Kirtland Trip

On Saturday, July 15th I and 6 other women from church left Fairmont at 5:45 am and went to Kirtland, Ohio to visit church sites. The last time I had been to Kirtland was in 2001 so I was excited to go again, but not at all excited about getting up so early in the morning. I was able to enjoy myself and to build stronger relationships/friendships with those that attended. We were lucky enough to have nice weather, it was partly cloudy with comfortable temperatures and a nice breeze.

The Kirtland Temple

Mom and I in front of the doors of the Kirland temple

At the Newel K. Whitney store we were shown a room were a man slept to watch over the store inventory. Seeing this bed made me extremely grateful for the queen sized bed that I have.

I took this picture of the Newel K. and Elizabeth Ann Whitney home because I absolutely love the garden that is in front. It was a very quaint garden and I wouldn't mind having something like this at my home one day. 

 After visiting Kirtland we drove south to the John Johnson farm. I really enjoyed the Johnson farm and the colors that were used in the home. They were able to scrape down the cupboards to see the original paint color and designs. I love the way these doors look and thought it was such a cool design (they were originally painted by using feathers).

I LOVE this couch and if I had a fancy parlor I would put this couch in it.

Back Row: Juanita Church, Jennifer Hansen, Amy Thompson, Mary Jane Carmen Front Row: Me, Catherine Cox, Mom

In front of the Johnson home

We ran into rain on the way to and from Kirtland, and luckily none while we were there. On the way home we saw a beautiful, bright, and wide rainbow, this picture does it no justice.

Michigan Visit

I was able to spend 2 1/2 weeks in Michigan house-sitting/taking care of animals and spending time with family. While Charlie and family were out of town I stayed at their home to take care of their animals. During this time I was able to get a lot of books read and to simply relax and not do much. The down side is that it was incredibly hot while I was there, so I pretty much stayed holed up in the one area of the house that had air conditioning. Beside taking care of the goats and rabbit, I was tasked with taking care of and spending time every day with these adorable kittens. So cute!!!

 While in Michigan we also had our Hicks family reunion. I love spending time with family! I was so very excited to be able to see Beth (my best friend and cousin) for a short visit.

The day before I left to go back home to West Virginia I was able to meet up with my other best friend, Jen, for lunch.

 I love these two women so much and grateful to have them as friends. I wish that we lived closer together so that we could spend more time together, and look forward to being able to hang out together again one day.

Tigers Baseball

The view from our seats

On June 22nd and 23rd Mom, Dad, and I headed to Pittsburgh for the weekend because the Detroit Tigers were going to be in town for 3 games against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately the Tigers lost 4 to 1 both on Friday and Saturday, despite this, I was still able to have a good time. 

Justin Verlander on the far left who we didn't get to see pitch *sad*

Pitcher Doug Fister (6/22)

Catcher Alex Avila (6/22)

Waiting for the game to start (6/22)

Catcher Alex Avila and Pitcher Max Scherzer (6/23)

Waiting for the game (6/23)

Before the game on Saturday we went to Subway for lunch and the worker there commented on how we were hungry Tigers because we all got foot long subs. I had ordered a sweet onion chicken teriyaki sub and my sub was the last to be wrapped up. While the man wrapped my sub he said with a flirtatious smile on his face, "Sweet onion for a sweet tiger." It made me feel good but all I could do was smile, say thank you, and walk away to the table.

Before Saturday's game, hoping for a win (6/23)