R&R

So Clint has been on his Block Leave since he is leaving really quickly for his deployment. So we are doing a lot of fun things as a family and really just palying. Clints leave started at the beginning of this week. During that time we have went to The Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyria, New York. we have went to Alexandria Bay and also Sackett's Harbor both of which are of major importance to the War of 1812. We also went to Ft Stanwix and the Ariskany Battlefield, which is often called the " Battle of Bloody Creek'" and also the Ariskany Monument for the USS Ariskany. All were so fun. I think our family really enjoys history.

The Ariskany Battle was led by General John Herkimer and was the bloodiest battle of the Revolutionary War. Over 200 men of a very small town were killed. Each person placed a candle in their window to show they had had a member in their family die. Every window in the town was lit up. The battlefield was amazing and as we walked the Soldier's road we were caught by the sacredness of it all. Even the boys were mellow for a time.

Fort Stanwix was a different experience. Also used during the Revolutionary War the artifacts left brought us into a different time that has been preserved for all of us and we were able to has the park ranger said time travel in a way to another time and learn how different life really was.

As a family we were able to go to the last day of the Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyria, New York. What a touching portrayal of how the gospel came about and how fortunate we are. My kids loved it too. We were able to talk to many of the cast and enjoyed their testimonies of our savior and of the Book of Mormon. How neat it was for Mormon and Moroni to express their love for our Savior. It was also such a testimony builder to us to hear the Anti-Mormon people screaming their disagreements outside the gate. Why would that make our testimonies grow? Because we all knew that there would be so many lives touched and they were afraid. According to some of the missionaries there, there was over 5000 referals this year because of the pageant, and the message of all of the young cast members. I was touched.

Clint's mother Susan also came to spend some time with Clint before he left. She had fun I think and Clint was able to reconnect with his mom a little. It was nice to see them together and to see their bond grow. We have always lived far away so being there before Clint left was very nice for his mother to do.

We also went to Sacket's Harbor. That would be about a 20 minute drive from here. We always like going there and looking at the wonderment of what was left behind at the War of 1812. The Star Spangled Banner was written there. We learned all about Military History and ate at our favorite spot, The Boat House. Talk about YUMMY!!

About 30 minutes the other way is Alexandria Bay. It is so gorgeous. We checked out Bolt castle across the Bay. we road the Freedom1 a fairy to get there. The bolt castle was so pretty. We absolutely loved it. What a neat thing to see and so close.

We took my mother in law to the airport Thursday morning. Because we were in Syracuse we decided to go to the Carousel Center, which is a huge mall. The boys mad new friends at the BUILD_ABEAR_WORKSHOP Tim has a dog named Button and Steven made a rabbit named Mr. Nibbles. Cute little guys. We are just having such a fun leave. Next week we are going camping and will have much more to talk about. we are trying to make as many memories as possible. We will sure miss Clint and his adventuresome spirit in the coming year.