From the Mouths of Babes . . .

Well, I can't figure out how to edit my first post to add to it (I'm sure it's elementary, but my brain is even less so!), so I'm creating a new one. Following are some things you would have heard had you made the trek to the east coast with us!



Provo - We had left home, dropped Austin at a friend's, fueled the car, and weighed the trailer. The kids had been watching a movie and Cooper roused himself from it momentarily. I had a feeling it was going to be a long ride.

Cooper - "Where are we? Is this Boston?"



Vail Colorado - Cooper -"I'm excited for Boston, to make new friends." pause . . . "I might cry after a long time when I want to play with my old friends." pause again . . . "yeah, I might cry."



Buffalo Bill's Grave in Colorado - Cooper -"But I didn't see his body!"



At the gift shop there - Ivy, as she was stroking a soft stuffed kitty in a pretty little purse . . . "Oooohhhh. I should buy this for Kate." (Her little friend in Highland)



Winter Quarters - We were inside a sod house like the ones the pioneers lived in. Ivy - "I told you you shouluv brouwt a torlet for the poor people to potty!" Then she looked at the chimney on the outside and said "That's where the big bad wolf climbed!"



Winter Quarters - The children had just pushed a big handcart for a few feet and we were discussing how difficult it was to push it over a small rock. Coooper said "maybe it was because of me. I was pushing the wrong way."



Carthage Jail - At the window Joseph Smith fell through. Cooper -"Why isn't the glass broken?" and "I can still smell the bullets." (There actually was a faint burning smell in the air.)



Nauvoo - We had been talking about riding in a cart pulled by oxen since Winter Quarters. We arrived in Nauvoo and Ivy yelled, "Where's the ox poop?!"



Illinois that night - Ivy -"Let's go home 'cause I'm tired."



Crossing the drawbridge into Iowa - I was explaining how the bridge worked, that a bell would sound, etc. Cooper -"So this whole bridge will raise up to let boats go under?" I said yes. He said "Well, I'd get off about now."



1:00 am into Michigan - Ivy was the only one of the children awake so she got to choose the movie. "I want Cinderwella 'cause it has pretty dresses." Definitely takes after her mommy.



Canada - Throughout the trip had been showing the children where we were on a map. Now I showed them that we had come across nearly the whole country. Cooper -"Good we didn't run out of gas!!"



Niagara Falls - As we drove into the town we were surprised to find that it's a small version of Vegas: casinos, bright lights, objectionable billboards. Cooper spotted a building all lit up and excitedly asked, "Is that a ride?" I had to reply that no, it was just a restaurant (of ill-repute).



Sacred Grove, Palmyra, New York - As we walked out of the Grove, Cooper said "my heart was beeping. That means I heard the Spirit." Ivy replied, "my heart was beeping too."



Sweet children.


At the Sacred Grove