm seeing lots if new people who've never seen me before, I notice the stares! I am usually fine, but I was tired and feeling tired of the stares, so Tyler let me have a good cry on his shoulder! What a good guy. RIght after, when we were taking pictures, up walks Will Angus, who lives next door to Tyler's parents! His dad is the bishop and they were there in Nauvoo! It was so fun to see familiar faces and see how excited Tyler got to see them! His mom and dad drove up and she gave us both hugs and wanted to take our pictures, proving they had seen us!
We decided on our walk that rather than try to hurry to Winter Quarters the next day, we would relax and enjoy Nauvoo! Still so much to see, and Tyler especially felt rushed. I'm so glad he is sensitive to the Spirit and to what he needs. It was such a nice morning Saturday in Nauvoo! They were getting ready for the big pumpkin walk that night, but we only stayed for some shopping, (we got a Nauvoo plate with names of all the apostles at the time it was built in the 1840s, magnets, Nauvoo t-shirts, and a Nauvooo temple book) frozen custard, Belgian waffle, seeing more sites, and our favorite, most inspiring and spiritual time-- walking down Parley street and reading the quotes from the saints who had to leave the beloved Nauvoo behind. It was pretty sobering to think they packed up what they could in a wagon, took their precious family, and loaded a raft to cross that wide Mississippi in COLD February! What sacrifices they made. After we read the quotes, we got to the end of Parley street and saw the memorial with the HUNDREDS of names of saints who lost their lives as they crossed the plains. Wow. It was overwhelming to think of the reality of what they did. We were so touched by the Spirit, that we reverently walked back down Parley street and sang hymns, Come, Come Ye saints, We Thank Thee O God For a Prophet.

 The view from Parley Street, we read the 20 or more quotes along the path going down to the river.

 Statue of Brigham Young and Joseph Smith, vision of going to the Rocky Mountains.

 Can you believe they crossed this wide river with their whole family? In a wagon? in February??

 A nice couple took our picture here on Parley Street

 This would have been the kind of raft they took to cross the river. The wagons couldn't hold many of their belongings!

 What a monument... shows hundreds of names of saints who died along the trail.

 We also went near the Joseph Smith property to see the Nauvoo Mansion, the grave sites, and the Red Brick Store. Behind us is the Nauvoo Mansion.

 Joseph, Emma, and Hyrum's sites.

The dear, wonderful parents of Joseph, Hyrum, and their siblings.

I'm so thankful to be a member of this true, restored gospel of Jesus Christ, on the earth in its fullness today! I know Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know our tests and trials in mortality refine us and can bring us closer to our Heavenly Father. I know Joseph Smith was the prophet to usher in the final dispensation and it's so exciting to be a part of this work! What comfort and peace the gospel brings. How blessed we are to have the knowledge of the plan of salvation and our purpose on this earth! What joy comes from knowing who I am and that I have a special purpose! How grateful I am to be married to my eternal sweetheart and best friend for this life, and for eternity! I love how he is so hard working, he never murmurs, he is positive and encouraging, and he is dedicated to the gospel! He is one of the most Christlike and loving people I have ever met and I love being by his side!

We drove to North Platte when we left Nauvoo, which was a 9 hour drive! But we were so blessed to get that far, and Tyler was wide awake! He is incredible! We were so blessed with GREAT sunny weather, and had tender mercies from Heavenly Father to be safe. When it started to get dark and we were on the wide Nebraska territory on I-80, a small deer suddenly darted out into the road! I was enjoying the suspenseful novel at the time, but Tyler was so quick to put on the brakes and grip my hands so I would be okay! Wow, we missed it barely, and it crossed just behind the car in the lane to the left of us! Phew! I immediately said, "Thank you, Heavenly Father! Thank you for keeping us safe!" We arrived at the Super 8 in North Platte by midnight, but stopping at Walmart for groceries just a couple hours before that and filling up on gas so we wouldn't have to shop on Sunday to have enough food to get through. :) The Super 8 was just what we needed...minus the uncomfortable bed! But we got free breakfast before getting ready and hitting the road.

Sunday we left North Platte at 9 and found a nice ward to attend sacrament meeting in Cheyenne, Wyoming at 1:00! We got there at noon, so we took dad's suggestion and went to see the train museum there. 

 This is Cheyenne's Wyoming State Capitol building!

We saw lots of beautiful sunsets on our way home... don't mind the bugs on the windshield!!

Pretty big and nice place! It was nice to let Tyler sleep all morning while I drove to Cheyenne, and he's driven since we finished with church. Definitely a night person!;).  As we drove in the morning, I loved listening to the Lamb of God CD by Rob Gardner, thinking about the Saviors atonement. It helped me ponder and prepare better for the sacrament. What a touching program. 


We listened to conference talks on my laptop, I wrote about our trip on my iPad, and we are happy we have had a great trip with nice weather, wonderful memories, and time to relax and be together! We even talked about our parenting ideals together and how to go about the adoption process as we read from the open adoption book. Still lots to learn, but we are excited that we can start the application through LDS services in 9 days!