Kirtland Ohio and Niagara Falls

Kirtland Ohio
Shawn and I decided we needed to make a trip to Kirtland, Ohio and Niagara Falls before we leave Michigan. If we did not have Jack we would have headed to Palmyra, NY since it is only 2 hours away from Niagara Falls but we did not want to have Jack be in the car for that long. We had a great time and Jack did amazingly awesome. He rode in the car for 5 1/2 hours, never stopping once. Pretty impressive, especially for Jack.

We lucked out and Friday was a warm beautiful day at Kirtland. We first went to the Kirtland Temple and took a tour through the Community of Christ since they own it. The tour guide was wonderful and we learned some new stuff. There was such a feel of reverence and sacredness as we entered the temple. It was pretty amazing to see what the early saints were able to accomplish. Shawn and I both felt a deep gratitude for the sacrifices the saints made to build this temple, endure persecution and ultimately leave their beloved temple and place they called home because of persecution. Shawn and I were reminded of the trials that the saints faced especially Joseph and Emma Smith. I can't fathom losing twins after the mob tarred and feathered Joseph but despite all the persecution that took place, it was a time of great happiness for the Saints. We went to Newel K. Whitney's store and home. We had no idea how much this man helped the church and how rich he really was. The sister missionaries took us on a tour and they did a fabulous job.
The side of Kirtland Temple

When they were building the temple, they put glass in the clay so that it would sparkle in the sun. The first floor was used to worship, the second floor was used to teach the men of the church and the third floor was used as a school for the children and offices.
This was the original color of the doors. I am big fan, as you know green is my favorite color!
The Newel K Whitney store. It was one of the largest stores in Ohio. A lot of neat things happened at this store.
Newel K. Whitney's house. It was a very large house for that time period. I think it is so cute. Jack loved being outside.

Side note: We LOVE priceline.com. Once we got to Niagara Falls, we needed a hotel but everything was kind of pricey. We went onto priceline, named our price and got a 3 1/2 star hotel next to the falls for half the price. Can we say, greatest website ever! We love it.

Niagara Falls:
So we purposely got Jack a passport so that we could visit the Canadian side of the Falls because that is supposed to be a lot better than the American. However, 2 hours into our drive we realized we left them at home. Needless to say we only got to see the American side and if you ever go, the Canadian side it better. Niagara Falls is not a happening place in the winter but we were still happy we went. It was rainy and cold but we were still able to see the Falls. It was kind of neat because there was lots of ice and snow. The Falls were amazing!