While perusing Facebook yesterday, I saw that my cousin Mark had posted a picture from the Mall of America. I commented on the picture and asked if he knew we were living 20 minutes away from the mall. Come to find out, Mark has been in Minnesota for the past month and we didn't know each other were living here. His wife, April, was also in town for the weekend so we decided to meet up and explore St. Paul.
Our first stop was St. Paul's Cathedral.
April, Mark, and Cody in front of the Cathedral
Inside the cathedral was beautiful. The details were amazing and so intricate. It also scared me a little to think about the people who carved or painted on the ceiling, it was really high. Even though it was beautiful, it didn't have the spirit that we have in our simple chapels. It was nice to attend church on Sunday in our ward and feel the spirit that this church was missing.
Our next stop was the James J. Hill house built in 1891. James Hill made his money in railroads and used this money to build a 36,000 square foot home for his family of 10 children. The house looked big from the outside, but from the inside it looked even bigger. My favorite parts of the house were the large staircase and the art gallery/organ room.
James J. Hill Mansion
Beautiful staircase- when they had parties at their house the ladies would arrive in their carriage, walk in a side door, and visit the powder room. Once they were ready to make their grand entrance, they would walk down the stairs and greet the guests on the main floor.
Organ inside the art gallery
After our tour we went to lunch and then played games and watch the Alabama/LSU game. We're so glad that we were able to connect with Mark and April. We'll have to chastise our parents for not figuring out that we were in the same town!
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