New York: Day 1

Corey and I have been in sight seeing land ever since we moved here last September. There are so many things to see and do it gets overwhelming sometimes. But when we were deciding where to go this year for a family vacation Corey and I jumped on the chance to see Palmyra and also Niagara. We were not dissappointed.


It took us about 6 hours to get to our campground. We looked at hotels, but they were really pricey during the Pageant so we chose the cheaper route. The cabin was tiny and there was only room to sleep, but that is ok considering we were out and about the whole time. We got there around 4:00 and checked into our cabin. Still too early to eat dinner and get ready for the Pageant, so we took the kids for a quick dip in the swimming pool at the camp grounds.

Hailey on the front porch of our little cabin.

Gabe gearing up for a quick swim.

Hailey wasn't supposed to get in, but we just stripped her down and let her sit on the steps.

The Pageant was about 30 minutes away from our campsite, so we got there early enough to get decent seats. It was so surreal to be there. This is the stage from the other side of the street. The worst part was going through the gautlet of protestors to get onto the church's grounds. They were horrible, and as if them screaming at us would make us decide to turn around and go the other way. But we got our seats and then talked with the actors who walked around before the show chatting with everyone. I even met a second cousin while sitting there who was in the Pageant.

View of the stage from the field where we parked.

Family picture

Some of the actors walking around.

Corey took this at one point, so cute.

We were getting excited for the show as darkness started, and of course we couldn't watch without getting some popcorn. Who knew such excitement could stem from popcorn. And this was Hailey's first popcorn experience and you can tell from her picture that she loved it. Whole handfuls were placed in her mouth at a time. It was a miracle she didn't choke.

Gabe chowing on some popcorn.

Shovel that stuff in.

I had a hard time getting really good pictures of the performance. The flash wasn't bright enough to light up the stage so it looked really dark. I did get the shot from Lehi's dream of the tree. The Pageant really was amazing and if you haven't made a trip there yet, you really should go and see it. They do such a great job. It didn't end till 11pm and the kids were shot. Hailey finally fell asleep on Corey and the other kids followed suit on the ride back. Day two to follow.