Life Is Beautiful.

Fact:

At the age of 4, Ian has been in more hotel rooms than I'd been in by age 21.

With that being said...

...he stayed in a couple more this weekend.

This is the second year Joe and I have served on the Northeastern Regional Families Supporting Adoption board, and this year our annual conference was held in Kirtland, Ohio.

So. Much. Awesome.

As our table decor, we had each child draw a picture of what adoption meant to them--

and it was a HUUUUUUUUGE hit.

Ian's is below:

As part of our conference, we did a balloon release, which was really quite touching.

(Something I didn't expect.)

I really, really loved it...and I loved the photos that Joe snapped.

Each of the three couples on the regional board had babies under 1.

We set up "base camp" in the Sunbeam room (bathroom included!!).

We had to snap a photo of the room with all three port-a-cribs set up.

On the way to Kirtland, we stopped in Harmony, PA to visit the Aaronic Priesthood Restoration site. It was quite beautiful, especially at this time of year.

(Side note: if you want to make a nice drive, drive from Ohio to Boston in October.

It was breath-taking)

Kirtland, oh Kirtland!

How I love you!

I'd never been to Kirtland before, but I fell head-over-heels in love.

It was gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

Note to self: learn more about Newell K. Whitney. Amazing.

Below is a fortuitous moment we had with John & Jane Covey at the Kirtland visitor's center. The Covey's were our keynote speakers and they were wonderful.

And while we took the southern NY route to get to Kirtland (Boston to Binghamton, NY to Harmony to Kirtland), we took the northern NY route to get home via Palmyra.

(We were SUCH church history geeks on this trip. If we make it to the tree lighting in Sharon, VT after Thanksgiving this year, we'll have visited Salt Lake, Palmyra (twice), Fayette, Harmony and Kirtland...all in 2010)

I had never been to the Grandin Building in Palmyra before, so we had to do it as we passed through on I-90 on Sunday.

It did not disappoint.

And ya know what else?

Hill Cumorah looks ravishing in fall colors.

This is easily my favorite picture of the entire trip.

With the exception of the look I get when I appear at meal time,

all of Blake's most adoring smiles are saved for Ian.

Brothers, indeed.