Ra-cha-cha

I spent the first 18 years of my life in Rochester, New York. It is a wonderfully middle-sized city with four seasons, a gorgeous lilac festival every May, the best custard, fun beaches along Lake Ontario and many sites special to my church. It has a great highway system, access to lots of culture without the traffic and congestion of a bigger city, and you are close to Niagara Falls, Toronto and the Finger Lakes. I loved growing up there and I still love to go back to visit, preferably in the summer because living in the middle of the country has turned me off a bit to the extreme cold of the north.

I just got back from 10 days visiting Rochester and more importantly, my family. We got to spend time with my in-laws, my parents, my sister and her family and then two of my other sisters came to visit too so at one point four of the five of us were together. My kids got to see 10 of their 15 cousins and it was wonderful. My kids are the youngest of all the cousins so they have lots of teenagers and young adults to entertain them and play with them and think they are super cute.

I think part of the reason I love going back so much is because it is comfortable to be there and it brings back wonderful childhood memories. We went to the movie theater my husband used to work at and where we saw probably 100 movies. We passed by my high school where we met and where I feel I finally developed confidence and came into my own. We went to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant which I participated in seven times as a kid/teenager and where I made such special friends, memories and had significant spiritual experiences.
   

We drove up Friday and headed straight after dinner at my mom's to get Abbott's custard at Charlotte Beach with our friends, the Rays, who came up to visit with us.
Saturday we spent all day visiting church sites (Smith home,
Sacred Grove, Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was printed, Hill Cumorah and visitor's center, Palmyra temple grounds). Then we had dinner with my uncle and his entire family because they were on a family reunion trip and most of them I hadn't seen since I was 17 or hadn't met so that was fun. We headed back over the hill to watch pageant that night and it was great.

Sunday was church and hanging with the family, Monday we spent time with my sister and her boys before they left to drive home to Michigan. We ended up going back to get Abbott's and walking along the beach and playing at the park. Tuesday we went miniature golfing (I won!) and then Josh and I went to the temple and his dad's surprise retirement dinner while the kids hung out with my parents. He flew out early, early Wednesday morning and then I was on my own for the rest of the trip. We went to visit my childhood best friend and her family that afternoon and then Thursday we spent all day at the Museum of Play. My kids especially love the little Wegmans and the Berenstain Bears area. That night we went back to pageant and it was great to see it again. I love the new ending scene but still miss how exciting the King Noah scene used to be and I really wish they would change Moroni's costume. I think the current one makes him look a bit doofy.

 


Friday we spent the day with my sister and her family, playing games, talking and swimming then dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Saturday the kids and I spent all day with my in-laws and we saw Toy Story 4, went to Chuck E Cheese, went to the bookstore, walked through the mall and had dinner. On Sunday we went to church and then spent all day at my sister's house and then I drove home yesterday. It was kind of a stressful drive because it rained a lot and my little kids were being kind of obnoxious but we made it! It is great to be home and I was happy to see my husband again, although it has been a slow re-entry into grown up and normal life for me. I'm grateful for a mom and sister who are such good hostesses and for all the fun we were able to have together in good ol' Rochester! (affectionately known as Ra-cha-cha).