Life outside of GenCon

 GenCon was something else.  It wasn't terrible, but the crowds and the noise and taking care of Clarkie wee a lot for me.  So in true Larisa style, I made the trip my own by finding activities that had extra meaning for me.

I was so appreciative when Ethan suggested we go to the temple the night before GenCon started.  The Indianapolis temple reminds me of some Greek/Egyptian edifice on the outside, but on the inside, it is a truly stunning temple.

This is going to sound strange, but I appreciated not knowing anybody for once when I attended an endowment session.  In the Detroit temple, I can't go anywhere or do anything without knowing somebody and feeling the need to say something.  Not that that's a bad thing, but it does distract from my temple worship.  Being in Indianapolis allowed me to feel the sacred feelings I used to have when attending the temple.

Glo and Clarkie came with us as well, and they walked around the temple grounds while we were in the temple.  As I've told people for years, bring your kids to the temple! It means something for them to see you go in, and they will feel something special on the grounds of the temple <3

The first day of GenCon was a LOT for me.  I didn't have the best time, and I wasn't sure that I wanted to step into that convention center again! But I remembered that we were only blocks from the Indiana state capital building, and if there's one thing I love, it's a state capital (thanks, G-dad and G-Mother, for that!)  So, when Glo left Clarkie with me so that she could go participate in a Wyrmspan tournament, I figured a quieter and less-chaotic place would be the state capitol building for Clarkie and me.  My mistake that I was thinking it was combined with the state courthouse which usually means criminals and their families milling about.  It wasn't! Just the executive, legislative and judicial branches all housed under one beautiful dome.

But first, Glo, Clarkie and I had lunch on the capitol green.  Good old Subway sandwiches.  And while there may not have been criminals in the vicinity, there are still crazy people, one of which came up and kept bothering us.  Glo was happy to escape to the convention center, and I was happy to walk into the capitol.

The tours ran on the hour, so I carried the stroller up the capitol steps (seriously, I'm not old YET), went through security, and sat down for the tour to begin.  There were eight of us on the tour, so it was a small group, and they were all so patient and good with Clarkie's little vocal thoughts on it all ;-)

First thing Clarkie did
when we sat down....

....was look up at this! He's always 
looking up <3

I love hearing about the history of a state.  It's always amazing to hear what people did to create what we have now.  And it feels a bit like hallowed ground thinking of the people who have walked the marble floors of a building and who continue to do so.

Just waiting for the tour to begin.

The longest continuously used courtroom in the United States.  Most of the room is original including the furniture and the stained glass windows.  The gold you see near the ceiling? 23k gold.

The state House of Representatives room.  The symbolism of murals always makes me emotional.  
Such beautiful ideals.

I think Clarkie sees politics in his future ;-)

The entire capitol building was built for just under $2 million.  The threat to the architect was that he would have to pay for anything over that budget.

13 layers of paint had to be scraped away to find
this treasure.

Why in the world would you put those ugly stickers on this gorgeous (and functional) piece of art and history?

The governor's office with a painting of William Harry Harrison, once the governor of Indiana, who had the shortest term as U.S. President--31 days.

The conference table in the governor's office,
made by inmates in the penitentiary.

After the tour, I decided to just keep Clarkie there since it was peaceful and air conditioned and there was so much room for him to crawl around.  And seriously, we were both so happy for the next hour.

While all of this was happening, though, I had something else on the front burner.  Maddie Kennedy, Bud and Mel's youngest daughter, is currently serving her mission in Indianapolis.  I had reached out to her over email to see if we could meet up with her, but I wrote her a day too late for her to respond.  So I reached out to Bud and Mel.  I thought at this point that I could just drop off some Costco groceries if they could just give me her address.  Bud had other ideas though and wanted to work out a visit.  They can only communicate with Maddie over FB Messenger, and she can only respond with emojis, but somehow they arranged for us to meet her and her companion for breakfast at Charlie Brown's diner in Indianapolis at 10:30.  Seriously, how did they make that work?

So Glo, Clarkie and I headed out earlier than we would have to make a quick run to Costco, and boy was I happy Glo was with me.  I probably would've held back a bit on what we got her, but Glo knew exactly what a missionary wants in a surprise grocery run.

We pulled up to the diner and got in line.  It was CRAZY busy, and I wondered if we were going to be able to get through breakfast and get Glo to her Catan tournament by 12:00.  What I should've remembered is that things ALWAYS work out when it comes to missionaries :-)  We had a sweet conversation with Maddie and her companion.  I shared a chocolate chip pancake with Clark--called "the Little Chipper"--and for the rest of the breakfast (and in emails afterwards), Maddie referred to him as "the little Chipper" ;-) At one point, I asked Maddie what she thought she would take away from her mission experience--what would she remember in ten years--and her answer really surprised me:  the temple.  As Maddie said, she's an Utah girl, and she grew up going to the temple regularly.  When she got to her mission, she was unable to go for the first eight months and really missed it.  But when she got transferred again, the temple was close and so she went.  She said she had never truly appreciated the peace that she could feel there and how it just reset her and her worries and stress.

As a fellow temple aficionado, I can appreciate ALL of the sentiments she expressed!

I watched the clock, and I swear it was moving twice as fast as normal.  I told her that we had some Costco groceries for her, and she had TEARS in her eyes.  God bless the missionaries.  What they go through and what they feel.  It's all so real.

Maddie loves babies, and despite the rule that she's not supposed to pick up babies, she couldn't resist picking up Clarkie <3

We handed off the groceries, and we were off! Under an hour as I was always told we had to do, and Glo still made it to her tournament.  It was sweet to see a post from Melanie within minutes: