Hannibal Adventures

Yesterday Greg and I drove over to Hannibal, Missouri for the day, and we had a great time! Everything in Hannibal is always an adventure, being the birthplace of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Hannibal is Mark Twain's (Sam Clemens') birthplace and is often called "America's Hometown." It truly doesn't get more Americana than Hannibal. To start off the day we went on a fun riverboat cruise on the appropriately named "Mark Twain" Riverboat. Here is a picture of Hannibal's riverfront, which is currently closed due to flooding--you can see the floodgates on the road there. They had to move the riverboat landing upstream a little bit because of the flooding, but luckily the river is receding almost two feet per day.

It was kind of a cloudy day, but it still felt really good out on the water. There was a nice river breeze blowing, and it even got a little cool--unusual for Missouri in June. I love the Mississippi River! It is so big and powerful. I first saw the Mississippi when Mom, Dad, and I drove from St. Louis to Nauvoo in 2001, and I haven't been able to get enough of it since. 2001 was the first time I visited Hannibal too. Since then Mom and I have visited Hannibal several times--one of my favorites was when we stayed at Reagan's Queen Anne Bed & Breakfast. Most recently the whole family had a fun little visit to Hannibal on our way back to Utah (via the St. Louis airport) from Nauvoo in 2008. So it was a lot of fun to be back yesterday!

After the riverboat ride, we had a fun lunch at the River View Cafe. The best part about lunch there is that you do have a really nice view of the river. The food was tasty too. After lunch we went around to a few of the antique shops downtown, and then we tried something new and went on the Haunted Hannibal ghost tour! We didn't see any ghosts, but we did hear some fun/crazy stories as we toured the town. Here is Samuel Clemens' dad's grave at the Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Also in the Mount Olivet Cemetery is the real Injun Joe's grave. You may remember him from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. The real Injun Joe was known as a very nice person though, unlike his character in the book. Our ghost tour took us through town and to several small cemeteries. It was a lot of fun and not too scary.

Greg and I were so inspired by our ghost tour that we stopped at one other little cemetery we had seen on our way out to the River View Cafe. It was called the . . . River View Cemetery, and it too had a really nice view of the river. At the River View Cemetery we found Robert E. Lee's grave :-) He was born a little late to be the real Robert E. Lee--I mean, he was obviously real, but not THE Robert E. Lee. So, we had a great day in Hannibal and made it home just in time to see the NBA draft. I was sad that Jimmer Fredette didn't go to the Utah Jazz, but happy for him that he was drafted in the top 10.

The trip to Hannibal was just the beginning of a week of birthday celebrations! :-) Actually, we would have gone next week, closer to my b-day, but Greg has a conference he needs to be at all next week, and his boss' wife is also having a baby, so he'll be pretty busy. At least it makes the birthday celebrations last longer.

In other news, for those of you who receive the Ensign magazine (an LDS publication), if you flip to the "Latter-day Saint Voices" section, you'll see a little article that I wrote. You can also see it online by clicking here and scrolling down to the "Two Cities and a Tender Mercy" article. I still haven't seen the actual magazine article, and unfortunately the illustration is not included online, but I hear that the magazine includes a drawing of someone who is supposed to be me--only they have long hair :-) I wrote the article and sent it to the Ensign five years ago, so it's nice to finally see it in print!

Big River, Big Week

First off, I want to say HAPPY FATHER'S DAY to Dad!!! I am lucky to have the best dad in the entire world! I wish that I could be there with him on this special day, but I'm glad he has the rest of the family there to celebrate together. My dad is a wonderful example to me, and he has taught me many valuable life lessons. One lesson that comes to mind is that even when a horse throws you off, you've got to get right back up into the saddle--otherwise the horse wins. Some of my favorite memories are riding horses with my dad over at Grandpa Taylor's house, and I remember one time in particular I was riding Grandpa's new horse Queen. Something spooked her, and she took off with me holding on for dear life. Dad, riding Prince, was trying to catch up to us. Queen took a turn a little too sharply, slipped, and off I flew. I remember landing on my back--it kind of knocked the wind out of me. But Dad was right there, making sure I was okay and helping me up. Once it was determined that I was all right, Dad asked if I wanted to get back into the saddle. I said, "No way!" But after a little while of thinking about it and remembering that Dad had told me always to get back up into the saddle, I decided to go try riding Queen again. As it turned out, she ended up being one of my favorite horses to ride. More importantly, the lesson stuck with me and has come in handy when life's ups and downs have "knocked me out of the saddle," so to speak. So, thank you, Dad, for all of the valuable things you teach me and for the love and kindness you give to everyone in our family! I am also blessed with wonderful grandpas. Though Grandpa Farnsworth died when I was very young, I still remember playing fire trucks with him, and I know from the stories of his life and the type of life he lived, what a wonderful man he was. And, Grandpa Taylor is still a wonderful example to all of his posterity today. Happy Father's Day, everyone!

And, yesterday was Camden's birthday! I was so sad that we couldn't be there to celebrate, but it sounded like the family had a very fun party. It was funny because Greg and I were at a St. Louis Cardinals game, and right after I talked with Camden on the phone to wish her a Happy Birthday, they played "Happy Birthday" over the loudspeakers at the stadium. :-) I still remember the day Camden was born--I was SO EXCITED to have my first niece! And she has only gotten sweeter ever since she was born. We love you, Cam!

Well, it's been a busy/fun week for us here. On Wednesday evening we went to see our friend Beth Staff perform in the Springfield Muni's "Big River" musical. Beth did such a great job! She is the second person in from the right side (wearing a black dress) in this picture. I have always liked Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn," so it was fun to see it in musical form. Beth was one of the living history volunteers/employees at the Lincoln Home, and she is still one of our very good friends.


On Thursday evening, Greg and I went to another fun Springfield Sliders game. Before the game started, I went down to the dugout and was able to get an autograph from the team manager Danny Cox, who used to be a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was SO NICE! He even shook my hand and chatted with me for a few minutes. The poor Sliders just aren't very good, and they keep losing, but maybe they can win one of these days. The funniest part of the evening was that during the 8th inning, one of the promo people came and asked Greg and me if we would be a part of their "golf contest" in between innings. So, we went down to the field, and we both had to hit a golf ball towards a flag in the middle of left field. Greg's hit went waaay past the flag, and mine didn't travel very far at all, but it was fun anyway, and we both won a free Bloomin' Onion from Outback Steakhouse, so it was all good.

Yesterday my good friend Susan Rugh, one of my BYU professors, and I went to lunch! It was so great to see her!! She was in town for a conference, so we were able to meet up before she had to leave. Since she loves Route 66, we went to Mom's and my favorite Route 66 restaurant in town, Cozy Dog Drive In. Dr. Rugh loved it, and we had a great time catching up on things. She is going to be leaving for Washington, D.C. where she will oversee BYU's Washington Seminar for the next year, so I'm glad we got to meet up before she leaves for that!

Yesterday evening Greg and I went down to St. Louis for the Cardinals vs. Royals game--our favorite game of the year! Greg is a Royals fan, and I'm a Cardinals fan, so it's the one time we're not cheering for the same team. Last year when we went to Kansas City for the game, the Royals won, and the Cardinals had recently lost seven games in a row, so it was time for a Cardinals win.

Since both teams are from Missouri, they did something really cool before the game. They called it "Teams Unite for Joplin." During warm-ups, all the players on both teams were wearing maroon hats with a "J" on them--the hats that the Joplin High School baseball team wears. Then at the beginning of the game, pictured here, they had the Joplin High School baseball team come out on the field and collect the hats from the players. The players signed the hats, and now all of the hats, along with some signed baseballs, bases, and jerseys, are being auctioned off online to raise money to help Joplin rebuild from the horrible tornado that decimated the town. My friends Jim and Michelle who live in Joplin survived the tornado, but they said it's pretty horrible there with all of the destruction. We thought it was cool that both Missouri teams would raise money to help one of their own cities.

Usually when Greg and I go to a game in St. Louis it's either a little too hot or too cold, but last night was a perfect evening for baseball. The Royals hit a home run late in the game, and it looked like the Cards were going to drop their 8th-straight game, but then Matt Holliday hit a home run, and the Cardinals held off the Royals to win 5-4! Greg was sad, but not TOO sad because he also likes the Cardinals. It was a great game and a great evening. It's been a good/busy week.

The Latest

Greg and I had a fun adventure this past weekend. We decided to go to Nauvoo to visit our friends Susan and Harvey Black who are there for a couple of weeks. Susan Black is a celebrity in Nauvoo, so it was pretty tricky to catch up with her, but we did it. It was so nice to see them! Poor Harvey has had some problems with cancer, but they both seemed to be in good spirits despite the circumstances.

We also enjoyed just being there in Nauvoo--it is one of my favorite places. I especially like just looking out over the Mississippi River which is SO wide there--especially right now while it is extra high! The temple, as always, looked beautiful. One of the nice things about living where we do is that we are close enough to drive over to Nauvoo whenever we want to. We had a nice day there.

We've also been enjoying going to the Springfield Sliders' baseball games. They are a Prospect League team made up of current college players who just play on the team for the summer. We went to a game on Saturday night and the weather was really nice, but last night they had a 60-minute rain delay. After the rain cleared, it was a beautiful evening with a beautiful sunset.

The Sliders try hard, but they just aren't very good. As you can see, the score last night in the 4th inning was 14-0 for the Quincy Gems. The final score ended up being 15-1. Poor Sliders. It was a lot of fun anyway.

In other news, our raccoon-killing neighbor Dick got out of jail and now he's after Greg and the officers who arrested him. He sent Greg this weird e-mail saying that he wanted to "finish the meeting" they started and that if Greg didn't contact him, he would just "see him at the funeral home after work." The e-mail ended with, "WE WILL FINISH THE MEETING WE STARTED!" So far he hasn't followed through on his threats, and now the police have advised Greg to file a restraining order against Dick, so it should get interesting. Today our neighbor who had originally fed the raccoons, which were then poisoned, mysteriously had their front porch light "fall off." Dick claims that this neighbor who fed the raccoons should have been arrested, not him for poisoning them. So I wonder who would have caused the raccoon feeder's porch light to fall off? Our neighbors seemed so normal for a year and a half--but now the truth comes out!

Historians and Handcuffs

We've had an exciting past couple of days here. On Wednesday afternoon I was sitting by myself at the museum desk when a bus rolled in at 4:00. You can imagine my horror as I envisioned a load of 8th graders piling into the museum. I started having Lincoln Home flashbacks . . . but thankfully it was a group of adults. Then in walks Ed Bearss, former Chief Historian of the National Park Service. He is a rock star of sorts among NPS employees and history enthusiasts. Among many other things, he did some very important research about Vicksburg, and I read and listened to a lot of his stuff when I worked in Natchez. (He is the one who basically found the USS Cairo at the bottom of the Mississippi River and had it pulled out so it can now be on display.) I was quite star-struck! He was so nice. After seeing Santa Anna's leg upstairs, he started telling me some funny stories about Santa Anna's real leg in Mexico. He is a fountain of knowledge. After going through the museum he said, "I didn't even know this museum existed until one of our group members suggested we come here. But this is a wonderful place! This is the hidden jewel of Springfield." That was a really nice complement coming from someone who has been to pretty much every museum everywhere. It was a good afternoon.

Then yesterday on my day off, I was just kind of relaxing around the house in the morning when I got a call from Greg saying that he was on his way home from work. He is on our condo association board and had gotten a call from one of the other board members saying that we had a big problem. Several of our neighbors had been awakened the night before by the sounds and cries of dying animals (talk about a nightmare!). One of our neighbors who lives down the street from us has been leaving food out for the raccoons, but someone decided to leave a Tupperware container full of poison out by the food--thus poisoning the raccoons. The poor little guys became instantly sick and died right in the raccoon feeding guy's backyard! So Greg, our neighbor Georgeann, and I went to investigate the situation. There was one dead raccoon still in the man's backyard, and the man was understandably very upset. Luckily he had saved the container of poison--it was a bluish-greenish liquid. Greg called the Department of Natural Resources, and they sent out a couple of Conservation Officers. The officers were upset when they saw the situation and said that leaving open containers of poison out is illegal. They said that if someone's pet or kid had gotten into the poison the situation would have been much worse. They found two more containers of the poison placed in other people's backyards.

So, who did this? The officers went around questioning the neighbors, but then they and Greg stumbled upon a "smoking gun." Back by the maintenance shed they found a similar Tupperware container, only this one was full of anti-freeze. They then found the anti-freeze container in the shed. Only three people have keys to the shed: Georgeann (she loves all animals), our lawn care guy (he hadn't been there for a few days), and Dick, our crazy neighbor who also happened to be the condo association president. We've had a few strange encounters with Dick--most recently I pulled into the parking lot the other day to find Dick outside in his underwear sweeping the sidewalks. He wears his pj's to condo board meetings--so I've only ever seen him in his pajamas or underwear.

Anyway, the officers went to question Dick, and he became very defensive. He said, "I don't understand what the problem is." Greg said, "The problem is that someone's pet or kid could have been poisoned by the poison that was left out illegally." Dick's reply, with the two officers standing right there was, "I don't care if 100 *&%$-ing kids got into the poison! It doesn't concern me." Not a good thing to say around the officers. THEN, Dick got right in Greg's face, put his two fists in the air, and said, "This is how I resolve things like this." Again, not a good thing to do in front of two police officers. The conservation officers ended up finding one of the neighbors who admitted to asking Dick about how to solve their raccoon problem. They produced a container of fly bait poison crystals and some written instructions from Dick on how to make the poison that would kill the raccoons. So the mystery of the blue-green substance was solved: it was fly bait mixed with soda to make it sweet--very poisonous and very illegal to have out in the open. The officer told the neighbors that if they would make a written statement saying that they received the poison from Dick, they wouldn't be in trouble because they didn't actually leave the poison out. Dick, however, was in trouble. The Conservation Police called the Sheriff and had Dick arrested for placing poison in open containers and for his verbal threats against Greg. They actually hauled him off in handcuffs . . . in his pajamas. It was crazy.

Anyway, Dick is no longer the president of the condo association, and Greg has been made president for now. Who knew there could be so much drama in a little condo complex! At least all of the poison has been removed, so hopefully no more of the little woodland critters who live by us will be harmed. It was quite an exciting day!

Spring Fun

Things have been good around here--Greg and I have just been working and finding time to do some fun things on the side. I think I'm getting the hang of my job at the Illinois State Military Museum. Here is a better picture of Santa Anna's leg than the last one I posted. I took this one the other day. People love that thing! I found out another interesting fact about this leg: it was used as the baseball bat in the first known organized game of baseball held outside of the United States. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY told us that they have documentation indicating that after the 4th Illinois captured the leg, they played a game of baseball in Mexico, and supposedly that was the first official game outside of the U.S. So this is not just a leg, it is a baseball artifact!

The Illinois State Military Museum definitely runs at a different pace than the Lincoln Home! The other day one of the men there asked me how many visitors we had the other day. I said, "15," and he said, "Wow! You were busy!" I guess it all depends on your perspective. Compared to 2,000+ people per day at the Lincoln Home in the summer, 15 people seems great! The fewest people I've had come in during the 3.5 hours we're open in the afternoon was six. Hopefully it will pick up a bit during the summer.


I am excited that it is June! June means summer, birthdays, BBQs, and Springfield Sliders' baseball. They had their home opener last Friday, so Greg and I went and had a good time. The Sliders looked pretty good at first, but then they ended up losing by a lot. At least they try hard. Their manager is Danny Cox, a former Cardinals pitcher, so it's fun to see him there.



Even though they lost, they had a great fireworks show after the game! It felt like the 4th of July.










I have kind of a funny work schedule--I basically work every other day, so I have Tuesdays off. Greg's boss was nice enough to give him Tuesdays off too, so we were able to go golfing today. We tried to go before it got too hot, but it was pretty warm. But it was still a beautiful day! We went to the Edgewood Golf Club in Auburn, Illinois. It was a really nice course.

This was only my second time golfing. I was hoping to discover that I had a hidden talent which we could use to make millions, but I'm afraid we wouldn't make much for my golfing skills. This picture looks good, right? It looks like I'll send that ball sailing over the lake. Unfortunately after this picture was taken I totally missed the ball. When I finally hit it, I hit it into the lake. Oh well, I'll keep practicing. You may have heard of tennis elbow--well I have a really bad case of golf wrist. I didn't know golf could be so painful!