The Arch

On the way home we stopped by the St. Louis Arch. It is really big. We also drove downtown and saw the Cardinals stadium, train station, and the Casino riverboats (they have a law that you can only gamble if you're on water). One of my favorite parts about driving through St. Louis is they have a double decker freeway. The westbound traffic is on the bottom and the eastbound traffic is stacked on top of it. They have to do it because there isn't enough room. You are literally only a few feet away from the skyscrapers when you drive on it.

Wonderful Mall!!!

After we went to the temple we went to the Maccaroni Grill, REI (for Cole), and then to the mall. It was such a great mall. The only thing it was missing was Nordstrom. They even had an entire store dedicated to MAC make-up. I was really impressed. A lot of the stores were really high end but they also had a lot of my favorites. The best part was that they have a Cheesecake factory. We will definetly be eating there next time we go to the temple. I was a very good girl though and only window shopped. Cole was a great sport to take me!

St. Louis Temple

Saturday we went to the temple. We are in the St. Louis temple district so we drive 2.5 hours to get there. It is very different than our 5 minute drive we used to have to get to the Provo temple. It has been good for us to have to sacrifice to go to the temple. It helps us remember that all we have been given is from our Heavenly Father and we should be using it to help his work go forward. When we first got to Decatur I got to go and help clean the temple which was really neat as well.

Carving Pumpkins

Last Sunday we got to go to the Howards for dinner and we carved pumpkins with them. We love the Howards. They are in our ward and Cole works with him. Their kids are so fun! Their little girl kept calling me "Carly" and when her Dad was helping her carve her pumpkin she kept crying "Carly do it!" I was thrilled. It took a while for us to bond but I was glad I finally won her over. She liked bossing me around. They all love Cole and every Sunday their oldest son comes up to us in church and invites us over for dinner (usually without his parents knowing). We are grateful to have made such good friends.

Baptism

Last Saturday Lee was baptized. We really enjoyed participating in his Baptism. We were able to have him over for dinner inbetween the conference sessions and he is a really neat man who has a great attitude despite challenges life has thrown at him.

Summer

We had a great summer. Once we finally got to Decatur (after our Uhaul broke down in Kansas and we had to stay at the most discusting place I'd ever seen) we had a great time. We got to go to Nauvoo which is about 3 hrs away with Cole's family. I also got to go to Utah for my newest nieces baby blessing. It was so fun to see family, especially my nieces who always put a smile on my face. We also got another car...another Camry I should say. We are looking forward to the upcoming holidays where we will be spending Thanksgiving in Utah and Christmas in Pennsylvania with family. We can't wait to see everyone.

Conference

Hi everyone! We are still here in Decatur, IL. Cole loves his job and I do too because he is usually home by 4:00. We like our apartment and we love our ward. It is obviously different than Utah, but we have learned a lot. Last weekend was conference. We took an investigator, Lee, with us and he went to all 5 sessions. He is an older retired man that lives alone. He is set to be Baptized tomorrow. It was different watching conference at the church but I do have to say I think it is the only conference we didn't fall asleep during:) I liked watching it with Lee because it helped me think about the talks more and how he might be understanding them. I loved the talk on looking for God's hand in your life each day. I know I often don't recognize the blessings I've been blessed with because I choose not to look for them. We have felt our Heavenly Fathers hand in our decision to move and while we have been here. I especially have had the comfort of the Holy Ghost to help me while we have been here. Don't get me wrong, I still get homesick every now and then, but I have felt the peace the Spirit can bring in helping you through changes and trials. We are thankful Heavenly Father cares about us enough to lead us and shape us. Love to you all!