Yelm Rededication

The Yelm church building remodel is finally finished!  We thought it would be done years ago but it ran into quite a few tangles with permits and sewer issues!  Anyway, today was the rededication and it was a very nice event.  We went out early to walk around the building and it's really nice.  Here are a few photos though they really don't do it justice.

A brand new double doorway was punched through the side of the chapel into the new addition - here is a picture from the chapel (Bishop Hyatt happy about the extra space!)

From the front of the building (new addition side) looking down the new hallway - missionaries are standing about where the double doors come out of the chapel.  New baptismal font is in the room on the left.

The new baptismal font - the people are so excited to have this here as it will save them from driving to the stake center - and these 3 wards are great missionary wards!

Marcie T is standing in the new hallway - I'm standing in the cultural hall/gym - so this is also a new doorway.

From the other side of the new hallway - the lady in the picture is just coming out of the baptism room - so there are several new classrooms added, new bathrooms, a new Bishops and clerks offices, and the new baptistry.  There were still several classrooms behind me so this isn't the entire hallway.  They did an excellent job and the good people of Yelm are certainly excited to have this new addition.

The parking lot was expanded and looks great - sorry I forgot to take a picture of it - it went from a capacity of 104 cars to 200:)

Springfield Conservation Nature Center - and adieu

We spent parts of Saturday, Monday (Memorial Day) and Tuesday at the Springfield Nature Center - a nature center building and a series of trails located no more than a mile from Megan and Jeremy's home.  It was so much fun - we saw birds we rarely see and really had a fun time hiking on the trails.

                        Posing on the frog who is guarding the entrance to the Nature Center.

The cardinals would fly in and eat from the bird feeders all the time - they are beautiful birds as you can tell if you enlarge the photo.

We don't think we've ever seen an Indigo Bunting bird before.  They are blue from head to toe.  They migrate to Mexico and south to Panama in the winter -wow!

Mushroom anyone?!

On Memorial Day, Scott and Hyrum went back to the nature center and took about a 2 mile hike.

Here's a map of the trails - we started from the nature center on the yellow line and then took the orange trail all the way around until it met the blue trail and back to the center.  It was while we were about at the Ozark Greenways Connection that Zac called us to tell us about Anne's broken arms:(

By a beautiful little water fall

On Tuesday Scott was able to go back to the trails with Hyrum and Hunter.  We didn't go on the full hike as Monday but pretty close - Hunter did great and didn't need to be carried even once!

A black snake was in the trail as we approached and it quickly slithered away - Hyrum said:  "Wow that snake is pouty today!  He didn't even stop to talk!"  By the time I got the camera out the snake was off into the brush.

A crane flew out of the brush right next to the trail and scared us to death - we finally got a photo as he landed in the lake.

We drove back to Liberty Tuesday night in preparation for our early flight back to Seattle on Wednesday morning.  Here is the gorgeous sunset that we enjoyed on part of our drive back.

It was so hard to say good-bye for now to our sweet family in Missouri, but what wonderful memories we've created this week together.  Thanks Megan and Jeremy for your love and hospitality - since we've been home we've Skyped once and we think the twins still remember us!!  

Zoo, Baseball, and Dancing

While in Springfield we went to a baseball game - the Cardinals which is a AA affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals - they have a beautiful little stadium in Springfield and a faithful following of fans.  We enjoyed ourselves as the pictures attest:

We also visited the Springfield Zoo and also had a great time there.

Fed the fish

We saw a family of turtles on our train ride around the zoo lake

Our gracious hosts pose after the train ride

Each of the kids got to feed the giraffe!

It was great watching Grandma darlin teaching the little ones some dance moves!



Kansas City

We spent our second day together, before driving to Springfield in Kansas City.  We visited the famous train station downtown and saw some wonderful model trains.  We went across the street to the Crowne Plaza and had lunch at a very fun place - Fritz's.  Our food was ordered by telephone and then delivered by train.  There were tracks along the top wall of the restaurant and the train brought a box full of the food ordered.  When it arrived at the appropriate table, the food was lowered on a hydraulic platform to the table.  It was quite a treat!

The ceiling at the old train depot.

The model trains

A few pictures at the restaurant

We had fun in downtown - it was a bit rainy this day but nice.  

Liberty/Independence MO

We recently had a chance to spend a week with Jeremy, Megan, Hyrum, Hunter, Emma, and Justin Shakespear!  We met in Kansas City and spent a couple of days in that area before driving to their home in Springfield and spent the rest of the week there.  We had a wonderful time and here are some of the highlights the first day.

We had adjoining rooms at the hotel in KC - Hunter and Hyrum slept in our room.  Here's a typical scene!

We spent our first morning together at the Liberty Jail - luckily for us our hotel was less than 3 miles away.  The church has built a beautiful visitor's center around the re-built jail.  Here's the replica.

Gave us a real feel for how thick the prison walls were, and how cold and dark!

The Original Key to the Liberty Jail

Hyrum and Hunter sitting in front of the jail

We loved these paintings side by side - the Savior and His prophet in the latter-days

Hyrum and Darlin enjoying the beautiful sunshine - and the night before there was a tornado watch in the area!

All of us in front of the Liberty Jail visitor's center

We then drove about a half hour south to Independence - before visiting the Visitor's Center there, we stopped by the Community of Christ headquarters - we found a beautiful wood carving of the Last Supper

As we walked to the LDS Visitor's Center, this picture of Megan holding two little hands coming from the stroller caught our attention!

There was a cabin downstairs at the Visitor's Center - the kids had a blast playing here

On the way back to the hotel we stopped and looked at the new Kansas City temple - you can see that the outside is nearly complete

After a nice dinner in Liberty we enjoyed a cold swim before retiring for the evening

We loved this day in Liberty and Independence.  There is so much of church history in this area and we felt a special spirit here, especially at Liberty Jail, of which the prophet often referred to as his prison/temple.  Of the jail Elder Neal Maxwell stated:  "It wasn't until the prophet was physically confined that his mind was fully liberated...The double walls, four feet thick, kept Joseph and his companions in, but they could not keep the spirit and revelation out."

We certainly felt that.