Thomas Family: June Summer fun!

So Summer has been busy and fun for Mike and I. we managed to sell our contract at the end of may. we also had a place to move to because we ran into Mikes good family friend who he grew up with, and although she lives in Virginia now, she has a house in Provo she rents out and she was looking for renters. So that was a blessing to have those two things happen so close together. On the 12th we moved into our new house, and we have loved it.

Front View to our new cute house!

On the 14th, we celebrated my 21st birthday (Annie) by getting drunk and going to Vegas ;) no just kidding, we went to olive garden for dinner then mike took me shopping, bought me the book Host, by Stephanie Meyer, and some clothes. The 15th is actually my birthday, but we were taking off to my parents house so that we could leave with them early Monday morning for our family trip to Nauvoo and reunion in Kansas. It was a really long drive, but thankfully we brought a portable DVD player, and we were able to stay entertained with StarWars, Smallville, and a few other movies. In the morning on the day we arrived in Nauvoo, we were able to stop and spend some time in Adam-ondi-Ahmen because the GPS in the car took us a different route than originally planned. Although it is a simple valley, it has a really neat feeling about it there, knowing that Adam gathered all his posterity there, and that all the faithful saints will be gathered there with Christ again, it is a really special place to be.

Me and Mike at Adam-ondi-Ahmen

Nauvoo Day one

On the drive we saw a lot of the flooding that was going on, especially with the Mississippi, we had to detour because our bridge was under water, but we saw it when we went across another bridge next to it. it was insane to see how much flooding there was, and really sad to see so much damage, whole fields under water and such things. We arrived in Nauvoo later that evening, it was really special to drive around the corner and see the Nauvoo temple all lit up, wow it was incredible, both the beauty and the feeling. Shawn, Becca, Sarah, and Ethan had arrived earlier that day so we met up with them ate dinner, and went to a fun play that was put on by the missionaries. by the time that was over, the day was to and we went back to the Hotel to greet Dave and Michelle who were just arriving, and who were so gracious to share a hotel room with us when our reservation fell through!

this is a picture taken out the side of our car window
as we were driving.

The beautiful Temple

Nauvoo day 2
We started the second day in the Nauvoo Temple doing a session, which is a choice experience I will never forget, there was a really amazing spirit in that temple, I felt privileged to be able to enter the rebuilt temple and feel the spirit of the saints who were in the original temple. After that we went to a bakery for lunch where we ran into Felicia Bennett, a roomate and close friend I had in St. George, who also became a close friend of Mike's, she has been in Nauvoo serving a summer singing mission, it was fun to run into her!
We spent the rest of the second day touring Nauvoo, and seeing all the neat sites there were to see. We went on a wagon ride through the town and saw all the houses and shops that are still there, or have been rebuilt. It was neat to be able to see places where early saints lived, like Parley P. Pratt, Wilford woodruff, Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, and so many others. Near the end of the tour we went to the end of Parley street, which was flooded, but this was the street the pioneers lined up to cross the Mississippi. after that we got to go and take a tour of the Joseph Smith sites, his original house in Nauvoo, the Mansion house he moved into, Hotel Nauvoo where his and Hyrum's body's was secretly placed instead of the Funeral site, the Cemetary where the Smith bodies all were moved eventually, and the Red Brick Store, in the upstairs there were many important meetings, including the forming of the Relief Society. What a neat experience to walk in places where we knew the Prophet walked and lived. we went and saw the brick house and learned how they made bricks back then, and got a Nauvoo brick.
After that we went and saw the Carthage Jail. If I didn't do anything else while I was there it would have been worth it to see the Carthage jail. The feeling in there, especially in the room where the prophet sealed his testimony with his blood was incredible, I was not expecting it to be so incredible, but it was an experience I will not soon forget.
Then we came back just in time to see the play outside called Sunset on the Mississippi, this was such a fun play, it was almost like a talent show for the performing missionaries and in my opinion is a must see for anyone who goes to Nauvoo.

The Wagon Ride

the top floor of the Red brick house where Relief Society was formed

Carthage Jail

Nauvoo Day 3
On the third day we got up early and went and did baptisms in the temple, Bruce and Joseph were able to join us there. after which we took some family pictures in front of the temple ( we also did this after the session, but Me and Mike had forgotten our camera). Mom and Dad wanted to get on the road so we could make it to the dinner for the reunion, so we packed up and were on the road again, and after a few detours because of flooding, we were able to make it on the right route headed for Kansas.

KANSAS

We arrived in Kansas that evening just in time for dinner. we were at one of my dads cousins houses. This reunion was for all my dad's dad's family. It is interesting because there are only 4 of my grandpas siblings left living., all brothers, and my grandpa is not among them. That night me and Mike spent the night in a camper at the house of our second cousins the Knapps, they were some of the most sweet gracious people I have ever met. they live on a farm, but they are not the ones that work the farm. It was a fun place to stay, out in the country, lots of stars ( when it was not storming...) and fireflies. The next day we had breakfast in the downstairs of the Knapps church with all the family. after that we had a little break before lunch. we went to a little pony express museum. after that we all met up at a restaurant and ate, did some family trivia, and took pictures with the different families. later that afternoon we met up at the original farm stead that my great grandparents Henry and Gertrude built. from there we did a tour where we got to see the dug out where an original house was built, we got to see the grave sites of Gertrude's parents, then we got to see the little one room school house where the kids all went to elementary school, and actually a lot of the cousins went there too, since it was only decommissioned as a school house 20 or so years ago, if my dad had grown up in Kansas he would have gone to school there. then we finished the tour at the cemetery where my Great grandparents are buried. it was so interesting to that there were a lot of graves there that were Droge's, which is unheard of in Utah. We then went back to the farm house stead for dinner. it was really neat to learn so much family history that I didn't know and to meet so many family members that I had not seen before. We stayed at the Knapps house again that night, but ended up in the house half way through the night, because of a storm:) the next day before taking off to come back home, we went to church with the Knapps. My grandpa was the only one of his brothers to join the LDS church, so my aunts and uncles are the only family that are members of our church. Kathrine Knapp's husband is a minister for the Babtists hope church, so we went to chuch with them, and it was the first time I had ever gone to a different church. it was an interesting experience, but a good one. I really appreciate the fullness of the truth that we have in our church. it was a fun trip!
anyway now that I am done with my novel, if you want to look at all the pictures I have the link to them on the side with the other pictures.