Our BIG Move

We left our Louisville home Saturday morning, and arrived in Bakersfield Friday. We didn't take the most direct route, but we made it quite an enjoyable road trip. We started in Kentucky, drove through Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and finally crossed the finish line in California! We were able to see several church history sites and meet up with friends and family along the way.

Nauvoo temple at night time. Beautiful!

John Taylor is Wes' Great Great Great Grandpa!
Wes' parents came out for the graduation, helped us pack our stuff and load the moving truck, made the cross-country drive with us, then helped us find our new home and move in :) We were soooo grateful for the help and enjoyed spending almost 2 whole weeks with them! Thank you!!!

Trail of Tears/Hope

Room in the Newel K. Whitney store where the Relief Society was formed

Window where Joseph Smith was killed :(

After getting lost from following our GPS and MapQuest, we finally found Mt. Pisgah and a dog came running out to us. He was super excited to see us and rolled over so Wes could rub his belly! haha

(Mt. Pisgah) When the saints were traveling west through Iowa, they sent a group ahead to establish some ground, plant acres and acres of crops, and build homes. That way, when the saints stopped through, food and shelter would already be there. Unfortunately, thousands lost their lives there, but it helped so many more. This is also the place where Brigham Young enlisted over 500 men for the Mormon Battalion.

We visited Winter Quarters, the Pioneer Cemetery, and saw the Winter Quarters temple.

Old picture of ancient Navoo

The major tunnel outside Denver was closed so we took a huge 2-hour detour. This is the steady stream of cars inching their way through the mountains.

Driving through the canyon was beautiful! I miss the mountains!!

When we drove through Utah, we spent the night at my parents' house. It was so nice to spend some time with my family :) This is us driving to one of our favorite local restaurants El Mexicano.

(I also didn't get pics of our Kentucky friends we were able to spend time with along the way, but we spent the night with the Andersons in Grand Island, NE and endulged in Cafe Rio in Denver, CO with  the Nielsons.)

Meet Dr. Wes R. Cardall DMD, MS

Wes finished his residency at the U of L in June. He basically lived at the school these last 2 years and when he wasn't there, he was home at his desk working hard to become the best orthodontist possible. His residency was tough, but it's the whole journey that got him here. I am SO proud of him!! :)

Dr. Bednar presenting Wes his diploma

The residents said they wanted a big check when they graduated... and that's exactly what they got!

These boys (and girl) spent more time with Wes than I did these past 2 years! They went through a lot of hard (aka fun) times together... plank contests, beating each others' scores in "Fall Down", tearing phone books,... 

Temple with Whitney

Woods and Whitney were really good friends of ours in Kentucky. Last month, Whitney got her endowment and was sealed to her husband and their two beautiful girls in the Mesa temple. I was so lucky to be able to be there with her, helping her with her hair and the pictures (which turned out great!). She looked absolutely beautiful! Thanks for sharing your special day with me!

Washington D.C.

Visitng Washington DC was the perfect way to spend our Memorial Day weekend.

We stayed with one of Wes' mission companions/BYU roommates, Forest.

I know I always say this, but this is one of my favorite temples. It's beautiful!

The National Cathedral was pretty sweet. I wish they still made buildings like this!

I don't know why everyone things the Washington Memorial is so tall - Wes is taller than it! :)

The White House. If you look closely, you can see the snipers on the roof.

We didn't want to wait in 2 lines for 2 hours so we actually didn't go up to Abe Lincoln.
Those security officers you see on the steps wouldn't let anyone on them because they were
securing the area since the president was speaking nearby.

Martin Luther King. Don't mind my homies behind me. We were pretty much the only white people at this one. haha

Air and space museum was pretty cool.

We took our Sunday walk at the Zoo, but wouldn't recommend going there. 

All the cages were empty (besides this one) seriously.

The National Archives is one of the best things to visit.

We love this building... ok, maybe not.

Capital Building

Tubing and Snowmobiling

I know this is over 6 months late, but I am trying to catch up and then hopefully stay updated with my blog. Be patient with me!

 

Over Christmas break, my family went snowmobiling and tubing in the mountains above my parents' house. It's always a blast!

Wes and me after we tubed down together

Lana, Mom, Peyton 

Tyson took us part way up the hill on the snowmobile. (ok, I admit, we are a little lazy... or maybe just out of shape)

Dave and Peyton zooming down the mountain.

Dad was the only one who went to the top on the snowmobile (surprising because he rolled it on this hill last time) and he took us for rides with him. Kami is the little dare-devil on the left.

McCall and JD

I don't know what it is, but the little kids always fall asleep on even the most adventurous 4-wheeling and snowmobiling rides.

You can't tell how steep it is in the picture, but this hill was huge so we only went about 3/4 of the way up at best. So when Kami attempted to conquer this beast, we all stopped and stared.

Kami VS Mountain... Mountain wins

AAO Hawaii

This year, the Annual Orthodontic Convention was in Oahu so I felt it necessary for me to accompany Wes. We had such a great time. We went to meetings and receptions for the first half then we went up to the north shore and stayed at Turtle Bay. We snorkeled, surfed, ate shave ice, explored Pearl Harbor, visited the Polynesian Cultural Center, drove around the island, survived an intense hike, and swam to an off-shore island. Hawaii is ALWAYS a blast. Even though it took us an eternity to get there from Kentucky, it was well worth the trip!

Amazing view from the pre-gala. (gala = a party before the party for cool people only)

Boat ride to see the USS Arizona

The island we swam to; not quite a full mile round trip.

We needed our shoes to hike on the island when we got there so we used a string from one of my swimsuits and tied our flip-flops around Wes' waiste. haha

This is how beautiful the drive around the island is. LOVE the palm trees :)

I think this is one of my favorite temples. (I think I say that about all of them) This picture doesn't do it justice either.

Bet ya can't guess what song this is...

This was one intense hike! We climbed all the way to the top! It was like doing the mega-stairstepper for half hour each way. That's Wes in the white shirt coming down.

Polynesian Cultural Center

One of several amazing lookouts.