The Rest of our Wisconsin Trip

Despite the car accident we still had a wonderful visit with family and truly counted our many blessings.

We celebrated Logan and Ethan's birthday while we were there.

We made a second stop at the Amish bakery. Just look at that pretzel!!!

Took some time to relax haha

The boys found a frog and were mesmerized

We were able to stop in a see Ryans brother and his family in North Dakota. It was so much fun even though it was a short visit and we got to meet Miss Rowen!

So precious!

Stopped at the Bismark, North Dakota Temple 

 

Took a rest stop somewhere in Montana and it was like 103 degrees. It felt like we were in a convention oven!

Had to stop at Crackerbarrel before coming home :)

Heavenly Fathers Blessings

July 16th, 2016

It was a beautiful day in Wisconsin. We decided to go to Green Lake for the day to go swimming and have fun. We were all caravaning with us leading when another van completely ran a stop sign and broadsided us causing us to roll 3 times.

Words can't describe all the different emotions that ran through my mind but my biggest concern was for my family. The fact that we were all alive was a huge blessing and I knew Heavenly Father had preserved us. Vince sustained the least amount of injuries with Ryan and Jake being life flighted to Madison for critical care. We all received blessings on scene and without saying all the details we were saved by the grace of God. I'm so grateful for all the prayers from family and friends and for the loving protection from our Father in Heaven.

 

I'm so grateful for my family and that we are all sealed for time and all eternity!

Fun in Wisconsin!

After Nauvoo we made the 6 hour trip up to Randolph, WI. It felt like a breeze compared to all the driving we had done over the past week. We stopped in Platteville for lunch at Culvers. Still amazing as ever!

Us and Shalyse's family were the first family's to get to Ryans parents and then Shawns family and Kelly's came a few days later. It was so much fun being together and especially having all the kids play with their cousins. There was lots of playing in toy cars, swimming, eating, laughing, games, bubbles and more.

The kids would ride these little bikes up and down the sidewalk in front of the house for hours and had a blast!

We went fishing on Fox Lake and did really well. The boys both caught little Blue Gill Crappie, too small to eat, but were excited to get a fish

Randolph has a community pool which was really fun. Vince LOVED swimming at this pool and still talks about it today

Whenever we come up to visit we have to go to the Amish bakery. It has, hands down, the best cinnamon rolls and baked goods I've ever had. These Amish people are legit too. No electricity, they use a horse and buggy to get around and they dont want you to take their pictures. It's neat to see their community and you have to respect them for all their hard work!

Then there was lots of time to play around and relax too.

Nauvoo

Nauvoo was one of the highlights of our trip. It was so amazing!!! It was so neat to be able to tour around and learn more about our church's history and the Spirit there is so strong! The Nauvoo temple is stunning and the Nauvoo pageant was going on when we were there too. They have done an amazing job with recreating Nauvoo of how it was when the pioneers were there. We learned a ton and had lots of fun!

There was an area for the kids but I think the adults enjoyed it just as much :) It had a lot of the games the pioneers used to play and they were so fun!

They had this fun wooden bear races and Vince loved it. He got the hang of it pretty quick!

We went over to the Nauvoo temple to walk around the grounds and just admire the beauty. The boys loved it too and kept talking about it. The Nauvoo temple is one of my favorites and so beautiful inside and out. Three of Ryans siblings were married in this temple so it's extra special to our family!

We were in Nauvoo 2 days and on the second we headed over to Carthage to see the house where Joseph Smith we martyred. I have been to Nauvoo and Carthage one of time before and got to go on the Carthage Jail tour and it was just as powerful the second time as the first. It was horrible how Joseph Smith died but he died for the cause of defending and standing for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Some people think we worship Joseph Smith but that isn't true. We worship our Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus Christ. We love and honor Joseph Smith in him being the prophet who restored the Church of Jesus Christ in these latter days. I'm so grateful that he translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God. I know this is the true church of Jesus Christ and it is only through Him that salvation comes!

Vince, Will and Jake enjoying their smores

The Nauvoo pageant was awesome. It's a big play about the beginnings of Nauvoo and the different stories told. I loved how the temple was in the background the entire time!