CULTURAL CELEBRATION

We took the advantage of having tickets to the Cultural Celebration and drove up to Indianapolis to watch live.  I was impressed (and not really surprised) that President Eyring spoke to the youth and not to the crowd.  The Cultural Celebration is a way for the youth to share their testimony and for the Presidency of the Church to talk to the youth.  I was touched by the Spirit that I felt and for the testimonies being shared by so many youth.  I could feel of their excitement for a new temple.  Amid the darkness of the world there are still lights all around us.

INDIANAPOLIS TEMPLE OPEN HOUSE

It just so happens that the Indianapolis Temple had their Open House right as we moved to Indiana and will be dedicated in 2 weeks.  The Salts drove down from Madison and met us at the temple for the Open House.  They stayed the weekend to help us unpack and organize which was awesome.  I can't wait for the dedication.

MOVING TO INDIANA

We made it!  We are in Indiana.  It was a very long road trip but the kids did amazing!  We packed up and went to the family reunion in Pinetop, AZ on July 28 (~200 miles).  We played at the reunion Wednesday and Thursday and then set out early Friday morning.  We left at 7 am Pacific time and arrived in Oklahoma City at 1 am Central time (16 hours later).  By the time we got checked in, let the kids get some wiggles out and got to bed it was 2 am.  We woke up at 8 am and were on the road by 9 am Central time.  We arrived in Bloomington, IN at 3 am Eastern time (17 hours later) and got to bed around 4 am.  We then woke up at 8 am for church at 9 am.  Basically, in 48 hours we drove 1500 miles in 33 hours, were in 8 states, and had a total of 9 hours of sleep.  We all crashed for several hours Sunday afternoon after church.  I do not know how we did it safely and I know that we were protected and looked after.  Alex never complained and Shane only cried at night when he got tired.  The truck and car functioned perfectly and the weather was in our favor.  People say we were crazy for getting up so early to go to church after such a long road trip and after getting in so late, but I think it is the least I can do to say thank you for helping us get to our destination safely and without incident.  Heavenly Father is not a "fair weather friend" so why should I be?

I know we didn't go into Arizona but I still wanted a picture showing all the states that we passed through