For our spring vacation this year, we decided to drive to Nauvoo, IL to visit my parents. They are serving a mission for our church there, and since it was already somewhere I wanted to go, I couldn't pass up the chance to visit while they were there. And this year we got lucky, and Kevin was actually able to get leave to go with us, unlike last year when we had to go to Washington DC without him.
We started our adventure early Friday morning, and spent the day driving there. After making our way through Kansas and Missouri, and even a corner of Iowa, we finally made it to Nauvoo, Illinois about 9 pm. My parents were waiting at the door to hug Lily and Derek. They have really been missing all their grandchildren.
We all settled down for the night, since we were very worn out from the drive. The kids got to have a slumber party each night in my parents' room, which they loved :).
Saturday was our first day there, and my parents had traded so they could have their P-day (day off) that day. It was so fun to have them with us to show us around. We started off the day visiting the old school house. Lily and Derek loved getting to play with the slates and chalk.
Then we went to the brick yard and learned about brickmaking. It was amazing how much work went into it. They even gave us a little brick to remember our visit. I love how when I was taking the kids' picture out front, Derek decided to climb into the kiln. Ahh, Derek. He also kept taking the brick and sucking on it, like it was candy.
Then we went on the wagon ride around town. It was pretty cold, only about 30 degrees the entire day plus the wind, but they had piles of quilts there to snuggle up in, and so it wasn't too bad.
The wagon ride took us on a tour of Historic Nauvoo, taking us past the Mississipi River, an old ferry they would have used to get across the river, all the homes and shops in town, the Nauvoo Temple, and even the Mansion House, where Joseph Smith lived with his family before he was killed. It was a great way to get an idea of all the things to see in town, and we also learned a lot more about the history of things there.
After our ride, we stopped at the Visitor's Center to pick up our tickets for the play that night. While we were there, we took advantage of looking at all the beautiful exhibits they have on display, including some beautiful statues.
After some lunch and hot cocoa back at my parents house, we went out on a carriage ride. Yes, I know, two similar things right in a row, but really, they were very different. The carriage ride took us out into the outskirts of Nauvoo, through streams and farmland, and all the way to Inspiration Point, which was a place that Joseph Smith used to go when he needed peace and quiet.
The teamster who was our tour guide was good friends with my parents, and he was great. It was still very cold, but we were bundled up nicely in the quilts, and so we were fine. I guess Derek was a little too cozy, because he fell sound asleep sitting between Kevin and I :).
After our ride, we went back to my parents' house. They are living in the Erastus Snow home, which is part of the Snow/Ashby duplex. Almost all the the missionaries in Nauvoo live in one of the old houses, and it really was a plus to our visit to get to stay with them, right in the center of town. It was so convenient, and Lily could not get over that we were actually staying in one of the homes :).
That afternoon, Kevin and I were able to go to the Nauvoo Temple to do a session, which was amazing. The original temple had been destroyed soon after the saints left Nauvoo, and so for a very long time the site was empty, until 2002 when the new Temple was built. They made it as closely as they could to the original temple, and it is spectacular. It is amazing to think that those early members of the church were able to build that building back in the 1840's.
While we were gone, Lily and Derek got some good playing time in with their Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa was more than happy to wrestle with them and chase them around, while Grandma played playdoh and other games with them. Lily even convinced her to play pretend and act like they were homeless out in the cold winter :).
That night we got to see one of my favorite things from our whole trip - my parents singing and dancing in the play, "Rendevous in Old Nauvoo." They had never done anything like it before, but every missionary there has to participate, and so there they were, performing away.
They even had a scene of their own, and they did a fantastic job playing Jedd and Annie. Lily was so proud of them, she couldn't help but tell everyone around her that they were HER grandparents :).
And, for the second time in one day, Derek fell sound asleep sitting between Kevin and I. I guess we wore him out :).
Sunday was also a great day, and although we still saw things, we took it a little easier. We started the day bright and early, because my parents have church at 8am. It was a wonderful meeting, and it was really fun to meet more of the missionaries. We were the only family visiting, and so it felt like we were celebraties with all the attention we got. Pretty fun :).
After church, we took the kids up to the temple so they could see it close up. They loved it. (Although they weren't all that happy when I asked them to take off their coats for a picture. He he!) The statue is of Joseph and Hyrum as they were leaving Nauvoo for the last time, on their way to Carthage Jail.
After lunch, we took a fieldtrip out to Carthage, IL so we could visit the Carthage Jail, where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred. It was only a half hour away, and I am so glad we went.
The tour was wonderful, and at the very end, you finish in the room where Joseph and his brother were killed. They take you through the tragic events of that day, and you can even see a bullet hole that is still in the door there. Although it was very sad, it also strengthened my testimony of the plan of our Heavenly Father. That mob that killed Joseph thought they were destroying the church, but they didn't understand that it is the church of Jesus Christ, not the church of Joseph Smith.
After we finished there, on our way back to Nauvoo, we stopped at an awesome park in Hamilton. It had all these amazing wooden vehicles, from a plane, to a train, to a truck. The kids loved it!
And that doesn't even cover all the other awesome stuff the park had. They had all sorts of things that they have wripped out of parks across the country, such as super tall metal slides, teeter-totters, and merry-go-round things. We all loved it!
On our way back into town, we also stopped at a couple more sites. One of which, was the bakery. Lily and Derek had been asking to go there ever since they found out that they would get a gingerbread cookie there :). Lily and I also stopped at the Lucy Mack Smith home, since it was right by my parents' home.
We spent the rest of Sunday just enjoying each others company, playing games and talking. Kevin also spent quite a bit of time mastering the blacksmith puzzle that my parents had there :).
On Monday, we got busy right away with visiting a lot of the sites in town. We started with the Family Living Center. It is a building where they have hands-on demonstrations for things the pioneers made in their daily life back in the 1840's. They had everything from pottery, to weaving rugs, to barrel making. One that the kids got to help with was spinning wool into cloth, by carding the wool.
Then we went and saw the breadmaking demonstration and got a piece of yummy bread to eat. We also saw the candle making demonstration and both of the kids were given a candle to take home. They also loved the free play area :).
I think my favorite demonstration was the rope-making. This one got the whole family involved, as the kids took turns turning the crank to twist the fibers to make the rope. Then they had us tie it off and cut it off, leaving us with a strong rope we got to take home. There was also a great lesson that they taught us with each demonstration, helping us all learn a principle of the gospel.
After we left there, we headed over to Main Street, where we got a picture of us on a wagon. (I really can't imagine having to fit everything you needed to survive in a wagon. They are so much smaller than I pictured them to be.)
Then it was off the the Jonathan Browning Gunshop, where my dad just happened to be working, and so was able to give us the tour. So much fun! And he did a fantastic job too. It was amazing to learn all that Browning did to help provide for our national defense with his inventions. (Was I the only one who never knew that Jonathan Browning was a member of the church? So cool.)
After that, we made the rounds, visiting the Tinsmith (which was really cool, but I forgot to take any pictures), and then the Post Office, which also served as a dry goods store. It was fascinating to learn about the mail system, and the kids liked trying on the thing to haul water with.
After that, we went to the Printshop, and learned about how much work it took to print the two papers they had in Nauvoo. The kids got to help with the demonstration there, and Derek especially loved looking through the type to find the letters in his name.
Then we were off to the Blacksmith Shop, where we learned about making wheels and got to see them make a horseshoe, which the kids got to take home. It was very cool.
Then we went home for lunch, where we left Kevin and Derek, while Lily and I went back out to see more sites. (Derek is only five, and so he had had enough standing quietly and listening. I am amazed he was as great as he was.)
Our first stop was the Land and Records building where my mom was serving that day. Lily had begged me to go there so she could research her ancestors. And she was lucky, because my family has ancestors that lived in Nauvoo, she was able to research them and learn a little about them. She loved it.
Then Lily and I began our tour of the Prophet's homes. We started with Brigham Young's home, where Lily made a point of letting the guide know that we had also visited his home in Salt Lake City - the Beehive house :). On Sunday we had stopped by so that Kevin could get a picture out front to send his Grandma Wanda, who had served there with his Grandpa while on a mission there when Kevin was a child. Lily was very happy to see the inside of the house this time.
After Brigham Young's home, we went to John Taylor's home (the 3rd President of the Church) where we heard the most amazing story. When the Saints were forced to leave Nauvoo, they were a few days out on the trail, and his young son would not stop crying. It turned out that he was heart broken that they had to leave behind his rocking horse, and so his father dressed in disguise and traveled back to Nauvoo to retrieve it, even though there were still mobs of angry men around who would have killed him. The rocking horse was passed down through their family, and then donated to the church to sit in his restored home.
We also visited Heber C. Kimball's home (one of the 12 apostles), which was beautiful. They were only able to live in the home for 4 months before they were forced to leave. We also visited Wilford Woodruff's home (the 4th President of the Church), where he had a fireplace in every room, so that he and his family would never have to be cold :).
As if we hadn't already seen enough that day, we also visited the boot-makers shop, which definitely made me appreciate the wonderful shoes we have today. It took a lot of work to make shoes back then, and people were lucky to have one pair.
We also made a stop at the Cultural Hall. This was the same place where we watched my parents perform their show, but during the day they have tours of the 2nd and 3rd floor. The second floor has a beautiful antique quilt display, and the third floor has a large room where they used to have dances, etc.
The Sister leading our tour even let Lily go up into the loft for the band, where they never let people go. This leads me to one of my favorite parts of our visit, because we were there during the off-season, especially when it was still cold, we were almost always the ONLY people on our tours, which meant that we got extra time at each site. We also got special treatment because my parents were missionaries there, and all of their friends went out of their way to make it special at each place, especially for our kids.
That evening we went and watched my parents perform again, and Derek fell asleep again, although he did make it longer this time. After the performance, my mom went out with me to take night pictures of the temple. I am still kicking myself for forgetting my tripod, because most of the pictures turned out blurry. I did get a couple that were good though, although they still don't capture the beauty of the temple lit up on the hill. It is so beautiful.
On Tuesday morning we packed up the van, and then did some last minute souvenir shopping with my mom. I got a few things that I just love, and the kids each got to pick out something to take home. Derek picked a wooden barrel bowling set, and Lily picked an ink well and quill pen (just for show, there is no real ink involved). I am still looking for the perfect places to put my little treasures :).
And then we had to say good-bye to my parents. It was very sad, and Lily was especially emotional, and cried for a while after we drove away. I am just so grateful we had the chance to visit them, and I am grateful for the example they are to my children as they are sacrificing to help and serve the Lord on a mission. (If you want to read more about the experiences they are having, you can visit my mom's blog.)
After we left Nauvoo, instead of going straight home to Colorado, we went to St. Louis for the night to visit Kevin's brother Brian and his wife Rachel. It was a short visit, but we had a great time catching up, and Lily and Derek had a blast playing with their dog, Dobson. (I wish I had remembered to take a picture.)
We left early Wednesday morning for home, and although it was a long day in the car, we were once again blessed with clear roads and no problems. It was the perfect Spring Break vacation :).
