Independence, MO

About a month ago over the kids' Spring Break, we drove to Independence, MO. It was an 11 hour drive each way, but nothin' we couldn't handle. Our kids love music (who doesn't?) and we listen to everything - Elton John, Air Supply, Queen, Bonnie Tyler, Elliott Smith, A Perfect Circle, Tool... you get the idea! Here's Ash singing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Just hang in there. It starts getting good about 35 seconds into it. (I still don't know how to edit videos... Anyone volunteer walking me through it?) This would have been about 10pm Michigan time.


We got there late and checked in a went straight to sleep. Sooo, on every vacation I go on, I forget something! Usually it's something either cheaply replaceable or something I can live without. Examples of recently forgotten items are contact solution, glasses, hairbrush, toothpaste and/or toothbrush, razor, etc. This trip... I forgot pants!! I just made good use of the laundry facilities at our hotel. I did somehow remember jammie pants. I also managed to pack all of everyone else's clothes. sigh.

On Thursday, Brad had research at the Community of Christ Temple. We drove over there to pick him up. We didn't go inside there, but we went across the street to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Visitor's Center. They had a lot for the kids to do to keep them busy while learning about time in the late 1830s.

Hy looks thrilled, huh?

Driving the covered wagon.

Getting water from the well.

Going into the house.

For dinner, we went to a famous BBQ place called Arthur Bryant's. It is in the bad part of town and was an interesting dining experience. The food was outstanding, some of the best smoked brisket I've ever had. Part way through our meal though the police came and addressed a situation outside. I didn't know what was going on (and my imagination can run quite wild) so I just tried to distract the kids for the rest of the time. We got out and realized that they were taking care of a woman who was publicly intoxicated. Hy's version - "She was pulling faces through the window at a restaurant and that is inappropriate."

Friday, we drove up to Adam-Ondi-Ahman. There is actually no address for it, so finding it on google maps/ mapquest was pretty tricky. We finally got a rough idea of where it was and started driving. About an hour later, we saw an itty bitty sign that said "Adam-Ondi-Ahman take exit" whatever. I looked up and the exit was right there!! That's how all the signs were - small and sudden. On the way there we talked to the kids about how this place is dedicated to Adam and Eve and how when we got there we would think about them and their family playing on the fields and such. We pulled in and got our picnic out and all the fields were black!! They had just burned the fields to re-nitrogenate (?) them. It was rather disappointing. We hiked around and tried to enjoy any beauty we could find. We realized that that must have been how Adam and Eve felt after being cast out of the Garden... kinda disappointed by the ugliness. We took the family picture above with a timer because NO ONE else was there. There was an occasional missionary sighting, but they all seemed busy.

After we left Adam-Ondi-Ahman, we drove to Liberty Jail. Hyrum said, "Doesn't 'liberty' mean freedom? It doesn't make sense." Asher and Samara were, let's say 'tired' (melted down messes), so I stayed in the car with them while Brad took the older boys in.

Saturday Brad was in the Conference, so I took the kids to downtown Kansas City and we went to Science City. It was the Earth Day Festival, so the kids planted seeds and got a tree to plant - everything died and/or spilled in the car on the way home. :(

In a helicopter.

In a colon.

Making cloth fly.

A dark slide that was supposed to be a sewer playground (?)

Making a cloud.

Digging for dinosaur bones.

Sunday we drove home and I can honestly say it was the worst day weather-wise of driving for me ever. It rained from the moment we left our hotel in the morning until the time we got to our house in Michigan. The 11 hour drive took almost 14 hours! We got home around 1am. I couldn't fall asleep for at least another hour because my senses were so heightened. Honestly, the lights and the glare of the road and everything else was just too much!

Fun fact: I found what has to be the longest name for a street anywhere - Higashimurayama Drive. The sign was twice as long as it usually is. It's in Independece, close to the corner of Noland Road and Truman Road.