Missouri

We said goodbye to Georgia early Monday morning.  J loves to get an early start, so we were out the door by five.  We pretty much drove straight through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois.  When we reached Missouri, we stopped and ate lunch with J's cousin, James, who has been in St. Louis doing installations for security systems.

Zuri did fairly well in the car.  She slept quite a bit of the time, which was nice.  I was really surprised at how gorgeous Tennessee is, I mean, WOW.  I didn't pull out my camera and take pictures, mainly because Zuri was sleeping and I didn't want to roll down the window and wake her.  We went through a canyon that completely took my breath away.

St. Louis:

What trip to St. Louis would be complete without stopping and seeing the temple?

The temple is really beautiful.  We have a few closer shots but in the interest of space, I have limited to just this one!

After lunch we drove to Independence, where I have three uncles living.  They had a big family dinner and Zuri got to meet her great uncles and cousins for the first time.  Unfortunately, we were so worn out from the drive that I didn't think to pull out my camera that night.

We stayed at my Uncle Jared's house, and spent Tuesday morning relaxing and visiting.  Uncle Joe and Aunt Randy came over with their kids.  It is crazy to see how they have all grown!  I remember them all as little kids!

My Uncle Joe, Aunt Randy, and cousin Annie.

My Aunt Randy, Annie, and Rebekah (Rebekah is my Uncle Jared and Aunt Rachel's daughter).

 Uncle Joe and Zuri

I had my first experience with cicadas.  Wow, are they loud!  This dead cicada was in the flower pot--it gives you an idea of their size, even though this is only half of one.

 My Uncle Jared has a very big dog, Pepper.  Pepper is very sweet, but even she couldn't take all the attention Keira lavished on her.  Surprisingly, even though Pepper is taller than Zuri, Zuri was not afraid in the slightest.  She was almost more excited with the dog than playing with her cousins.

Since we were in Independence, we took advantage of seeing some historical church sites!  We went to Liberty Jail and the Visitors center.  We didn't take the two hour drive to see Adam-Ondi-Ahmen just because we had been driving so much the previous day and we had another long day of driving the next day.

Liberty Jail was amazing though.  It really gave you a feel for what happened and what they had to go through.  My only complaint is that we didn't have enough time inside because another tour group was coming through.  I would have liked to linger and soak up the Spirit longer.

After Liberty Jail, we went to the Independence visitors center.  Zuri had fallen asleep so J and I took turns going in so she could sleep. 

Right across the street from the visitor's center in Independence is the world headquarters for the Community of Christ and their temple.  Very unusual design.

 We spent Tuesday night with my Uncle Jared again, and we said our goodbyes since we were going to get up really early again for the drive.  Wednesday was the kids' first day of school so they were sent to bed early, but none of them wanted to go.  They all ended up playing and being distracted by Zuri. 

 Zuri and J playing--those two really got along well. 

Josh

 

Jacob

Zuri and Jared--all the adults were in the other room talking and when we went to check on the kids because they were finally settling down, this is what we saw!  Zuri really took Jared!

And she almost fell asleep with Rebekah!

My Uncle Jared and Aunt Rachel--all of my uncles are six feet plus, so I barely make it above their shoulders!

 

 

We had such a blast in Independence and it was great reconnecting with my family--and getting to know them better!  We wish that we had more time to spend with them!