Day 3 INDIANA

Day 3 was Sunday. We planned to go up to South Bend to visit my brother, Justin. But on the way we stopped at a cemetery where a bunch of Personett relatives are buried. It's very interesting how they have so many random cemetaries just along the side of the road. Some of them you really  have to hunt for! They are VERY old and many you can't even read anymore. 

As a good missionary does, Clyde came prepared. He brought sanding tools and found something to use a shovel to fix a head stone that had fallen over. After he sanded them it was amazing the improvement it made. 

This is the James Monroe that Chad is named after. His headstone was almost completely covered with shrubs, so we pulled those back too. 

The headstones are all so unique and different. Not like you would see in a cemetery today.  I wandered while they worked and admired all the intrinsic and historic stones. 
 

Then we headed to Justin's house where we had lunch and caught up. The kids all played piano for us and showed us their tricks. Chad even got in on some piano playing. 

And we got to see Chewie. Him and Jilly would have a ball!!

After lunch we visited Norte Dame Campus. It was incredible to see all the amazing buildings. And yes, that building is topped with real gold! 

We visited the Bascilla of the Sacred Heart where people light candles and pray. It was somber and sacred. Just a different type than what I am used to. It was graduation day so there were several people there. 

We entered the Norte Dame catherdral and it was INCREDIBLE! The workmanship was awe inspiring. And it was neat to see it's majesty. 

I helped keep the rowdys quiet!

Picture on the ceiling.

Holy water!

We saw 1st down Moses and Touchdown Jesus. They call him that because this picture faces the stadium. 

 We found an open door the the stadium and so we grabbed a graduation program and acted like we were there for it so we could sneak a peak. These social distancing signs cracked me and Carrie up. 

On the way out, I saw my first Red Cardinal! They are gorgeous!

Then, since we were so close, we had to go see Lake Michigan! It is huge! And it goes on forever so it felt like we were at the beach. The boats make waves so there are even waves that crash on the beach. And the sand is SO wonderful! I could have stayed there alllllll day!

The kids were wet and dirty in no time, but they had fun. I took off my shoes and enjoyed the sand in my toes. The water was quite cold so we didn't get in much. But it was SO nice! 

Then we started the long ride back home and I'm pretty sure I slept most of the way!

INDIANA DAY 2

Saturday we got up and of course went to some yard sales! We actually found some fun things and had a good time driving around and seeing the land. It's so green there! Then we went to a little down town district in Carmel and saw these fun statues that are strategically placed along the way. 

We found a cookie shop and of course enjoyed one!

Clyde got a service call from some missionaries and took a break to figure somethings out. They sure deal with alot of things. Not just apartment leases but appliances, light fixtures, holes in walls, bed bugs, furniture and bedding and the list goes on!

We were near a cute shop called Cake Bake so we swung in to see what it was all about. You can have cute little parties there but theres also a fancy bar inside for other parties! The cakes are incredible and you could order a slice of cake that was about 8 inches tall. And they were pricey! The inside was decorated the the nines. This would be a very fun (and expensive) place for a girls night! 

We then started heading for an Omish community. They are scattered all throughout Indiana and came upon several. We went to 2 of their country stores and bought some treats. It's amazing that in todays day and age, there are still people CHOOSING to live the way they do. 

A cool old building....that I don't remember what it was. But there are many other churches down there that were pretty fancy. 

We had driven an hour and a half to eat at this place. The burgers and 

 

INDIANA!

In April, we realized that Chad's parents would be home from their mission soon and we had joked about going to visit them. And then I realized I really wanted to go! We searched out some tickets and figured out when we could go and talked my parents into staying with the kids and took off to Indiana! 

Of course we still had to wear masks the whole time, but it was a nice quite flight and it went by quick. 

We flew into Indianapolis airport just a few weeks before the Indy 500. So there were fun racecars to look at everywhere in the airport. We quickly spotted some elders and they were with Evelyn and Clyde and off we went to see the mission home in Fisher's IN! The elders drove the 'silver spoon' AKA a giant van and we all climbed in and let the young guys chauffer! 

This is a board with all the missionaries and their companions on it. Notice their constant companion in the top right!

After a few introductions, we went to dinner at Ford's Garage. It was the cutest place! The Ford sign in grilled into the buns and the garage doors actually open when the weather is nice. There were old cars and old engines on display and just the cutest finishing touches! The evening was beautiful and had the most perfect weather. 

Evelyn and I ate chicken something or other and the boys had burgers. They were TASTY!

We of course had to get ice cream, so we traveled to one of many corner ice cream shops and enjoyed a treat! The rest of the evening was spent getting settled and playing games! C&E's complex is gorgeous and has these beautiful fountains all over the grounds. They light up too and this one was right out their window. So pretty!!

 We made a game plan for the next day and went to bed after some cards. We were so excited to be in a new place!