Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees

On May 12, after Greg's visit, we went up to Toronto to go to another baseball stadium. Our forth one this year! We went to the Roger's Centre. The Bills play a few games here during the football season.

Here we are outside. We couldn't get a very good picture because of the light post, but we did the best we could.



This is me outside sticking out my tongue. Spencer found a better view than the person we asked to take our picture.



The stadium is indoor. They can open the roof if they know for sure that it won't rain. The stadium doesn't have a drainage system, so if it does rain while the roof is open, then it can't get out and will mold and mildew. They didn't open the roof for this game because it was so early in the year that they were worried it might rain.

This is batting practice.



Here is the field. We didn't like that it was indoor. It didn't feel the same as normal baseball games.



This was the first game against their rivals the New York Yankees, so a lot of people came. It was pretty much sold out.



The Blue Jays have a good pitcher, Roy Halladay. He pitched a complete game. He is really good.

This is A.J. Burnett. He played for the Blue Jays last year and sold out to play for the Yankees. Every time he came out the crowd booed him. There was a lot of hate at this stadium for him. He is a good pitcher, too. He almost pitched a complete game, but they took him out in the eighth inning. It was the first time that the crowd cheered for him at all!

This is Alex Rodriguez, or A. Rod. He is the highest paid baseball player in history and people hate him for it. Not to mention him cheating on his wife and being a jerk. I actually have his jersey because I am a Yankee's fan and it makes people mad to see me in his jersey. And that is just funny to me. He got booed almost as much as Burnett...but not quite. Like I said there was a lot of negative energy in this stadium. It made Spencer and I laugh.

This is Aaron Hill at bat. He hit a home run during this game.

Toronto won 5-1. It was a good game.

This is the CN tower outside of the baseball stadium. It is a communications and observation tower that is 1,815.4 ft tall. It remains the tallest free-standing structure in the Americas. The only structure taller is the Burj Dubai.

We fought our way out of the parking lot and through the horrible traffic in Toronto and made it home late.

Niagara Falls

The last day that Greg stayed with us, we went to Niagara Falls. Because it was a weekend, the border was really busy and it took forever to get through customs. But we finally made it.

We decided that we would ride the Maid of the Mist. Everyone says that you have to do it at least once. This is what the boat looks like.



They give you ponchos as part of the ride.




It was really cold that day.



These are the American Falls.

The Falls are so powerful that they spray water into the air and it feels like it's raining. Between the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls 750,000 gallons of water flows per second!

These are the Horseshoe Falls. We didn't buy a waterproof camera, so these are the pictures that I took before it got too wet.

When you are close to the falls, it just pours down. The floor of the boat pools with water. We were soaking wet.

I think that Greg is bending his knees and leaning in this picture because he is actually taller than Spencer.

These are some pretty flowers along the walkway beside the falls.

Greg is a rebel.

And a GQ model.

It's awesome to see the water pour over the edge. The Niagara Falls are the second largest falls in the world, with Victoria Falls in Africa being the largest.

One-fifth of the worlds fresh water resides in the great lakes, and four of the five great lakes flows over these falls before they reach the last lake, Ontario.

After this we went home. We ate "Mormon Crack" on the way, which is Muddy Buddies Chex mix. Again, we got held up at the border and asked accusatory questions by the border control guard.

When we got home, we ate hamburgers and watched more playoff hockey and played more games. It was really fun to have Greg come visit. We are really going to miss him for the next two years. We are really proud of him and are excited for him to start his adventure in Portugal.

BOM Publishing Stie

Our last stop was at the Book of Mormon Publishing Site. We went on a little tour here. It was amazing to me how hard it was to publish the Book of Mormon. What a lot of work!! It is surprising that it got done.

After this, we drove home. Then we went to Duff's for dinner. They have the best dang wings in Buffalo. They are so good. Spencer got some a little hotter than we normally do. Greg and Spence were tough and handled it well. I could only handle one of the hot ones. I stuck with my medium mild for the rest. And enjoyed the celery and blue cheese.

Then we went home and watched some more playoff hockey and passed out exhausted from the day's adventures.

The Hill Cumorah

After walking around the Palmyra Temple, we went to the Hill Cumorah. This is the visiting center. It has videos and missionaries.



This is a statue of some big scriptures. I was showing the boys that it is okay to get your picture taken here because it says so in my LDS tourist book. It was really, really windy and even windier at the top of the hill.



The cool thing about this picture, is that it is the scripture that Greg chose for his missionary plaque.



This is the Hill Cumorah. It is set up for the pageant that they have here every summer.



There are paths that you walk up to get to the top. At the top there is a monument with the Angel Moroni on the top.



This describes the significance of the engravings on the monument.

It was neat to think about Joseph coming here to get the plates. And that he had to come here on the same day every year for four years before he could take them with him. And it was cute to think about Emma waiting for him in the wagon. What a strong woman to stand by him through everything that they went through.

The Palmyra Temple

After visiting the Smith Farm and Sacred Grove, we went to the Palmyra Temple. We didn't have time to do a session, but we walked around outside.





It was so beautiful with all of the greenery that comes with spring.





There are pictures of the sacred grove in the stain glass windows all around the temple.



You can see the Sacred Grove from the temple.

The temple is on the same property as the Smith's original 50 acre farm. I think that it is really neat that they put a temple here.

The Sacred Grove

After the tour, we went to the Sacred Grove. It is a forest with a few paths that you can wander through.



I was so happy that we went at this time of year. It was also in the early spring that Joseph Smith went into this same grove a little less than 200 years ago to say a simple prayer. And from that so much good has come. It was a very spiritual experience to walk through this forest. I cannot express the many feelings that overcame me as I walked these paths.



It is so beautiful, green, and peaceful. There weren't many people there, so it was nice that we could wander in silence.



I think that it is neat that Greg gets to have this experience right before his mission. I hope that he holds it close to his heart and that it helps him to spread the gospel that started here.

Again, I am so happy that Spencer and Greg got to share this as brothers.

And I am very, very happy that I got to share this experience with my husband, and eternal companion. It was a truly beautiful experience.

I hope that everyone get a chance to come here someday. I thought that I never would just because of how far it was. But I am so glad that I did. What a blessing to have it so close to us now.