Anniversary in Fillmore

For our anniversary, Ben wanted to eat at Costa Vida (or Cafe Rio, since they are the same thing). So my parents took our whole family on a little fieldtrip over to Fillmore, Utah.

We toured the Territorial Statehouse. People are often surprised when I tell them Mormons don't just live in Utah, but most of Northern Arizona, Southern Idaho, SE Wyoming, Western Colorado, and Las Vegas Nevada. Mormon pioneers didn't just settle Salt Lake, but also Vegas, Pheonix, and San Diego -- over time each of those cities have transformed into Mormon minority cities (yes, even Salt Lake). Anyway, the point of all this is that the early Mormon settlers were hoping to join the Union as a Territorial State called Deseret. Deseret covered all these heavily populated, Mormon settlement areas. Obviously, the Federal Government didn't want a Mormon territory bigger than Texas, so they said no and formed Utah. Utah has always been culturally identified as Mormon, but nearly all it's borders are just as culturally Mormon as Utah (Napoleon Dynamite? Yeah, that's totally depicting a small Mormon town and it's strange culture -- without ever saying it, but no movie more accurately depicts my teen years, ha ha).

So ... the Territorial Statehouse is just what it sounds like, the Pioneers vision for their Territory Capitol Building. Fillmore is the most central town of the original Deseret Territory, but the Capitol was quickly moved to Salt Lake when the Mormon's realized they weren't going to get to keep their beloved territory. Only part of the statehouse was finished, and they've turned it into a nice little museum.

I may or may not have promised my mom I wouldn't share any pictures of her on social media ... but since only ten people besides my family read this, I think she *might* forgive me.

The third floor, where the legislature met. 

A nearby one-room Pioneer school house. 

The basement wall had pictures of all the earliest settlers. My dad pointed out which of my ancestors came to settle Fillmore after being forced from their homes in Nauvoo, Illinois. Reid's favorite place was the prison cell. We could hardly get him out of there.

This horrible picture is the only one we took of the prison. He chained us all up. 

After the statehouse my Dad took me to the cemetery where those early settlers were buried. Family history is such a fun hobby. I need to get more into it. I know most the research is done for me, all I'll have to do is read and study.



After Fillmore we traveled over to Cove Fort. I remember going there a couple times as a kid, but the building does seem to have a lot of improvements since my childhood. I'm so thankful to be part of a Church that preserves history so beautifully. Reid really loved seeing the old ice saws they used, just like in the opening scene of Frozen (his favorite part of the movie). He also loved the 19th century version of a mouse trap.

Mouse runs for the cheese

Mouse jumps for the cheese

Mouse falls in bucket of water and dies (I think he really wanted those mice to live)

He also loved being the lookout for the fort.
"The bad guys are coming!"
But all I saw was a sweet Senior Missionary gardening nearby.

After the fort we headed back home with a stop in Fillmore for Ben's dream anniversary meal.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet. Reid and Nell wanted in the pool again and the cousins came over to play for about an hour.

Today celebrates eight years of marriage and two years of home ownership! What a wonderful life!