California Celebration

When last I left my blog, we were in St. Louis, MO. From there it was back in the air to Los Angeles, CA where we would be attending my sister-in-law's surprise B-day. The logistics of getting an entire family and various friends together was a nightmare. But thankfully all planning was done by my niece and all we had to do was show up and help out. The helping out began with meeting my DIL and DGDs at LAX. Oldest DS would be flying in the next evening. Friday was supposed to be the wind-down day, playing at the park, hanging out with the DGDs, going swimming at the hotel pool. Unfortunately, the weather did not co-operate and it was rainy, windy, and cold. What do you do to entertain active toddlers? You go to Target and buy toys and DVDs.

Saturday morning, DIL and I were dropped off at the party leaving DS, youngest DS, and DH to manage on their own. The sons were required to feed the girls and get them dressed with bows in their hair. Then they would ride with DH who was to also get FIL and BIL to the party for cake cutting. It was a girls luncheon but the guys were going to come in with the cake as a surprise after lunch.

The party was incredible. My niece did an outstanding job of putting it all together. It was elegant and sophisticated and lots of fun. My SIL was definitely surprised. People from all walks of her life were there. This party had been in planning since December. My SIL has been a real rock in my DHs family. She cares for her husband who has diabetes, her father who is in assisted living and an elderly brother. She does all this with smiles and good humor. It is just the kind of person she is. We were all delighted to be there to pay her tribute.

One of the things I have in common with my SIL is that we share the same birthday. Though we always remember each other with a gift or card, we haven't actually been together on our birthday for 13 years. Though this party was definitely for my SIL, my dear niece thought of me and actually provided two birthday cakes. Mine was chocolate and SILs was lemon filling.

The Birthday Girls!

A Visit to Missouri

On May 12th we left for a three week trip which would culminate in Alameda, CA. First stop....Kansas City, MO for a four-day Genealogy Conference. What a delightful city, Kansas City turned out to be. The weather was just right (not too hot, not humid) and the hotel was luxurious. We enjoyed the downtown singing fountains and a visit to the Hallmark Center. The amount of new genealogy info was almost overwhelming but we enjoyed learning new techniques for research.

Next stop was just down the road in Independence. My DH's roots go back to the original LDS church which later became the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and today is known as Community of Christ. Though we are not members, we had wanted to see the temple that they built in the 1970's and DH wanted to do some family research at their archives. The temple is quite an impressive building.

The temple to the right is the Mormon Temple in Nauvoo, IL. Navuvoo was the next stop on our family research trip. This temple was burned in the 1840's and the LDS church restored it in 2006. The views from the grounds near the temple were breath-taking. The town itself is rather small and quiet.

Then it was time to head back to MO for a visit to St. Louis. We took the scenic route along the Mississippi River. The weather again was beautiful and not hot and humid. Spring was blossoming all over. The St. Louis Gateway Arch was just as fabulous as I thought it would be. I decided to "go for it" and take the little car up to the top. It was like riding in Mork's capsule. Once we were at the top, I elected to take a quick view out the windows and then sit down. Needless to say, we didn't stay up there too long. We also took an hour long river cruise. A leisurely riverboat cruise is much more my style.

So that's our trip to MO. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Next blog..........Celebrations in California.