I can't even begin to tell you......

what an amazing time this next experience was in my life!!! I can honestly say it was a life changing experience!!! Back in February John and I were asked to be a ma and pa for the pioneer trek our stake was going on in June over to Martin's Cove!! I was excited!!! But as the time drew closer I got alot stressed out!!! We had to spend quite a bit to get ready just buying stuff we needed that didn't have, sleeping bags, tent, clothes, and stuff like that!!! So it was getting a little stressful a few days before we left!!! I was stressin' about the devotionals for the kids, whether or not I could help them and ensure that they would have a good time and maybe have a "spiritual experience", I was worried about who was going to be in my family and if they would like us!!! I was so caught up in the "stuff" that as usual that I was missing the whole point of going!!! I was actually mad a few hours before cause I couldn't believe what I had gotten John and I into, I DID NOT want to go at that point!!! But in all actuality I was just nervous!!! Justin and Jace also went but they would be in different families!!! Here we are over to mom and dad's right before we headed to the church....

John and I had to be at the church at 9:30 on Wednesday night!! We met as ma and pa's and was given the list of kids in our family! This was the first time we had seen who was in our family!! John and I were taken to a room and waited for our "kids" to arrive one by one!! I was so nervous!! At 10:00 the kids started to arrive, they had the kids come in and check in and then each kid was taken, by color of their bandanna,  to the room where their ma and pa was waiting for them!!! The kids had no idea until they opened the door to that room who their ma and pa would be!! We had the best group of kids and as soon as everyone was there I began to relax!!! We had a few minutes to get to know our kids and then everyone moved into the gym!! They had built a beautiful ship across the stage and each family was called up to the "dock", received a "boarding pass", and boarded the ship to come to America to go to Zion {which was walking out and getting on the travel buses}!!!! We left the church about midnight, hoping to travel most of the night while the kids slept!! We had a total of 6 travel buses full of kids and mas and pa's!!! A few miles out of town we pull over on the free way and word starts to spread that the bus in front of us is on fire!!! It was quite a sight to see 6 travel buses pulled over on the side of the road, with about 50 kids standing in the grass at midnight!!! I think the one state cop thought it was a caravan of polygamists!!! But we got everyone rearranged and on we go!!! Until it happens again to the bus we were riding!!! Long story short......we had crappy bus drivers that were riding the brake!!!! We got on the road about 2:00 a.m. and headed to Independence Rock!!!

Independence Rock was HUGE!! They had breakfast for us there....pancakes, sausage, eggs, and juice!!! We ate breakfast and then had a few minutes to climb the rock!!! Independence Rock was a landmark to the saints!! And at the top there were the names of those that had passed along the way.... 

We were on a tight schedule so we had to load the bises and head to Martin's Cove about an hour down the road!! This is where would do our first handcart pull!!!
Here's our "family".....

Left to right.....Colby Hatton, Ma Russell, Pa Russell, Taylor Orr, Cheyenne Driscoll, Chelsie Westergard, Katie Murdoch, Krissy Lott, Tyler Fredrickson, Kyle Killpack, and Kade Longhurst

The pull at Martin's Cove was 5 miles!!! But it sure felt alot longer!! We parked our handcarts at a shelter and walked and first visited Dan Jones Cove, this is where Dan Jones stayed along with all of the saints belongings until the winter was over!! We then had a silent walk to Martin's Cove!! It wasn't what I expected but you could feel the spirit of the pioneers there!! It was the first of many times of feeling the spirit!!! The missionaries there could not voluntarily tell us the story of Martin's Cove cause it is still owned by the BLM! But if we ASKED they could tell us {something to do with the separation of church and state}!! So we asked them to tell us the story!!! We then continued our silent walk back to the shelter to pick up our handcarts!!! That's when we got caught in a huge rainstorm!!! We spent about 20 minutes waiting out the storm but it cleared and a beautiful rainbow came across the sky!!! We then pulled out handcarts the remainder of the way!! We crossed the Sweetwater River!! This is where the three young men spent most of the day in the water carrying the saints across the river one by one!!! One of my favorite stories!!!

We then loaded up on the buses again and headed to where we would spend the nest few days, Rock Creek Hollow!! We set up camp, ate, and sat around the campfire!!! John and I had our family and we shared a fire pit with another family!!! In all there were 24 families....

The next day was our 10 mile trek and the river crossing!!! It was windy and it was cold!!! The water was cold and I'm not gonna lie I was murmuring!! Then we had a ma and pa meeting that morning and Sister Butler told us that a few weeks earlier they were they checking everything out and she was murmuring about the ticks and a sister missionary leaned over to her and said, "where you are standing...I dare not talk that way"!!! Kinda put her and us in our place!!! With what the pioneers went through and the conditions they endured.....how dare I complain of a little wind and cold!! We crossed the "river" a total of 3 times!! It was hard and deep in some places!!! I saw young men grab their "sisters" and carry them across and go back and help some more!!! I watched my sons carry girls across and even reflecting back to that time makes me cry...

Like I said it was hard!! At one point it was so muddy and slippery that it took all that the men had to get the handcarts through!!! Poor Justin was carrying a girl across and was one of the first ones across the last crossing!! He went to step and it dropped off quite a bit and the girl let go of his neck when he slipped fell into the water!! He felt so bad but she wasn't mad!!! We finished the river crossing and had lunch at the willows and listened to the missionaries!!! This is where the pioneers danced on frozen limbs and kissed the rescuers when they saw them...

John, me, Jace, and Justin....

Colby....

Me and "my girls"....Chelsie, Cheyenne, Ma, Krissy, Katie, and Taylor

We then got to the point of the trek where the men were called away leaving all the girls and women alone!! That was hard for me to watch John walk away and leave me and for me to watch my sons leave....

 We were given a talk by one of the sister missionaries about womanhood, how the girls should expect alot out of the young men, that they can do hard things, and as mothers we needed to let them "fly" and do hard things!! We then did the women's pull! I think it was only about a mile but it was up a hill that was quite steep!! The mothers were advised to let the girls do it themselves, with encouragement and some help if needed!!! All those young women did amazing!! I was so proud of them!!!

We got to the top of the hill and lining the edges of the trail were all the men!!! This is when my tears started to flow!!! The men were standing there with their hats on the chests......I couldn't look up or my bawling would've been hysterical!! But I did find John's boots along the way!!! And Justin and Jace's!!! It was one of the MOST amazing things I have experienced!!! I asked John later what they had talked to the young men about and he said they talked on respecting women and pornography!! We then finished the trek and headed back to camp!!Later that night was square dancing!!! It was quite a sight to see 200+ people square dancing but I had the time of my life!! That night around the campfire you could not have asked for a more perfect night....no wind, full moon, and perfect temperature!! That was also the night the Pony Express came, delivering letters to each and every person in camp.....

We then had testimony meeting where each and everyone in our family bore their teatimony!!! Tears were shed and again....the spirit was so strong!!! I told the kids how I wished I could bottle up what we all felt that night and they could always remember it!!!

Here is John and "his boys"....

Kyle {who is having his mission farewell tomorrow}, Tyler, Pa, Kade, and Colby......

The next day we headed to Rock Creek Hollow! This is where 13 died in one night! One being Bodil Mortensen! A little 9 year old girl who came across with another family and was sent cause her family couldn't afford to send her, she was going to meet her older sister who was already there, to gather wood {sagebrush} one night for the fire and was found the next morning sitting by the handcart wheel, frozen to death!! There was a statue there that said "REMEMBER"!!! We walked around with our family for a while and then President Browning gave us a talk about remembering our pioneer past!!! He asked us to remember three things.....

1) Remember this experience

2) Remember service to others

and to

3) Remember our covenants

The next two pictures are of the graves of the two of the men who died the next day from helping bury the 13! So there was a total of 15 that were buried there...

We then headed home!!! The LONG bus ride home!!! The LONG, SLOW, bus ride home!! We were entertained for a while by some of Colby's songs, he is a great singer by the way!!!

 And takin' pictures....

some sleepin'....

 lots of laughin'....

and when they got bored they did this....

stuffing poor little Cheyenne in the overhead compartments!!! She's so tiny she fit right in there!!

We rolled into Shelley about 8:00 Saturday night!! It was raining lightly and my mom was there with the girls!!! It was a bittersweet moment!! Glad to be home but knowing that the things we just experienced would become a distant memory!!

If they asked John and I to go again we would go in a heart beat!! This experience strengthened my testimony more than any one thing in my life!! If those pioneers did what they did, endured what they did, why can't I do the few things I am asked to do!! I have a temple just a few miles away, we hear from the prophet at least every six months, I can walk to church without fear of persecution! Their faith in the gospel was amazing! I am so grateful for their example! I know that everyone on that trek was touched in one way or another by the spirit! John and I both had ancestors that came across together in the Willie handcart company! Now here him and I are, many generations later.....married and raising our family! I just wish I could put into words how this changed my life! Something so simple but so powerful!! I am grateful that we had the opportunity to go with our boys and share this with them! I am grateful that John and I got to go together!! I love that man more than life itself! I loved my little "family"!!! It's an experience that will forever be in my heart!!! It was an experience that changed me forever!!! I love this gospel!! I am so thankful for it in my life!! For the priesthood and that I have 3 worthy priesthood holders in our home! The tears just flow as I write this!! I am glad it's 11:30 at night cause I know Halle would be askin' me..."Why you cryin' mom"? But I will share with her the stories from our trek and with anyone else who will listen for the rest of my days!!! I hope this post isn't too all over the place!!! There are alot of little things I didn't mention......like the giggle butt ladies {Robyn and Deena}, Sister Birch and her determination, the new friendships that were made, the family devotionals, the good food, opening the bus window and almost getting yelled at by the driver, someone accidentally farting during testimony meeting {took a while to get the spirit back, but it was funny cause I am white trash like that and we laugh at farts}, the tired feet, the sunburned faces cause the girls would not wear their bonnets, how small Colby's bladder is, what I looked like with no make-up and flat hair, our family names and family song....we won't even go there with what ours was, and that I got to share this experience alongside my sister Steph and brother-in-law Mike...

The theme for the trek was"Come Take Your Place"....

but I "WILL NEVER FORGET"!!!