The Relatives Came!

We were so lucky to have both my family and Ryan’s family come to visit this October! (Different weekends).

We went straight to Winter Quarters after we picked up my family (Mom, Dad, Mindi) from the airport, so Ryan, Hyrum, and Zane had to catch up with us later. Here we are with the Winter Quarters temple in the background:

And the visitor’s center:

We got a great tour there, and even better, the sisters that also serve in our branch were the ones who gave it to us, so it made my first time at the visitor’s center extra special! I really felt the spirit as we listened and learned about the pioneers and their journey through the Midwest. They truly had faith in every footstep, and it inspired me to do the same.

We got to pretend to be pioneers and try to pull a handcart:

We got to try the classic pioneer game ‘stick-pull’ too. Hyrum beat Cora:

Mindi beat me:

Dad beat Mindi:

And Ryan beat Hyrum!

Here’s my little pioneer family, with the kids left to pull the handcart:

We also went to dinner at Old Market with my family, then we spent a relaxing Sunday mostly at home, playing Legos and games and eating yummy food together before they all had to leave early Monday morning.

The next weekend, Ryan’s family drove down from ND to see us (his parents, littlest brother and sister, and little sister and her husband and son). The first morning we went to the zoo!

We went to the jungle:

Saw some of their Halloween stuff:

Went to the butterfly exhibit- and it was super cool when a butterfly landed on Zane in the butterfly exhibit!

And saw the aquarium!

Here’s the whole crew:

That evening we went to Winter Quarter’s visitor center again, where some new pioneers tried their hands at the handcart:

Learned how pioneers kept track of mileage and slept in ships:

And we visited the cemetery where there is a pretty view of the temple:

The next morning we went and got the Schuetzlers some Huskers gear and tried on some Husker head gear:

Then we checked out UNO, Ryan’s office, and his current classroom:

Then we had some yummy cupcakes at Jones cupcakes, followed by VooDoo Taco, because why not eat dessert first?

We ended the day with our branch’s Halloween party, where we ate chili, played some carnival games, had a costume parade, and went trunk-or-treating. Maren even won silliest costume!