A Day in Nauvoo

I can't figure out how I loaded may last slideshow/video thingy, so if this link works, you be able to see the "Day in Nauvoo" Video we made. Hmm.....

I Passed!

Dean Reid, Interim Dean of the Sociology Department called me the other day to congratulate me on passing my comprehensive exams. My response was, "I did? Awesome!" She didn't know by how much I passed (she was very curious to see how I did considering all I had been through in the Dept. the past year), but they (Graduate Council) would not tell her.
Also, she gave permission for me to finish my studies long distance, i.e.: from Utah instead of North Carolina. So, back to work.

The Move: Part 1 (again--with Slide Show)

This first segment of our trip consisted of the following legs:

1. Sanford, North Carolina to Knoxville, Tennessee

2. Knoxville, Tennessee to St. Louis, Missouri

3. St. Louis, Missouri to Nauvoo, Illinois

We had good roads with plenty of construction all along the way. Our big destination was Mindy's sister, Julie's new home in St. Louis, MO. Julie & her family had just moved from NC and we were all excited to see them again and spend some time together in Nauvoo with our families.

On the way to Nauvoo, Mindy & Julie saw lots of Corn Coons, fake-bi0-genetically engineered corn fields and learned that not only does MapQuest lie to you, but so does AAA's TripTik.

At the turn off in Illinois to go up to Nauvoo, the very smart sisters pulled over to the side of the road to double-check our directions to make sure we were going the right way. 20 minutes later we still had not found the turn off we were looking for that was supposed to be 3 miles down on the Right. So, we did what anybody would do, we ignored Jason's calls on the cell phone, pulled over where he couldn't go with the U-Haul truck & trailer to consult our directions again.

Well, Jas pulled over behind us, succeeding in creating a traffic jam consisting of a whopping 3 cars behind him on that little country road. Jason got to meet a very friendly Illinois State Trooper who informed him that we needed to turn around and go back 20 miles then turn Right to get to Nauvoo. We did so.

We got to Nauvoo in plenty of time to cook foil dinners, have Julies' 2 girls get bonks on the head and had plenty of time to find seats for the Nauvoo Pageant. Now, you might ask, where was Dr. Beege for all of this? Well, the Good Doctor was at work! BJ left for Nauvoo right after he got off work and drove up to Nauvoo to join us, taking a scenic route through Iowa on the way.

It was an awesome trip!

P.S.

Contrary to all the advice both couples received, Nauvoo is MORE than "Just an hour to the North of St. Louis" and is FARTHER than "About 2 1/2 hours from St. Louis"

it took us MUCH LONGER THAN THAT!

Rediscover the Library!

The first thing we did after we got unpacked, was to locate the local library and get library cards.

It is right down on Main Street (which is very picturesque) in between the Veteran's Memorial with its really cool Vietnam War Era helicopter out front and the Utah Natural History Field house with its life-size dinosaur replicas out front.

We were all pleasantly surprised to find the library full of books (what else?), but a pretty good size little library with the upstairs completed devoted to Children & Youth's books. (I think Jaden's favorite part is the elevator) Since then, we have all been devouring books and thought that we would share our favorites of the Summer so far.....

Mom/Mindy:

Borrowed from Daddy, I last read these books back when I was a kid, Grandpa Knight introduced me to them. Set in the 4-Corners area of Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado on the Reservation, the books are suspenseful, action-packed, mystery, what can I say? It's Tony Hillerman, his books rock!

My first book out of the library just for me. Kept my attention straight through. A good mystery/kinda-romance (not really, more mystery).

I thoroughly enjoyed it!

A fun, good, quick read. Is LDS Fiction/Action/Mystery/Romance

I can't wait for this author to come out with another book.

Cameron:

Good ol' Uncle Dr. Beege, sent Cam off from St. Louis with a stack of books to read. Cam really got into this series and borrowed the 2nd from Grandpa Mark upon arrival in Utah.

Warrior Cat Series has been a favorite of Cameron's for awhile. The Uintah County Library has a huge selection of these books plus a new series by the same author Cameron hasn't seen before. Needless to say, he is excited and has read at least 5 already.

A new book purchased for our trip, that got packed in a box without a label, Cameron found and read this book upon arrival and is enjoying this new series. He has found others of this series at the library and has read 2 of them since.

Dad/Jason:

I checked this book out for myself out of curiosity; I had seen it so many times in the Deseret Book catalogs, that I had to pick it up. Not sure why I did, because Jason stole it from me and then Cameron stole it from him. They both read and enjoyed it. Actually, Cameron said, "It's okay" I guess there is some romance in there??





Time for Daddy to get back to work! He spent his last few days re-reading his school books, freshening up for the new school year reading books like this.

Jaina:

Jaina just loves books from this era in history, especially about girls who are the heroines. Her friend Jamie Larsen also highly recommended this series to her.

Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo!

Quite possibly one of Jaina's most favorite series, she stifled a squeal when she saw how many of these books the library has--she checks out 4 every time we go Which is about every 3-4 days.

Jaden:

Although he has spent a lot of time on his newly replaced DS (thanks Nintendo for good warranty service), Jaden has rediscovered this series and read more of them. If you haven't discovered Ready Freddy, yet, it is like Junie B. Jones, but for boys.

Another exciting series for Bubba is the Chapter Book collection of Magic School Bus. A great choice for the scientists with inquisitive minds at our house.

The Move

July 23, 2009

So, there is so much to say and so much that has happened in our adventures across the country, I had a hard time deciding which pictures to post on our blog and which ones to leave out. Sooo...I decided to try and make a slide show of our trip. I hope you enjoy it!

After lots of work and lost of help from wonderful friends, we pulled out of North Carolina on Wednesday, July 15, 2009. We had been in the Sanford area for 7 years..... So many memories made and good friends found, it was not easy to leave! We have grown so much during our time in North Carolina, not to mention our really cool accents that we have acquired. Definitely the best move our family could have made 7 years ago!

Well...the slide show didn't work, so I thought I better publish it anyway. Pictures to follow soon!

Bubba's Birthday

Jaden got to share his birthday this year, with Uncle BJ's Graduation.

So, we went to Graduation at Campbell University

(most boring graduation ceremony Jason or I have EVER been to, sorry Dr. Beege, its the truth).

When it was over, Jaden chose Golden Corral for his Family Birthday Dinner.

Check out the size of that steak on his plate!

Then, it was home for presents...

Bakugan Brawl & a fishing pole (no picture)

Dart Tag!

Which they immediately began to play...

Jaden's wish was granted....a Nintendo DS of his very own!

Plus, the hottest Pokemon game out there, Pokemon Platinum. (Jaina & Cameron's response...)

Then it was time for cake (Daddy's creation!) & ice-cream

Sponge Bob was having a rough day

Happy Birthday Jaden-Boy!

Dance! Dance! Dance!