Ancestor Stories #7 Sarah Ann Nelson

We may have found a Mormon connection in our ancestors.  Sarah Ann Nelson, born October 30, 1852, in Nauvoo, Illinois.

I learned about Sarah in correspondence from one of my Dad's cousins.  The old family story says that Sarah ran away from home at age 17 and was hidden by the Bradshaws.  She is quoted as saying, "I was tired of being stoned."  Her family migrated to Utah when the Mormons were persecuted and chased out of Nauvoo, but she did not go.  She married Charles, one of the Bradshaw sons, when she was 18.  {note:  this is a representational picture and not really her}

Charles and Sarah moved to Lenexa, Kansas and bought some land.  He is considered the founding father of Lenexa because he donated the land for the town and railroad station.  Here is a painting that shows the Bradshaw store in the background.

They had nine children and are pictured here with all their children.  Daughter Louisa married Freeman Swift, who is my Dad's grandfather.  Louisa is the fourth oldest child and is seated in the front row, first on the left.

Halloween Fight Factory

Jacquelyn and I went to the haunted Fright Factory on Thursday in Buckley.

 It was a lot of fun.  The web research I did said it's one of the best ones in the area.  They specialize in people and costumes rather than animated effects.  We went early and got there right when it opened at seven, so we beat the crowds.

 Jacquelyn liked the rotating tunnel and strobe light rooms the best, and a pitch dark maze room.

 I thought the costumes were very good.  They did a lot of jumping out at the right times to startle you.  It was spooky, but not really scary since you knew it wasn't real.

 Here's some photos I took off the web and their website.  You couldn't take pictures yourself in the dark.

Beware the scary clown.

Andrew's Baptism

We went to Andrew's baptism on Saturday.  In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the children can get baptized when they are eight years old.

 Andrew was baptized by his father, our son, Malachi.  It was a very nice spiritual experience.  After the baptism he received the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands.

Afterwards Malachi and Layne had a reception for Andrew.  Here is is behind a table with some mementos from his life.  They also had lunch for everyone.  We are glad we got to come and experience this special day with Andrew.

Ginko Petrified Forest

Jacquelyn and I went on a day drive Saturday.  We visited three sites in Eastern Washington.

The first stop was Ginko Petrified Wood State Park.  I'm sitting on a tree trunk that was petrrified into stone.  There are only a half dozen places in the U.S. that have petrified wood.

 There were some beautiful views of the Columbia River.

 Petroglyphs carved on some stones by ancient inhabitants of the area.
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 We went on an interesting trail that stopped by exhibits of several different trees.  This spot is known for having a diverse variety of trees, including the prehistoric Ginko Tree.

 Saw some wild big horn sheep.

 Stopped at the nearby rock shop and bought some petrified wood.  There owner owns some land nearby and digs up his own petrified wood to sell.

 Second stop was Lenore Lake Caves.  The Indians used these as temporary camps when  travelling down the river to hunt and collect plants for medicine.

 A closeup of the largest cave.  They were just indentation in the rock cliffs where the facing had eroded and fallen down.

Third stop was Soap Lake.  People go here to bath in the mud on the bottom of the lake.  We waded out into the lake and you can walk for length of a football field and it's not even knee deep.

This is an example of the mud that they smear on.  It's shiny black and supposed to be good for your skin.  We had a nice day out together.

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Don't Marry Charity is now available at several ebook retailers

Comedy adventure.  Who is this woman?  Why is she in trouble?  Can anyone save her?  Does anyone want too?

How can Dusty stand it?  Will he have to marry Charity to save her?  The more he tries to help, the worse things get.  She's so embarrassed, but she's in distress.  Is there more to Charity than meets the eye?  He can't help falling in love with her.  Can he save her?  Does he really have to marry her?

Don't Marry Charity

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iBooks (Apple)

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Samsung (Galaxy)

Use Barnes & Noble link or Kobo link for Android operating systems.

 

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Penelope's birthday

We went to Penelope's family birthday party today.

 Penelope is five years old now.

 She wanted a princess theme for her birthday.  This is her castle.  See Scarlett and Penelope in the windows.

Scarlett got to watch.  Kind of hard when your sister is getting all the attention and presents.

 Talitha and Sammy.  Some of the adults dressed up too.  And the dog.

 Penelope opening presents.

Princess cake and ice cream.  Happy birthday Penelope.

Do The Puyallup

We went to the Fair this weekend.

 This cow actually nudged Isaac and Joslyn with her head.  Isaac wasn't too happy about it.  You can't see them, but he said she was dirty and had flys buzzing all around her head.

 

I found a cool Seahawk wood carving that might look good on our front lawn.  Go Hawks!!

Jacquelyn and Kim rode the Slingshot.

The Slingshot is a bungee chair ride.  On the web it says the Slingshot flings you up and down and you experience a speed of 100 mph, an altitude of up to 230 feet and Force of 6 g,