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September 2022 - New York, Toronto, and Jackson Hole

We had a busy September with lots of travel.  I had a work trip to meet a customer at our new freeze dry facility in Albion, New York and I was able to see some church history sites in Palmyra as well as drive up to Canada for less than 24 hours to see the sites and go to church there Sunday morning before flying to Wisconsin for work.  2 days later Kyle and I drove to Jackson Hole for a long weekend.

New York:

I loved the drive from the Buffalo airport to our facility in Albion.  I left early in the morning so the drive was quiet and I passed lots of beautiful, scenic farms in upstate New York.  After work I made it to Palmyra to see the Grandin printing press, Palmyra Temple grounds, Sacred Grove, Smith Family Farm, and Hill Cumorah.  It was nice to sit in the Sacred Grove and listen to the Restoration Proclamation.  I love that the first line is "We solemnly proclaim that God loves his children in every nation of the world" and it closes with "we invite all to know as we do that the heavens are open."

Toronto:

I played tourist and rode Maid of the Mist, drove to the Ossington Chapel where I attended church for most of my mission, drove past the CN Tower, toured Casa Loma, and went to church in Spanish with the Christie Ward.  I was able to see some beloved friends and members at church.  I had to race through Casa Loma before driving back to Buffalo for my flight so I took pictures of all the signs and information and read them on the plane.  It was amazing to have a car while in Toronto--a luxury I didn't have on my mission--rather than relying on buses to get around.  It was so much faster to get where I wanted to go!


Jackson Hole:

Jackson Hole has been on our bucket list for a long time and it did not disappoint.  We had a really close encounter with a mom and baby moose, saw lots and lots of elk, some beavers, did a chuckwagon dinner, took old timey photos, walked around downtown and enjoyed the art galleries the most, and rode a tram to 10,450 feet for some delicious waffles.  The Tetons are stunning.  We met up with the Slagles there and it was fun to be together.  Plus, they got us matching Owala water bottles complete with Teton wrap-around stickers.

















Other happenings in September:

Liam had a preschool field trip to the Fire Station, Nathan hid in the laundry hamper made by Grandpa Swingle, Star Wars helmets with Wes Wes, Tad painted my face to look like a butterfly, and Liam wanted to go to Costco for a hot dog and to read books (he brought some in his backpack) for his date night.  Alexa, Tyler, and Dean also participated in the Pinewood Derby.  It was so much fun for them to decorate and race their cars.  Our Primary hired out a professional Pinewood Derby company who emceed and brought a fancy track complete with cameras, sensors, etc.  









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