O-Hi-O

Right after Dad arrived home from deployment we all jumped in the Expo and drove up to Ohio to see Dad's sister, Holly. In the six years that me and Anthony have been married this was the 4th time we all have been together. She usually always comes to see us, but this time we thought we should pay her a visit. She is always a delight. Isn't her house gorgeous? Love it! There is also a basement that is underground so you can't see it, but that is where their movie theater room is. Very nice! The seats vibrated and everything. The ride wore us out so much that Grampy got Gabriella to fall asleep in his arms. Gramps got a little nap in there too.
Our first day there we headed to Kirtland. I mean we were only 40 minutes away. I couldn't be that close and not go. Here is the N.K. Whitney store. Joseph Smith lived up in the upstairs for a little while before he headed out to Hiram's.Me insideSome things that they sold I thought this was pretty cool. Its how they played checkers back in the day...with sliced pieces of corn on the cob. Too funny.Most of the furniture in the building was antiques that they bought that would make the building seem like it was from around the 1800's, but this table was the actual table that Joseph Smith translated some of the D&C at. So cool.This is a little room upstairs where the men would meet together and discuss church issues. It is also the reason why The Word of Wisdom came about. When they would meet they would smoke pipes and spit their chewing tobacco on the floor. The room was not ventilated very well. You can imagine if everyone was smoking pipes in a closed in room for a couple of hours how bad and hard it was to breathe. After the meetings Emma would yell at Joseph about cleaning up the spit off the floor and how bad it smelt. So they came up with "The Word of Wisdom"This is where Newel Whitney livedIsn't this the strangest baby bottle you have seen? Well, thats what they used in the 1800'sThis room has no significance other than I didn't realize that I was caught taking a picture in the mirror. Hahaha Its me!These were the missionaries that gave us our tour and taught me some cool little facts about our church's history. The Kirtland Temple was really weird. It wasn't set up like any other temple that I have seen. One thing I found out was that our church doesn't own this building. The Community of Christ does. For my non-member friends, the Community of Christ Church split off from us when Joseph Smith died. We were all one, but when Joseph died some people thought that the chain of command should have followed in the family. They thought that Joseph's son should have been prophet. We believe that this is not what the Lord intended. The next prophet was the 1st presiding leader, which was Brigham Young. Anyways, the spirit was definitely different, or should I say lack of spirit. Actually I take that back. The spirit was there, it was just testifying to me that the Community of Christ church was not right.

Eagle Scout
On the next day Holly's oldest son, Brandon, had his Court of Honor to celebrate him getting his Eagle Scout. He called all kind of businesses to donate funds so he could put together relief packets for the Red Cross. I can't remember how many he did, but it was a lot. I think it was around 400 or so.

His younger brother, Blake, started the ceremony by bringing the flag out.

Brandon, we are so proud of you. All of your hard work has paid off. Being an Eagle Scout will look good on resumes.

Birthdays

Celebration time! There were lots of birthdays in May. Kaleigh's, Blake's, Michelle's, Mine, and Anthony's. We thought it was a perfect time to celebrate since everybody was together.

Baptism

Last but certainly not least, we got to see Holly's youngest son, Blake, get baptised. I am so glad that we were able to make it up to see this. Baptisms are always so touching.

Scott, Blake's Dad, got chosen to do the honors. Is this not the sweetest picture. I love the way Blake is leaning into his Dad. Pricele$$!
The whole gang meeting outside
Its sad to say but after the baptism we had to say our good bye's and head back home.Gabriella was terrified of Scott at first. If he even looked at her she would cry and run away. I guess this is them calling it trues. She finally warmed up to him and he became a great pal.
Taylor, the kids adored you. Can't wait to see y'all again in Williamsburg, VA for 4th of July
Brandon pretty soon you are going to be taller than Anthony. I still can't believe that you got your Eagle done so early. Most people wait until the last minute and get it right at 18, but you are just too awesome and got it done at 16. Your amazing!

Thanks Renninger Family for your hospitality. We had lots of fun and can't wait until next time.