One of our mission assistants was marrying a girl from Olathe, Kansas, and we were invited to their Kansas City wedding celebration.
The weather was so absolutely divine for the middle of August in that part of the country. The storm that had just passed through the area had cooled things down and the humidity was very tolerable.
There were less than 30 people at the wedding ceremony. After the ring exchange and the kiss, Marissa and Trae boogied down the aisle. Then each row of people took turns boogieing down the aisle.
We had been asked ahead of time to be prepared to boogie. When it came time to boogie, with the video camera going, I deemed that to be my least favorite part of the whole wedding experience. HA!! (Spoken from an extreme non-dancer!!)
After the luncheon, we took turns stepping outside to get photos taken with the bride and groom.
Kyle Lundquist (another one of our mission assistants) was one of the groomsmen.
I wanted a picture of the four of us California Carlsbad missionaries with the "PRESIDENT" sign on a nearby building as part of our photo because that is the title Elder Jordan and Elder Lindquist use to address Glen.
We had three hours between the luncheon and the evening reception that we were wondering what we were going to do with ourselves. We learned Kyle was unable to stay for the evening festivities because he had to catch a plane and fly somewhere to join his family on vacation.
When we asked how he was going to get to the airport, he said he had planned to Uber there. We told him we would be his Uber--free of charge.
It was fun to spend that time visiting with him as we drove him to the airport.
Everywhere we went in Kansas City, there was a mask mandate, so it was nice to sit outside in the pleasant weather to eat.
We got back to the rooftop just as the 3-hour reception was beginning. The enjoyed looking at the views from the rooftop. We stayed in the outside area so we wouldn't have to wear our masks.
We looked at a replica of the printing press run by William W. Phelps which was used to print the Church's first newspaper. Also printed there were the revelations in the Book of Commandments which is now one of our books of scripture called The Doctrine and Covenants.
True to his word, Glen did not make us drive straight through. We stopped for the night in Cheyenne. After having driven for many hours through dry, windy, barren, sage-brushy Wyoming, I had to laugh at the advertisement for the restaurant we chose for that evening.
I was sure glad we stopped for the night. Neither one of us were too happy about how close the hotel was to a very active train track that had trains noisily clacking by very frequently, and all through the night--or so it seemed.
Natalie began her first day of cosmetology school. I love that Laurie had made the traditional first day of school sign for each of their children--including Natalie.
It was very enjoyable talking to the relatives and friends of the wedding couple. They will be having another reception in Apple Valley, California after their honeymoon to Cancun, Mexico.
The other side was a cutaway of the jail allowing visitors a view inside. On December 1, 1838, the Prophet Joseph Smith and five other men were falsely accused of treason and imprisoned in the original Liberty Jail.
The bride and groom arrived at the reception riding scooters and left in a convertible. It had been a lovely celebration.
The next day was a free day. We decided to go to Liberty Jail. This photo was taken to help me remember how we had to wear masks everywhere we went in Kansas City. (Getting so sick of MASKS!!!!)
Inside the building, we joined in on a tour. There was a display of the reconstructed Liberty Jail showing the outside door of the jail. We are very familiar now with the double doors in a jail/prison.
Sidney Rigdon was released from the jail in early February 1839. The others--Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin and Alexander McRae--remained there until early April 1839.
The Prophet Joseph Smith and the other men with him endured a lot of misery in that freezing jail. Along with the suffering, there were great revelations and answers to prayer that Joseph received while there.
Some of the most poignant scriptural verses were penned in that prison. B.H. Roberts, an early church leader and historian said, "It was a place of meditation and prayer...Joseph Smith sought God in this rude prison and found Him. Liberty Jail was more temple than prison so long as the Prophet was there."
There was a jail in the basement for any unruly residents. (See what I mean when I say there are creepy mannequins in the museum??!!??)
Several basement rooms were decorated with lots of farm tools and equipment. In one of the rooms the full-size horse mannequin startled me as I wasn't expecting to see a life-size animal standing there when I stepped inside that area.
Someone put a lot of work into making this quilt with each of the 50 states represented.
We were most interested in seeing the "Mormon room" that was filled with historic information and copies of the Book of Mormon.
I enjoyed looking around the schoolroom (with a couple more of the lovely mannequins).
There was a lot more we saw as we hurried through the museum. From there we went to the cemetery and saw where David Whitmer is buried.
We drove to Richmond, Missouri to go to the Ray County Museum. It was a little creepy to walk up to it and see a figure in the upper window. There were actually several creepy mannequins on the second floor that made me happy when we left that area of the museum.
The museum has artifacts from the early 1800s up to modern day located in 50 rooms on three floors. It was built in the shape of a "Y" and covers one-third of an acre.
The building was built in 1910 and was a totally modern building for its day with electricity and indoor plumbing. It served as the Ray County Poor Farm from 1910 to 1960 and was a private rest home from 1960 to 1971.
There were different rooms dedicated to different wars with various war memorabilia and uniforms. There were medical rooms and various other themed-rooms.
The Native American room had some interesting artwork made with Indian arrowheads.
Next stop was Independence, Missouri. The Community of Christ headquarters with temple and auditorium are located there.
Right across the street is our church's Independence Visitors' Center.
I like the beautiful Christus statue you see when you walk in the front door.
During the tour, we learn a little bit about life in this 1830s Latter-day Saint community that was formed in this city.
The Lord had revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that Independence, in Jackson County, Missouri, would become a "city of Zion," a gathering place for Saints, and a location for a future temple.
A mob destroyed the press, scattered the type and leveled the building where the print shop was located. The early Saints sure had to endure a lot of hateful persecution.
We enjoyed the beautiful view of the sun setting behind the city's buildings as we drove toward our hotel.
On Sunday, we went to church with our good friends Carl and Sherrie Dahlquist. Their ward meets now in Lee's Summit. After church, we drove by our old house in Blue Springs.
That evening we had dinner at Hereford House. I was on a Kansas City BBQ roll and decided to order BBQ ribs.
We had this house built for us. When we lived there, the neighborhood was so new and there were only small trees and very little other vegetation.
Our yard had very, very little landscaping, so I have to say I was impressed with what the future homeowners have done with the yard.
It is also painted a different color. We barely recognized it. So weird to look at it all these years later when it looks so unlike what we remember.
Carl and Sherrie lived in that same neighborhood a few streets over. We became the best of friends with Michael and Jacob being best friends and Rebecca and Kari being best friends.
The Dahlquists moved to a different home in a different neighborhood in Blue Springs quite a few years ago.
They were so kind to feed us lunch and we enjoyed visiting all afternoon with them.
We got caught up on what their children are doing. They, like us, have five children and nineteen grandchildren. Crazy!!
It is fun to see pictures of their children all grown up with families of their own. But, this photo caught my eye because this is how I most remember Melissa, Michael, Kari, Kevin and Ryan Dahlquist.
We sat outside under one of the umbrellas and continued to enjoy the delightfully pleasant weather while we ate our meal.
The next morning we were up and on our way back home. We passed under the arch monument once again going the opposite direction.
Glen had two conference calls that afternoon, so he was wearing a suit so he would look appropriate for the call. He had planned to just stop the car somewhere and make the call from the inside of the car.
Our hotel was at the Plaza, so later that evening, we went for a walk around the Plaza and chose this restaurant to have dinner.
We took a little walk over to the bridge to look at the water. Then we went to Cold Stone Creamery for an ice cream treat. It had been such a very nice day. It had been a very nice vacation. So much to love about that whole experience.
I was not too keen on that idea. We were already spending lots and lots of time in the car. I found a library in one of the small towns we were passing by and Glen consented to go there to make his call.
Looking so official in his suit, white shirt and tie, the librarian offered him their conference room to make his calls. That was much more professional than being in a car. And much more comfortable for both of us!
We made it home safe and sound. While I had the most relaxing and enjoyable time away, Glen was dealing with the Park City fire most of the time we were gone.
Park City is his area and whenever there is a disaster of any kind, he needs to be communicating with the stake presidents in the area to assess the damage and see how he can be of help with resources to help the people.
The route we took home went right by the Park City fire which started right next to the freeway. Thankfully, we saw no active burning and the fire did not harm any structures. The rains the past couple of days have helped immensely in finishing up the burn.
While we were gone, Laurie and Natalie had arrived in Utah and stayed here a couple of days before relocating to Provo so Laurie could help Natalie move into her apartment.
One of their projects to accomplish upon arrival here was make freezer jam for Natalie. They were successful in making many containers of jam and I was so happy to see they had a container for me to enjoy. It made my day!!
Laurie was so sad she wasn't able to be at home with the other four children who were having their first day of school. They all managed to get their pictures taken with their signs, so that made Laurie and me happy!
We had a little 9-year-old Newland birthday boy. It was fun to see his cute, smiling face as we sang the birthday song to him and learned what he had been doing on his birthday.
Abe was looking good after his deviated septum surgery. The photo we saw right after his surgery was not pretty! Poor guy! He was so miserable with the splints the doctor had put in his nose that he went to the doctor a few days after surgery to see if something was wrong.
Once the doctor pulled out the splints and vacuumed out his nasal passages, he felt like a new man. That was so good to hear that he was doing so much better. And then to see our handsome son smiling and happy and looking normal was a really great sight!
