Vacation Day 5: The Drive for Five

We don't have any pictures of driving the remaining 3+ hours home from our trip. The day was, however, Mae's 5 Month mark! She continues to be our favorite child even after 5 months. What made her monthly mark even better? It was Selection Sunday, baby! Go Heels! Alright! Let's get those smiles raising and those pictures goin'! -T

Well this isn't such a good start.
There we go!

Can I get a "Hoo hoo hoo!"

Baby and brackets..life is good.

I'm tellin' ya, Mom...she's gonna start getting upset that you're not letting her watch the brackets go up!
Welp, don't say I didn't warn you.
NOW she's happy...and content.

She has discovered her feet since her 4 month mark
Happy to be watching the Selection Show
Whoa...REALLY happy to be watching the Selection Show

Maybe crawling by 6 months?
I think she's had enough

Vacation Day 4: Niagara/Start to drive home

After fog, flat tires, and everything in between, we finally got a decent look at the falls. We went there Saturday morning after my 2+ hour/$182 trip to Firestone. It was cold and a snow storm was moving in so we did our thing and then got out of New York before it arrived. After that we really had nothing planned, except for get to our hotel in Wheeling, WV. We stopped there because Lindsey thought it might be fun to hit up church in West Virginia. We went to the Olive Garden where Mae put on a total show with her smiles and shreaks. "You have to go see the baby at 14 (our table #) is what our waitress said was the talk behind the scenes. At one point we had 3 waitresses and two other tables all staring and asking about our beautiful baby. We had frequent visits from waitresses over the course of our meal. -T

Always ready for the cold! Heading to the falls!
Mom and...hmm...Mae? I do believe she's under there (see Grandmas, she was always warm)

I can't believe this. Lindsey offers to take a picture for this nice chinese girl and her non-english speaking mother, and the chinese girl reciprocates. Not only does she cut out our pretty little girl, but she doesn't even do it at the expense of getting the falls in the picture! So...here's just a nice random picture of Lindsey and Todd in front of some buildings and water.
Mae and Mom at the Horseshoe Falls

But the view is so much better "beyond this point!"

Our little trooper
So, in the winter, you can't get as close as the summer. All the lower levels are blocked off.
I'm not really sure the story of this picture
No idea what this building really was...but we liked it.

Hoo hoo hoo-ing at a gas station

Playing with Mom to stretch the ol' chubby legs.
Ready to start the show inside of Olive Garden
In our hotel...excited for March Madness! Well, that bib on her just warms my heart.

Always practicing standing (and balance).
She loves that she has discovered her feet.

The last picture we took on our trip

Vacation Day 3: Palmyra and Tires

We made the 90+ minute drive to Palmyra. We first stopped at the Joseph Smith Farm/Sacred Grove. The rain had stopped but it was cold and windy! After the tour we walked through the Sacred Grove. We left there and checked out the semi-new Palmyra Temple, followed by Alvin Smith's grave and the Book of Mormon Pubilication Site which we toured. Our last stop was the Hill Cumorah and the Visitor's Center there which was very cool. Mae exploded with excitement there...nope, just exploded. She enjoyed it though, and weirdly so did Mom. I got a text from her to bring the camera to the bathroom (footage below). Then we headed back to our hotel in Niagara during a snow storm. The drive seemed like forever (with a stop for dinner as well) but we finally made it to the Robert Moses Parkway along Lake Erie that takes us to our hotel. We were grateful the storm didn't get us, however the grand canyon, a.k.a an enormous pot hole did. The sequence of sounds went like this - loudest boom ever, Lindsey gasping, Todd screaming, Mae crying...dead silence. So, instead of checking the falls out at night...we changed a tire. I was in a poor mood, but after coming back to the hotel and watching the news about Japan, I counted my blessings. -T

Robert Moses Parkway - home of a future flat tire

Another vacation day..another day of rain!

Asleep on the road again

We couldn't help but laugh when Mae woke up how confused she seemed to be and looked at us like she didn't know us.
And she was confused for quite awhile
Well...this one should just be in a magazine or something
So striking...in her stroller ready to roll (literally) and go on our tour

Our family in the room of the log cabin (replica) where Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith
I wanna say Mae wouldn't have been a good 1800's baby - she would for sure launch herself out of that bad boy.

View of the temple from the farm

If anyone ever decides to try to rob a home of some gold plates - check under the brick in front of the fireplace!
Where the Smith's lived for a time...a house in which Alvin was one of the main designers and builders
Dad and Mae entering the Sacred Grove
Mae and Mom in the Grove
Our family in the grove...yes, Mae is there too (she was asleep).

Caution: Ice

Our family in front of the Palmyra Temple
Mae and Dad

Even when we cut her out of pictures, she still seems to make those eyes noticeable.

Mom and Mae

Well that's a little better!

She looks thrilled to be there, huh? She couldn't decide which was more appealing - the car seat or the cold.

Mae and Mom outside the temple doors
Dad getting Mae to touch the temple
Then she did it on her own
A bittersweet time and place

E.B. Grandin Building - Home of the first Book of Mormon printing
Ink on the walls is from the 1800's
Original outside wall from the 1800's...the carpeted area is new

Folding the scriptures like the old days...and well, I was pretty daggon good at it
Our guide told me I could have had a job...I don't think he says that to just everybody!

VERY small steps to the 2nd floor...

...as is evident here.

Main room in the Grandin Building. Original floor from the 1830's.

At the Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center

Our private room for the movie The Restoration,

and for feeding Mae.

They actually had about 10 movies to pick from...we could have stayed all day, but Mae had other plans.

Uh oh...what's that smell?

We got a poop explosion people! But, some babies enjoy the echoes of the bathroom.

She looks so innocent - still cute after what she did to her clothes.

(This is her reaction after watching her video. -L)

Those eyes will get ya!

(Mae looking at the Christus)

Mae and The Christus

Our alone time in the Christus Room

Up Cumorah we went (by car)

Mae and Dad next to the Hill Cumorah Monument

Mom and Mae at the monument
Mae atop the Hill Cumorah

Baby Blue Eyes ready for the disastrous snowy ride back to the hotel

Even after a drive to forget...there's always someone there to make you smile!