Working woman!

So I've been working as a hygienist since June 15th. My very first day was as a temp in Old Farm Dental. It was pretty dang crazy and I didn't stay on time. I was about 10 - 15 minutes behind all day! It was a really small office but everyone seemed friendly and it was a nice office. Then the following Monday I started my part-time job at Dr. Smith's office in Murray. Now I was dreading my first day because somehow the schedule got out of control and I had like 13 patients that day (3 kids, at least). But normally I have an assistant and so I had that thought to comfort me. So I get there Monday morning and Dr. Smith says to me, "Melissa isn't going to be here because she has conjunctivitis." I almost started laughing because I thought it was a really good prank. Well, this was no prank and I was alone in hygiene with 13 patients. I believe I went into a state of shock because otherwise I would have been sobbing under the table or maybe even catatonic. But I just went at it. And the day did end (35 minutes later than scheduled) and the dental assistants were nice enough to check in on me, run some xrays and handled one particular devil child. And the best news of all is that everyone was really nice to me and Dr. Smith let me keep my job!

Nauvoo, you never know what you're going to experience

This is my last post of our Nauvoo trip so this should sum it all up. Here is the temple again, absolutely stunning. I just can't believe its there!
Eric and I at the gravesite of Joseph, Hyrum and Emma.
The mansion house where Joseph would have said his goodbyes to Emma. This was actually a hotel also.
Eric finding the name of his ancestor. You can tell from the photo how excited he is. Actually I think he was just mad that I made him point at the name on the page.
And the last picture really does sum up Nauvoo- you just never know what you're going to experience so just buckle up and enjoy the ride. Especially if you can enjoy it in "The Jester".

Green plains and Whitney

So we drove to Green Plains and got to see a commemorative plaque that is actually in memory of my great-great-great-great grandpa William Warren Taylor who died here before his family came to SL. He was buried about 300 feet from where this plaque was.


And then as we returned home, tired and hungry at least we had a pretty Nauvoo sunset to enjoy. This is the view from the house we stayed in over the Mississippi River. Pretty cool!
The next day we went on a wagon ride throughout old Nauvoo. I learned a valuable lesson on this wagon ride. Whitney says to me, "hey Jenny can I use your camera to take pictures of things?" Upon the return of my camera I learned that by "things" she meant about 20 pictures of herself among some other interesting snapshots. Here are a select few.
Yep, she really enjoyed taking pictures of strangers.
Some more of herself....
Oh and a few of Evan. It's funny she didn't take any of Taylor though.
Grandma's purse. Perhaps one of the greatest things to children on Earth.

Awww! Just look at that face. Just cute enough to keep me from strangling her!

Carthage Jail

Carthage Jail was one of my favorite experiences in Nauvoo. Of course it is so sad and everyone cries, I am sure. But wow, I don't think I will ever forget that. When I actually walked up to the window and looked down, it was just one of those moments that became imprinted on my mind forever. But before we went into the home, Eric and I posed in front of Joseph and Hyrum.This is a picture of two of the actual bullet holes in the original door. Unbelievable!
Whitney was always willing to pose for me, such a natural! I was really surprised to learn that the jail wasn't really so much of a jail as just a home that an entire family lived in with a small dungeon-like jail cell upstairs. However, the room where the martyrdom took place wasn't in the jail, it was in the homeowners' very own bedroom.
Whit took this picture of her family. I just noticed Tay's face in this! That is hilarious, he is such a devil.

Nauvoo Temple Night

So the first night we got to Nauvoo we decided to go see the temple at night. Let me tell you that was a really fun thing to do. The temple at night looks a little bit like its on fire in the pictures but in person it just looks beautiful. This temple is the most beautiful temple on the inside in my opinion too. It was so surreal to do a session in there. I just kept thinking about how there must be so many spirits everywhere in there. It was such a cool feeling.
Eric didn't know that you couldn't feed these horses. These statues are of Joseph and Hyrum as a commemoration of when they left to Carthage jail and they looked up at the temple and said something like they'd never known a more beautiful place with a better people... that is not word for word but it is written on the plaque.
Eric sat down at the gates of the temple to take a picture from a different angle but I just thought he looked like a homeless man (with a pepsi).
As we walked around the temple grounds it was so quiet you couldn't hear a thing except for the soft buzzing of the lights. It really was a very special experience, outside of the little bit of irreverence Eric and I provided. I am so thankful to have been there.

Minnesota

Thanks a bunch to Rob & Mandy for hosting our awesome trip to Minnesota & Nauvoo. The first full day in Minnesota was filled with adventure. We started out at the Mall of America where Aaron & Eric really enjoyed spending their time in Victoria's Secret. Hey, they were having a really good sale and I just couldn't miss out on 40% off. Then, that evening we went to a Twins game and had really good seats. We were on about the 6th row back the only downside was that we were sitting in front of some really loud Canadians that were cheering for the Blue Jays and people kept throwing things at them, only they kept hitting the people around them, namely Whitney and my dad! And then the Twins lost after a 13-inning game. But that doesn't keep us from having a good time.This is Evan just amazed at the bright lights! He is so cute!

Eric carting around after the game Whitney. This happened a lot on the trip. Mostly because Whitney would ask for me to carry her and then I'd get tired and Eric would take over. He's my knight in shining sweatsuits! This was so cute, we went home and watched the Jazz game and as you can see, the couch was full with Eric, my dad, and Aaron but Evan climbed up and decided he would squeeze himself in there too!

Minnesota was a really great place and I really loved it. I just kept reminding myself that I don't want to move there because of the FREEZING cold winters. But really, it was gorgeous, green, and full of lakes. We ate a really good place at Lake Calhoun called the Tin Fish. The drive there was so pretty and I just stared out the window coveting all the lakeside home owners. But then I would remember the winters are sooo cold!