The Peter Whitmer Farm

As part of my memorial day weekend, we took a trip down to Fayette, NY where we got to see the Peter Whitmer farm.

Here we have the visitor center/church. General Conference was once held here.

Rooms in the Whitmer home. Important things happened here. Like the translation of the book of mormon.

This is were the church was organized on April 6th 1830.

The PI Crew outside the Whitmer house.

We had a lot of fun that day. And, because I know everyone wants to hear, Wicked was amazing! I loved it, and have pretty much been singing the musice ever since. We were in the very back of the theater. (By very back, I mean I sat on the last row.) so it was hard to see the faces of the actors, but despite that, it was still amazing! I would love to go again. Best quote of the play...."For the first time in my life....I feel wicked."

In Memory of...

The first memorial day was commemorated in 1866 in a small New York town--Waterloo. The town set the day aside to honor fallen Civil War hero's. The tradition has grown to what we now set aside the last Monday of every may to pause and reflect on those brave men and women who have gone before us. As fitting such an occasion, this Memorial day, I journeyed south to spend part of the day in Waterloo.

L to R. Tanner, Holly, me, An-Hoa, Rachel, Emily and Brian



Waterloo is about 40 minutes away from the Palmyra Inn and about five to ten minutes away from the Peter Whitmer farm. We decided to make a trip so that we could see all the fun sites. On our way through Waterloo we found a little park that had monuments up commemorating the beginning of memorial day. We spent some time in the park. It was the perfect day to do it, the weather was beautiful!


Rachel, Me, Holly, Emily, Tricia, and An-Hoa on the Cannon


An-Hoa, Holly, me, Emily, and Tricia at a memorial day monument



A Monument with names of local people who have died in war.


Tanner and I under the memorial arch.



Yes...I am on the Cannon

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy!

The sun came out and it was a BEAUTIFUL day. There is something about the beautiful blue sky and the warm sunshine that makes me just want to be outside, so after church to day, An-Hoa and I spent sometime outside, just sitting in the grass enjoying the beauty and the sun. So here I might look a little wind blown, but the breeze just added to the perfectness of the day.

Yesterday, we played ultimate Frisbee...and not to brag, but I ended up with a couple of amazing catches that lead to some sweet touchdowns...and sweet bruises.

Harmony and Hill Cumorah

As I continue to see the neat church histroy sites here in New York, and near by, I am struck by how much it means to me to be able to have the restored gospel in my life. I'm so grateful for Joseph Smith being prepared to follow the Lord and listening to the spirit. This week especially I am grateful for hte resteration of hte priesthood and the Book of Mormon, as I got to visit Hill Cumorah and Harmony.


Here I am standing in front of the Hill Cumorah monument.




This is a picture of the Monument in Harmony PA, that shows John the Baptist with Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery.





This is the Susquehanna River where Joseph and Oliver were baptized.





This was a beautiful day, and though the drive was long, it was worth it!

Stopping to smell the lilacs

With spring comes one of my favorite smelling plants--Lilacs. In Rochester they have a lilac festival. Four of us decided to go check it out. It was incredible and the smell was intoxicating. I wish I could have captured that smell on camera!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today is the day we get to celebrate those women who do more for us then anyone else--our mothers. I had the opportunity to talk in church to day about the divine role of motherhood and it helped me appreciate how much I love and appreciate all my own mom did and still does for me. I found this poem I thought would be appropriate, and with it want to say thanks mom. I love you!
Everything Mom
How did you find the energy, Mom
To do all the things you did,
To be teacher, nurse and counselor
To me, when I was a kid.
How did you do it all, Mom,
Be a chauffeur, cook and friend,
Yet find time to be a playmate,
I just can’t comprehend.
I see now it was love, Mom
That made you come whenever I'd call,
Your inexhaustible love, Mom
And I thank you for it all.
By Joanna Fuchs

Well I thought it might be time for some pictures of the neat and beautiful things that I am seeing out here in BEAUTIFUL NY! I went to the temple last week with the branch. It is very pretty (and very small) I love the stain glass windows that have the sacred grove on them.
The second picture is of the sacred grove from the temple. Pres. Hinckley had the trees cut back so that you can see the grove from the temple. Its amazing! The other morning I had lots of time before work so I took a walk down town. There is a corner of palmyra that has four major churchs on each corner. This picture shows two of them. They don't quite date back to Joseph Smith's time, but to me it reminds me of the confict he must have felt in this highly religious diverse place. I haven't taken the tour of the Book of Mormon publication site, just walked by. that is next on my list of things to do.

Cinco de Mayo

This week we celebrated Cinco de Mayo for FHE and so here are some pictures of us hitting the Piñata. No, I am not in any of them... I took the pictures. But you can see some of the people I work with. The girl wearing the Piñata is my boss, and the two guys are the other interns, Tanner and Brian.