Gabe Has Braces!!!

Well, here's the newest member of the family to get the "hardware."  Gabe got braces on his top teeth last Monday.  They are going to expand his upper mouth in order to make room for his adult teeth to come in.  If everything goes right, the bottom teeth will adjust naturally as the top teeth get moved.  We may not have to get braces on the bottom at all.  Gabe was really excited until he realized he wasn't able to eat much for the first few days.  He hurt for awhile.  "Why do the braces have to be so mean?!"

Here's to a beautiful smile, Gabe!

2 week trip to Vermont and Back again. . . .

Ok, everybody, this one is going to be a big one!  I'm trying to just put in a few of the highlights, but it was a long trip with lots of pictures.  I won't get too wordy -- I'll just label.  Suffice it to say, we had a great time!

It all started on June 17th with Critic and Punam's wedding. . . .  in our backyard!

The park next door made for beautiful wedding photos.

 The first day of the trip we traveled to Mt. Rushmore. . .  Impressive

 The first major river we crossed was the Missouri.  Windy and hot.  Muddy river, too.

Second river was much clearer:  the Mississippi.

After a couple days of straight driving, we were able to stop at Niagra Falls.  That is every bit as impressive and "everyone" says it is!  It was absolutely beautiful.  This one is the American Falls,

 This one is the more famous Horseshoe Falls.  Again, lots of pictures taken, just a few posted.

That night we stayed in Rochester, NY. John, Gabe and I decided to drive to the Palmyra Temple.  

The next morning we took Critic and Punam. . . .

Hill Commorah Monument

The Sacred Grove.

There really were birds singing and bees humming.  And that was the only sounds you could hear.  

Beautiful.  Peaceful.  Spiritual.

Joseph Smith's Home.

Punam's hometown is a little village called Winooski.  It is right on the shores of Lake Champlain.  We took a Ferry Tour of the lake.  It was a relaxing way to spend an evening.

It had rained earlier in the day.  Sun coming through the clouds was quite breath-taking.

(Girl in the background -- originally from Bountiful, UT!)

Montpelier, Vermont, is the smallest state capital in the nation.  

The floor is laid with blocks that have fossils in them.

The chandelier, if you can enlarge this, has seahorses with riders on them.  

This cannon is from a ship from the Spanish-American War.

We stayed in Vermont for 2 days before heading home.  On both the going and coming, we passed through the Adirondak Mountains, which were really pretty, but, unfortunately, we didn't stop and take any pictures!

We did get to take a ferry across Lake Champlain into New York due to a road closure.  When we got off, all the workers were pointing at our license plate, laughing and waving at us.  We could just hear it:  Boy, are they a long way from home!

The return trip included Kirtland (courtesy of the Community of Christ)

The green stickers on our shirts say we paid to go on the tour of the temple itself.  

Interesting. . .

An evening at Anne Adele's 

(for those not of the Jorgensen clan, Anne Adele is John's sister.  They live just outside of Chicago). . .

Carthage, IL.

We just happened to be there on the 169th anniversary of the martyrdom.  That accounts for the numbers of people!

Nauvoo.

 This statue of Joseph and Hyrum was crafted by Stan Watts, and man from our ward.  He also did the brass works that are in the temple itself.

Endless cornfields. . . . . . .

Lincoln, NE State Capital Bldg.

View from the 14th Floor of the State Capital Bldg.

Cheyenne, WY State Capitol Bldg.

Last day of our trip, we had the dreaded Flat Tire!

Because it was Saturday, there were no tire stores open in any of the little Wyoming towns.  So, we drove over 300 miles on a donut.  We just wanted to get home.  It made our last day very long.

 As I said at the beginning, there were tons of pictures taken, so these are just a few.  We have the memories to last us a lifetime.  Who knows when we will be able to take a trip like this again.  Would I do it?  In a heartbeat!