Hill Cumorah

We spent many evenings just sitting at the top of the Hill Cumorah and watching the sun set...there was no one there because the Pageant season was over and we had the Hill to ourselves for the most part. The children ran around playing Lamanites and Nephites, and rolling down the Hill. When I think of the Hill Cumorah, the word that comes to mind is PEACE. That is what I felt when I was there. That is in direct contrast to the events that took place there, but the peace I felt there was just as amazing as what I felt in the Sacred Grove.

PS - The crazy bird now lives at the Hill Cumorah. It took us all week to teach him how to be a bird and how to eat like a bird. We would set it free each evening on the Hill, but as it got dark, it would fly back to us and want to be put back in its cage...no joking here!!! One afternoon we took it deep into the forest on the Hill and let it go....only after we knew it could eat on its own. We went back the next day and it did not call to us or fly to us and land on our shoulders as it usually did. We figured it was finally happy being a bird!

Sacred Grove

Shawn and Derrick got to fly up to Palmyra on Friday night and stay until Sunday afternoon. It was fun to go to the Sacred Grove and the Hill Cumorah for the first time as a family. We all absolutely loved being in the Sacred Grove. I spent several mornings alone in the Sacred Grove...It's something I will never forget.

When we were there as a family, it was raining a bit, and then the sun broke through the clouds for a while. The lighting in the Sacred Grove was quite dramatic in a few areas, so we took advantage and got some cool pictures of the kids kneeling and looking up at the light. We never saw the lighting like that for the rest of the week...I can't tell you how much we loved being there.

EFY in Palmyra, NY

Coley and Kristen got to go to EFY (Especially For Youth) at a beautiful college near Palmyra. They LOVED it!!! It was a "special" session, so they got to also tour some Church history sites, like the Sacred Grove, the Hill Cumorah, and the Whitmer Farm. This was an amazing experience for Coley and Kristen. They are still emailing friends they met from all over the U.S. Kristen roomed with Analee....they did not know each other, but it turns out Kristen's first crush on a boy from Church when she was 5 years old is Analee's cousin!! Coley and Tyler roomed together..they are friends from church. They all had a great time!