I should caution....LOTS of PICTURES!
We spent the bulk of our vacation in Nauvoo and the surrounding areas. Here is the beautiful Nauvoo temple.
Each night, they had a pageant. It was so fun. They would have a carnival type activity before they would start the pageant. They had various activities that the pioneers would do. Here is Tiffany pulling Chris in one of the handcarts they had on display.
Each night, there was dancing. There were so many dancing pictures, that I had to take just a few. The kids LOVED doing all the dances!
This was in the Young Women's garden.
As we were shopping in down town Nauvoo, a Bagpipe Band came marching down the street. We had our picture taken with them.
One of the most memorable experiences was taking our own family trek. It started out as early in the morning. I can't say that it was a beautiful morning as it was quite humid. We were excited to go...so off we went.
We had to work together to make it over streams. Some of the banks were quite steep. As a family unit, we worked well together. Along the trail, they posted signs that told historical facts. There were also tubes that held pioneer stories in them.
It was great having tough/STRONG boys to help out.
Due to recent rains, there was a lot of MUD!
Shortly after reaching the one mile mark, the sky turned a sudden blackish/grey. We didn't think much of it and kept on walking. A few minute later, the skies opened up. Within seconds we were completely drenched. Lightening was flashing all around us. There really wasn't a place for us to take shelter. We gathered together and had a family prayer. We waited for a short period and decided that it was getting WORSE, not better. After another prayer, we decided to abandon our cart (as the mud had grown too thick and the stream too deep). We started to run. Wayne held on to Tiffany, followed by Jessica. The two boys grabbed either one of my arms to steady me since I was so dizzy. With lightening flashing all around us and rain pouring, we ran...somehow a gate that we had to pass had been opened. (We were given strict instructions to close ALL gates as we passed them). We continued to run...We stopped to rest for a few seconds to make sure all was alright. Once again, we had another family prayer. We all felt as though Sweet Grandma Rita was helping us through....as her presence was felt by all! We continued running until we saw a building. We headed for it and found a Sister Missionary at home. She called for help while we waited outside as we were all completely drenched. Lucky for us, Grandpa was able to rescue us...it was a growing experience for all of us!
It is amazing how much closer your family gets when faced with a crisis!
The next day, we went to Carthage...where our dear Prophet Joseph Smith sealed his testimony with his blood. He was martyred in the Carthage Jail.
This was the window that he fell out of after being shot by the mob.
It was on the second story of the building.
Here is a statue of Joseph & Hyrum Smith...very close brothers!
We went back to Nauvoo and visited more sites. One house hosted the "Living Center". This is where they have demonstrations on how the pioneers did various tasks, like making candles, baking bread and of course making rope...here all of the children had to work together to make our "Family rope".
I feel so fortunate to have such a wonderful family. I am so grateful that we will be together forever!
Let's not forget the nightly ritual of Dancing :)
This was how my children travelled. I think they got all caught up on their sleep.
We also went to Liberty Jail. This was where Joseph Smith was kept for quite some time. Here he wrote the 121st section of the Doctrine & Covenants giving hope to those who struggle through trials!
We continued on and visited Far West and Independence, MO. It was a wonderful experience!
Each night, they had a pageant. It was so fun. They would have a carnival type activity before they would start the pageant. They had various activities that the pioneers would do. Here is Tiffany pulling Chris in one of the handcarts they had on display.
Each night, there was dancing. There were so many dancing pictures, that I had to take just a few. The kids LOVED doing all the dances!
This was in the Young Women's garden.
As we were shopping in down town Nauvoo, a Bagpipe Band came marching down the street. We had our picture taken with them.
One of the most memorable experiences was taking our own family trek. It started out as early in the morning. I can't say that it was a beautiful morning as it was quite humid. We were excited to go...so off we went.
We had to work together to make it over streams. Some of the banks were quite steep. As a family unit, we worked well together. Along the trail, they posted signs that told historical facts. There were also tubes that held pioneer stories in them.
It was great having tough/STRONG boys to help out.
Due to recent rains, there was a lot of MUD!
Shortly after reaching the one mile mark, the sky turned a sudden blackish/grey. We didn't think much of it and kept on walking. A few minute later, the skies opened up. Within seconds we were completely drenched. Lightening was flashing all around us. There really wasn't a place for us to take shelter. We gathered together and had a family prayer. We waited for a short period and decided that it was getting WORSE, not better. After another prayer, we decided to abandon our cart (as the mud had grown too thick and the stream too deep). We started to run. Wayne held on to Tiffany, followed by Jessica. The two boys grabbed either one of my arms to steady me since I was so dizzy. With lightening flashing all around us and rain pouring, we ran...somehow a gate that we had to pass had been opened. (We were given strict instructions to close ALL gates as we passed them). We continued to run...We stopped to rest for a few seconds to make sure all was alright. Once again, we had another family prayer. We all felt as though Sweet Grandma Rita was helping us through....as her presence was felt by all! We continued running until we saw a building. We headed for it and found a Sister Missionary at home. She called for help while we waited outside as we were all completely drenched. Lucky for us, Grandpa was able to rescue us...it was a growing experience for all of us!
It is amazing how much closer your family gets when faced with a crisis!
The next day, we went to Carthage...where our dear Prophet Joseph Smith sealed his testimony with his blood. He was martyred in the Carthage Jail.
This was the window that he fell out of after being shot by the mob.
It was on the second story of the building.
Here is a statue of Joseph & Hyrum Smith...very close brothers!
We went back to Nauvoo and visited more sites. One house hosted the "Living Center". This is where they have demonstrations on how the pioneers did various tasks, like making candles, baking bread and of course making rope...here all of the children had to work together to make our "Family rope".
I feel so fortunate to have such a wonderful family. I am so grateful that we will be together forever!
Let's not forget the nightly ritual of Dancing :)
This was how my children travelled. I think they got all caught up on their sleep.
We also went to Liberty Jail. This was where Joseph Smith was kept for quite some time. Here he wrote the 121st section of the Doctrine & Covenants giving hope to those who struggle through trials!
We continued on and visited Far West and Independence, MO. It was a wonderful experience!
This post makes me miss my mission SO much! I remember all of those things that you got to do while in Nauvoo. Isn't Carthage so neat, too? I'm so glad you got to do that with your family. How stinkin' fun!
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