Our trip to see Steve!

We had alot of fun visiting Steve in St. Louis. It was so good to be together as a family again! Even though we had thanksgiving dinner at the IHOP, we didn't care because we were at the IHOP together. (cheesy, I know!) We saw alot of sights, and most of it was free which was nice.

This is V. with the base of the St. Louis arch behind her. What an impressive sight! There was a museum under the arch that we also went through. A nice family outing....

V. loved being with her daddy! They had a lot of fun wrestling and such. She is such a daddy's girl, and she has him wrapped around her little finger.

We went to Cathage, Ill. And saw the jail where our prophet, Joseph Smith was killed. This is the window he fell out of when he was shot. The feeling was...surreal.(sp) This happened so many years ago, and yet being there I guess kinda made it more real to me.

This is the Nauvoo, Ill. temple. We had so much fun in Nauvoo. We learned about how the saints lived during their stay here. We made a rope as a family, learned how to bake in a bustle oven, learned how to make a barrel, etc. We took a wagon tour of historic Nauvoo that was really neat. Agian, the feeling we had while here... I have gained more appreciation for the saints and all they went thru, for their faith in the gospel. Grateful, that now I can worship how I want without the persecutions they went thru. I don't know how to explain how I feel... I really enjoyed this part of our trip. I'm glad we drove up to Nauvoo and Carthage while we were visiting Steve.

On a different note... Steve is coming home this friday! YAY! He's home for at least awhile. There is a chance he'll leave again around Feb. But we'll wait and see. I'm glad that he had this opportunity to go back and do this job. I think he's really enjoyed the experience. We were hoping to get more paid off then we did, but are glad that V. and I flew out there. It was a nice family trip that we won't forget!