Baby Cannon

Cael in Wyoming

Earlier this year we decided it would be a good opportunity for Cael to go back with grandma and grandpa and spend a couple of weeks in Wyoming. We joked around it would be a cowboy internship, or free horse riding lessons with grandpa.

every morning they got up very early to pick up the horses, load them in the trailer, and head up to the mountain to round up cattle. So far the weather has been a combination of sunny days mixed in with some rainy and muddy days as well. They work hard and on some days they get to play hard too!

Grandma and grandpa say it is been a lot of fun to have him around. But we are sure missing him at our house, it is a lot quieter here!

On a weekend Cael went up to Jackson hole with grandpa Platt, Doreen, and Joseph. They went floating down the river, fishing, and out to eat. Joseph and his friend that is a girl dared Cael to drink 10 drops of cholula for some money. He also swam across a freezing river because grandpa hoopes offered him all the money that was in his pocket. I don't know if I should be worried or proud

Grandma Denise Ivory sure loved having Cael around and getting to know him better. See you later wrote a letter telling us all the fun memories that you will now have of Cael.

One of the last things he did this summer was load up the back of a trailer with hay  for the horses with grandpa hoopes and uncle Dusty. I'm pretty sure this was a summer Cael will never forget.

Baptism and baby blessing

Hill Cumorah Smith Farm and Sacred Grove

Our first stop of the day in Palmyra was the hill Camorra visitor center. We watch the short film inside, saved seats for the show that night, and walked up to the top of the hill to the monument. Some facilities management missionaries were working up by the path and Ben asked them if the kids could roll down the hill in the grass. It was a pretty steep grassy hill so the kids were rolling and running very fast down. It was funny there was a sign that said stay on the path, and then our kids are rolling down the hill! At least we had permission to break the rules.

By this time the clouds are beginning to cover the sky and move-in darker and windier. We went to the Smith farm which included the log home and surrounding area. It was incredible to see the amount of work that was put into clear the land in order to farm and make a living.

After walking through the other home and barn we made our way toward the sacred Grove. There began to be little drops of rain, which turned into a slight drizzle, and finally a steady rain. Inside the forest we stayed relatively dry, but the mosquitoes were heavy and eating us alive.

Waiting for grandma... 

Our family takes a moment to be together 

My mom decided to take a path to find a sign she remembered seeing when she was a girl and we waited on a bench for her to return. The only thing is she did not come back at all. We met her down by the cars and we were all wet and itchy, especially baby Cannon. 

Hill Cumorah pageant

Even though we had a new baby only two weeks old, we knew this was our last chance to attend the hill Camorra pageant before we move next summer. We also needed to head up that way because my mom and dad were flying out of the Buffalo airport-- it was now or never.

Before the show began at dark, We all had fun taking pictures with many of the cast members. It was fun to find out where they were from and who they were playing in the pageant. We had saved us seats earlier in the day by tying a rope around some chairs, and we are lucky that we did. The weather has been rainy with a massive downpour, but had cleared up for the pageant. Boy were we glad it was not raining during the show.

It was incredible the costumes, people, and stage. The show outlines many of the stories found in the book of Mormon and presents them in a fantastic production. Stories of faith and testimonies of the savior. I was glad that my family was able to see and enjoy the show together.

Niagra Falls

One of our bucket list places to visit while living on the East Coast was Niagara Falls. Since we were up for the pageant and only two hours away, we knew this was our chance. Everyone told us we needed to go on to the Canadian side to really get a good view, so we did. It was a little up in the air after just having a baby, we didn't know if he could go across the border with us. So we brought a certificate from the hospital and hoped that it would work. Lucky for us they let us across the border!

We parked and started right at the top of the falls and were impressed with the amount and power of water that was flowing over the edge. 

We walked into the visitor center and purchased a adventure pass that would keep us busy for the entire day. The first was a short movie on how the falls were made. Connor said that this was his favorite part of the day

All protected and ready for our 4D movie experience about Niagara Falls. 

This was at another attraction called behind the falls. Actually the little windows behind the falls weren't that impressive. It was a little doorway and all you could see was water flowing down, not really a view at all. What was neat was going beside the falls and being so up close to the water pounding down and spray going all over.

The last adventure was taking the Hornblower boat ride up to the Falls. The power from the mist and falls created a powerful and steady wind. Cael said he was expecting to be a lot closer and get really wet, so he felt a little disappointed.

Now that all of our adventures were completed, we just needed to find our car and get back across the border. My dad had mentioned that he wanted to go to the Cracker Barrel restaurant for dinner, but our time was running out. That and we could not find our way back across the border. There were signs leading us down a road and then there was no instructions at all. We decided to eat at a restaurant while we were there, and we finally made it to our hotel at 11 o'clock at night.

Overall it was a fantastic day and adventure. Ben and I both agreed that this trip was the one of the highlights of the sumner-- right up there with adding a sweet little baby boy to our family :-)