Powell Gardens

The National Archives had a training day and was closed to the public so we headed out to Powell Gardens.  I think we were two of only a handful of guests that day.

Those are pumpkins growing overhead.

Genealogy KC

Genealogy KC is a two day genealogy conference and we were excited to attend again this year.  Here we are with the Family Tree. (There is a man in there!)

FamilySearch had some awesome kiosks that we volunteered at for a bit.  It showed precise maps of where ancestors lived as well as other functions.  Here are some from Alsace, France.

We helped break a world record for the most people creating a representation of  the human genome.  We had to tie plastic strips around our heads and stand in a certain pattern in a field for 5 minutes while a drone took photos. Here is my companion being a good sport.

We learned some new things about researching our family history.

Tessa' Blessing

We were able to drive to Colorado for Tessa's blessing.  It was a special weekend.

The weather was nice and we were able to play outside with Rhett and visit with Andre's family.

Tessa in her finery.

7-11 Day

July 11th was free slurpee day and one of us did not want to miss out.  We ended up driving past three 7-11 stores on the way home from the Archives.  Here is the crazy result!

Cultural Night

Our ward had a cultural night recently with food, performances and displays from all over the world. 

Tamales from Mexico, yum!

We did a table about Washington state with cherries, applesauce cake, and facts about Washington.

It was a fun evening to share where everyone is from.  Even the kids shared their heritage.

And there was Mexican candy!

It was a night to remember.

Visitors from Virginia

Erin and John and four came for a visit and we enjoyed reconnecting with everyone. We saw church history sites and lots of Kansas City.  Kaleidoscope, Crown Center and a piano at Union Station for Spencer to show his skills!

Visitor Center, Liberty Jail and a performance of Drum Safari at the park.

We also hiked, played at the park, visited the art museum and ate barbecue at Joes KC, traveled to Far West, Adam-ondi -Ajman, and Hamilton , Missouri ( quilt town USA).

We were so busy! One night several went to a Royals game.  We also celebrated my birthday early and did baptisms at the temple.

One afternoon Poppy took all the kids to McDonalds for a $1 McDouble.  They thought that was the greatest!  Especially Andrew who seems to always be hungry.  It was a wonderful visit!

Totality in Missouri

The zone of totality for the solar eclipse of 2017 just happened to be in our mission.  The morning had heavy rainfall then lots of clouds so we did not know if we would be able to see the eclipse.  Around noon the sun broke through and we got out our glasses.  We were going to see a total  eclipse!!  Here we are having a little lunch while we waited for darkness.

Once it was dark it felt like nighttime (for a couple of minutes).

It was fun to experience this rare event!