Math Kangaroo Comp

Westley earned 2nd place in state and 7th nationally. He was pretty happy with how well he did.

Trip Post 5 - Pennsylvania

Finally, we also went through Pennsylvania. We thought it would be fun to stop by the Hershey factory and take the tour while we were passing through. The tour was nothing like we thought. Not quite like Willy Wonka, but definitely not just a walk through a factory. It was more of an amusement park ride.

Next, we were on to Philidelphia. There we were able to visit the liberty Bell, the hall, and many cool houses. The coble stone streets were cool too. It was weird to see cars actually driving on them. 

We also went over to Winters Quarters, where the army camped during the Revolutionary War. Also, we saw some covered bridges and visited a small museum, and learned about the Amish and Mennonites.

Trip Post 4 - Ohio

We were also able to visit Ohio and much of the midwest. 

Our first stop after Niagra was Kirtland, Ohio. We visited the Kirtland temple. It was still closed because of Covid, but we were able to see the grounds and get a picture.

We also went to some of the other church history sites, including Historic Kirtland.

In Michigan, we stopped near a lighthouse to use the restroom and take a picture by Lake Erie. 

When we were planning this trip, we asked the kids where they wanted to go and Charlotte and Westley both really wanted to see the Columbus Zoo. The zoo is very large and was definitely worth the trip. While there they were able to feed a giraffe. Even though it was a bit rainy, it was a great time.

Trip Post 3 - Upstate New York

We then traveled to Palmyra, New York. We saw the Erie Canal, Hill Commorah, the Palmyra temple, the sacred grove, and much more. We were fascinated by how many churches there were in such a small town. There really was a church on every corner.

Next, we went to Niagra Falls. The falls really were impressive. The Canadian side was completely closed and quiet, but it would be cool to see the falls from that side one day.

Trip Post 2 - New England

We continued our trip through the Northeast visiting all the New England states. We, however, are not great at taking pictures, so there are no pictures of most of those states.

In Massachusetts,  we stopped on a very cold and windy day at Plymouth. We saw Plymouth rock, the replica of the Mayflower, and then hid out in the John Alden Gift Shop while Ben ran back in the rain to get the car. I was happy to find the gift shop, John Alden in one of my ancestors.

After buying some warmer clothes, we visited Boston, walked the freedom trail, saw the USS Consitution, watched church next to Bunker Hill, and stopped over to see MIT and Harvard.

We also went up to Lexington and Concord. It was such a beautiful area!

We did take a couple of picture in Vermont at Joseph Smith's birthplace. It was very hilly there and we can see why the Smiths would move to find better farming land.

Trip Post 1 - New York City

As a family, we have a goal to visit all 48 lower US states. We were going to go on a trip to the East Coast in 2020, but we had to cancel because of Covid. Luckily, we were able to go this summer. Even though some things were still closed, enough was open to make a great trip.

Our first stop was New York City! This was Jill and Jenna's favorite. We will have to go back one day when Broadway shows are open again.

Everyone enjoyed Central Park. It is HUGE! We walked for half a day and only saw a portion of the park.

There are so many forms of transportation in NYC that we do not get to use a on regular basis. It was fun taking a ferry, riding the subway, and seeing Grand Central Station.

We were able to see many of the sites in New York. There are many more we will have to go back and do another time. We went to the MET, the library, Times Square, the temple, and Nintendo World, and we also saw many cool old churches.