VERNAL UT, 4TH JULY

Hanging with THE COCHRANS!!!

We were so glad to finally meet up with family. We had saved the last 9 days of our vacation for the Cochran family. Now this is Haydens Aunty were staying with...His Dad and karen are brother n sister...They live in Vernal Utah..known for its fossils and dinosaurs and the stomping ground for all the Cochrans.

We arrived into Vernal on the 3rd of July at about 11pm and Mitch n Krissy were there to greet us. Ok Aunty Karen had a nana nap and slept thru the alarm...arrived late but she arrived and it was so good to see them. Trish as well. So On our 3 hour journey home...we were able to catch up and fill each other in on the haps with the family. But, get this, Aunty Karen is a trooper. We get into Vernal at about 2.30 am right and she's up at 5.30am pounding the pavement with her friend. And then she makes us a pancake breakfast just to start the day. It was sooooo good to have a decent meal. Yummy!!! finally something healthy and salads. We were just craving healthy foods. Mind you we were with the right people for all things healthy.

Fourth of July on the boat.

Mike and his son Jacob...

Now, Hayden originally didn't want to get wet, but with the cousins egging him on...He caved. And loved the experience. Most of the time he was freaking out. And when you have (Adrenalin pumped) Mike sitting between you, you could almost feel Haydens anxiety. But like a man he took it and loved it. Good for you honey. As for me...Just couldn't stop laughing...even when I stacked it. I loved it. Must invest in these one day.

What do you get when you put Cochran boys and a fast jetboat together?

THIS

Isn't it nice that after years of marriage you still feel this way with each other.

From the Lake we headed into the township for the fourth of July fireworks. We kinda looked like the walking dead when we go there but the atomsphere was great, people setting off fireworks left right and centre. haydee was just having a ball.

Steve and Brian awaiting the festivites.

How wacked out did we look huh???Good Times.

Ya know...when your hanging with the Cochrans, its all about family. No matter what background your from or what political views you have, they are always accepting of you and will love you for who you are... We had a great day. And it was a great prelude of things to come.

Boston, MASS

This place was thriving with education and American History, more so than DC. We had a great time here and enjoyed travelling to different locations and shopping at the mall across the road. We stayed at the Royal Sonesta which was cool as. Took haydee swimming in the freezing pool and enjoyed meeting and playing with the other kids.
We paid a visit to Harvard and Tufts University, and also along our trolley ride saw the Cheers TV set and the Old Garden...home of the Boston Celtics. But our time in Boston wasn't without its ordeals...once again we we kept getting lost and google map directions, ambiguous as they are, kept sending us into weirdville.
HINT: Get GPS...maybe more expensive, but it keeps you sane. By this time we were so over fast food and take out. All we wanted was a healthy meal with fruit and veges. Anything that wasn't fried or had some kind of cheesy sauce slothered all over it.

Palmyra - A GROVE OF OUR OWN

Our journey to Palmyra from Washington DC took about 6 1/2 hrs. And it was a much anticipated journey. As we were drawing closer to the area, we began to recognise place names mentioned in the scriptures and it all seemed a little surreal. Places like Fayette and Rochester, we just couldn't help but become excited. We stayed at the Palmyra Inn on Temple Road. Located on the same street as the Chapel, Palmyra Temple, Smith Farm and Sacred Grove. We were also about 5kms from the Hill Cumorah. When we checked in, we finally felt comfortable in our surroundings.It was like staying at the Temple Accommodations, Like home away from home. So comfortable Hayden actually went swimming. And if you know Hayden...he just doesn't do that.

We went to church at the Palmyra Ward and that was pretty interesting. However, with the sacred grove just down the road all we wanted to do was just go there. But patient as we are, we waited till after lunch to further enjoy the spirit of the sites.

We took a tour at the Sacred Grove Visitors Centre where we were able to go inside Hyrum Smiths home and visualise for ourselves the place where Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith. It was a quaint house but quite roomy. Had everything you'd need including a root cellar to keep your food cold. Walking about 150m you get to the Smith Family Farm. This was alot bigger and had a few more rooms. The sisters told stories about the plates and how Joseph hid them in the bricking of the fireplace and also in the cooper shop.

From here we journeyed to the Sacred Grove. At the entrance, we made it a point of explaining to Haydee the importance of where we were and the sacredness of the area.

We were also encouraged to say a prayer when within the grove.

It was nice even to just walk around the grove.

The closest thing to describing the feelings you have there is like being in the Temple. A Reverence, and a hush over the whole forest. We felt like we were walking with deity. I know that sounds weird but that is how it felt.

As a family our testimony of the first vision was strengthen that day and has certainly been a highlight of our trip. We now have a greater testimony of Joesph Smith and the first vision and as we listen to the stories of the time we can now put a place to the name.

Washington DC

Ok so we thought it would be a good idea and try driving New York City to Washington DC. We hired a car from JFK Airport as that is where we would be returning and endeavoured to find our way toward Washington. After a bit of drivers seat musical chairs we soon found out who was better at driving and who was better at navigating in high pressure rush hour traffic. What a rush!!! After a few wrong turns and directions from some friendly Americans...We made to our Hotel. The Phoenix Park Hotel. Haydens favourite Hotel of the holiday. Don't know what he saw in those floral designed wall paper and bedspreads... but would admit the service and the rooms were very comfortable. Its here that hayden was able to watch the NBA draft live...which he was sooo psyched about. What is it with men and sport and the need for absolute quiet.

We had done quite a bit of walking around since we had been in the USA, and because there was sooo much history here we decided to do the Old town trolleys. Great Idea Margs!!!

We were able to visit all the sites we wanted as well as get on and off at different points. We did walk from the the Smithsonian Museum to the Lincoln Memorial. Thought it was a 20 min walk...was more like an 1hr 20mins. It was nice and hot but we were used to it. Just don't do it in Jandals...friendly reminder.

We liked DC because of its history and the architecture of the city buildings were so intricate. Its like the Romans came and built Rome and the Americans renamed it Washington DC. beautiful city and clean. Reminded me a little of Canberra. Clean and thought out.

The white house which was Haydee's favourite site was the climax of our visit. The roads were closed off for some reason and the President was in residence. If you've seen the movie 'First Daughter' you'll understand why Haydee loves this house. All she would say is "thats the first daughters house aye Mum'. So cute.

DC is where we also heard the news of the passings of Farrah Fawcett and of course Michael Jackson. Felt sorry for farrah fawcett, her death just seemed so overshadowed by MJ's. And the media where just having a field day with the MJ neverending saga's. Alot of sobbing happening!!!

Otherwise we had a great time here and for the first time didn't feel like we had to rush to get somewhere and see everything before we left. It was great.

NEW YORK CITY

wHAT A PLACE...24/7 SIRENS, RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC, AND NOISE...THIS PLACE IS JUST FULL ON.
We arrived into JFK at around midnight and got to the hotel at 1am. We caught a Gypsy Taxi which took us to Manhattan for only USD$45.00. Which was sooo cheap. The hotel was more like a backpackers lodge, but it was a place to rest our heads. Hayden was sick the next morning. Sore Gut from not eating dinner the night before. Thats what happens whenya don't listen to ya wife aye. So he spent the morning in bed while I roamed around NYC looking for a pharmacist. Which lucky for me was just down the road. By Midday..Hayden was up and eager to see the sights and they certainly didn't disappoint. Nothing like a walk thru Times Square, Central Park, down Park Ave thru to the Waldorf Astoria, Grand Central Station and onto Madison Ave. Took us a while but we got through it all. You could easily spend a week there only downside...EXPENSIVE!!! We figured that after all the sightseeing we would hire a car from JFK and drive down to Washington DC and check it out down there. We did it though. With my navigation, passenger seat assisted driving and some positive reinforcement...Hayden made it through to DC. BTW, we were still smiling by the time we got to the Hotel. NB: Make sure you don't use google Maps for directions...they are pretty ambiguous. Americans were so friendly and some even led the way. thanks!

SALT LAKE CITY, UT

After driving about 6 hours from Las Vegas we finally arrived in SLC. The hub of all this Mormonism. First Impressions for Hayden was that the temple looked small amongst all the sky scrapers and was right in the middle of it all. We stayed at the Marriot Hotel which was one of our best Hotel stays of the trip. Went to church at the Joseph Smith memorial building. Took Haydee to Primary and when we got there the poor Primary leader was flying solo. She had no teachers and no music person...So I was assigned to wing a lesson for the kids. Fortunately, they were all from outta town and they just loved my accent and talking about the crocodile hunter. Ask me later how I related that to the church....pretty genius actually. So that was enjoyable. The saints seemed to me a lil robotic...hard to explain. Had lunch back at the hotel and then visited all the sites. Temple Square, The church history Museum, The convention Centre and other various monuments around the place. I would have to say that the most spiritually uplifting place for me was the Walk thru presentation of Heavenly Fathers Plan for me shown in the visitors centre. There was just the 3 of us and somehow it seemed alot more meaningful. I was a sobbing mess by the end. But it really opened our eyes to our relationship with each other and with Heavenly Father. I love Hayden more!. My PDA for the day.
We left SLC on a spiritual high, having stronger testimonies and a greater appreciation of Joseph Smith and the restoration.

Viva las Vegas photos

Viva Las Vegas

Ok So we did the adventurous thing and hired a car from LA dropping off in Salt Lake City.It was so cheap that we figured we might as well get used to driving on the wrong side of the road now before we hit New York City. So were driving right..and the traffic was crazy...I mean, not in a traffic Jam sense but more in a "Lookout Crazy Driver" sense. Poor hayden I think had a paralyzed leg with me grabbing on to it for dear life. We were so disorientated...left hand drive, wrong side of road, miles rather than kms, north vs south was up the wop!!!. But we got used to it. First stop, was Primm, NV...A factory Outlet 20 mins out of Vegas. Totally rocked. My shopping therapy had begun. GAP, OLD Navy, sigh...it was heaven.

We met up with Boyd and Becky Brown and stayed with them a couple of nights. They were great and we were so appreciative of their hospitality. Boyd works as a Police Officer in the Las Vegas District and Becky is still into her craft stuff.

Hayden with Boyds Police issue gun...

Missed Dayne but his bed was nice and comfy. Met a few of their friends and chatted with them for a while.

On our way to see the strip we stopped off at more outlets and behold we see this shop called harry and David. So this picture is for you Uncle Dave.

It was sooo hot that we decided to drive the Strip in the a/c which took us an hour anyway so we got a good look at the place. We saw the little white chapel...where apparently Michael Jordan was married, and others, but there were all these lil mexican pimps flicking cards into peoples hands for a one night stand with some floozy. Yuck!!!Glad we were driving. So Vegas was nice and hot and very dry. Reminded me a lil of Perth's Summer. We had sooo much fun with the Browns and once again...thanks guys for everything.