While Ryan had time off I wanted to take a trip and see Historic Nauvoo, IL. I found a campsite with showers and toilets for $9 a night for our family. So we packed our camping gear and started a 9-10 hour drive to Nauvoo. It was very spiritual and just what I needed. If you have never been you should go. We spent three days and two nights and we still didn't see everything, granted we did have kids with us.
July 26, 2011: We headed out early Tuesday morning around 5 AM. The boys slept in their car seats while Emily let us know that she wasn't happy being in hers. We stopped somewhere on the Ohio Turnpike for a quick breakfast.
 |
| Emily was very happy to be out of her car seat. |
 |
| She just wanted to be held. |
 |
| The boys were happy to have a break from the car too. |
 |
| While we were eating we noticed this moth on the window, it looked just like a leaf. |
 |
| Nathanial got his first sunburn the previous day while we were at the beach. It started to blister on his nose |
 |
| Every time that we looked at Nathanial it was bigger, poor little guy. |
 |
| Christopher attempting to do a Sudoku. |
 . |
| This was a "good" moment in the car, they were few and far between. |
 |
| We arrived in Nauvoo and made our tin foil dinners on the grill. |
We decided to go and see the Nauvoo pageant that night since everything else was closed. The boys were happy to be out of the car and we were happy that we made it without any problems. Shortly after we arrived Nathanial's blister on his nose popped. When it popped he said, "Mom, a bug peed on me!" I thought that it was funny.
As we were setting up our tent a nice man from the nearby campsite came over to help Ryan set up the tent and invite us to use his air-conditioned cabin if we needed. He was from Utah and was here with his family to be part of the Nauvoo Pageant.
 |
| Here are the bag-pipe players. They were fun to listen to. I thought that it was nice that they were placed at the entrance to the pageant so they could drown out the anti-Mormon preachers. |
 |
| They had an area with various "pioneer" time games. Here Nathanial is getting ready for the sack race. Christopher wasn't too happy that I stopped helping him to take a picture. |
 |
| Get Ready! |
 |
| Nathanial face planted it if you notice him on the ground in the back ground |
 |
| Working together |
 |
| Another area that they had was a wood burning area. You chose a piece of wood and they they branded a picture of the Nauvoo Temple on it, we made 4. |
We met up with the family we met at the camp and they couldn't get enough of Emily. After the various activities it was time for the pageant to start. It was so hot and humid.
 |
| The American Flag |
Here are a few snapshots of the pageant, it was amazing! I had goosebumps throughout the show. It is amazing what the early Saints sacrificed.
Nathanial's favorite part during the show was when they sang "Praise to the Man" because he is learning it in Primary. After the show we met up with the family from camp and they invited us to breakfast, he was going to make pancakes and we were going to bring our eggs to share. This family made our stay so much more enjoyable. They were truly loving and a great example of what Zion is (as they called it).
We headed back to camp after the show and got ready for bed. It was so hot that Christopher ended up taking off his pajamas and slept in his underwear.
The boys were happy that we were camping, they LOVE to camp.
 |
| sleeping boys |
I would have to say that it was a miserable night for me. It was so hot and humid that we couldn't sleep. We had racoons come during the night and steal our marshmallows and bread, but that wasn't the worst part. I woke up itching like crazy. I looked at my legs and feet and was covered in bites. I decided to count them and stopped after I reached 55 (I am not kidding). We all slept in the same tent but for some reason I was the only one who was bit. I was glad that the kids didn't get bit but I wish that they would have chose Ryan instead of me since they don't bother him.
 |
| We shared our bed with Mily. Ryan had his side and Mily and I shared my side. |
 |
| Good morning! |
 |
| Christopher woke up and wanted to sleep on our bed |
 |
| I am very thankful that Emily slept so well on or trip. |
July 27, 2011: The next morning the kids and I went to walk around the camp site. We found a cat that the boys wanted to play with.
 |
| petting the cat |
 |
| Trying to pick up the cat |
There was also a play ground at the camp site that the boys could use to get our their energy.
 |
| Nathanial swinging |
 |
| We made a friend while we were there. Mykah and Nathanial, they were visiting from outside Chicago. |
 |
| Christopher was flying like Buzz Lightyear in the swing. |
 |
| Christopher was so proud when he could climb this wall all by himself |
That day we decided to see some of the sites in Nauvoo. We stopped by the LDS Nauvoo Visitors Center to get a map to see what was available and decide what we wanted to do. While we were there we ran into our old bishop from the BYU-Idaho 59th Ward, Bishop Griffith and his wife. We talked to them for a minute and then headed off for a puppet show for the kids.
We went to see the show, "Just Plain Anna-Amanda" and the boys had a good laugh, but Emily wasn't too happy so I took her out. After the show we went to see other sites.
The first place that we saw was the Family Living center. It was a large building filled with various presentations on how the Saints lived in that time. The boys' favorite part was making the rope.
 |
| Getting ready to spin the wheel. |
 |
| Keep spinning faster and faster. |
 |
| Christopher joining in. |
 |
| Ryan learning how to tie it off. |
 |
| Trying off the end of the rope. |
 |
| Our family made a rope. |
The boys loved all the statues that were around and wanted to have their pictures taken by all of them.
 |
| The boys and Joseph Smith. |
 |
| Jesus Christ with open arms, this isn't the best picture but I love that Jesus is standing above the boys with open arms as though he is saying how precious they are. |
 |
| The boys by the "First Vision". |
We headed out to see more sites and wanted to make sure that we kept the boys entertained. So we went to the Brickyard.
 |
| Christopher wanted a brick out of the brick oven. |
 |
| The boys climbed on the bricks while waiting for our tour to start. |
Once we were inside and the tour began the boys went a little wild. Luckily the senior missionary was very understanding and just let them run. I never knew how long it took to make bricks... weeks.
 |
| The boys fighting over a brick. Just after I took this picture Christopher grabbed the brick and fell over backwards with the brick landing on him. |
We had the rare opportunity to actually see how "Nauvoo" bricks are made. They just happened to be making some while we were on our tour...
 |
| This is a pile of clay that they use to make the bricks. |
The Senior missionaries usually only make bricks during the Fall and Winter when there aren't as many tourists.
 |
| Getting the clay |
 |
| This missionary was nice enough to walk us through the entire process. |
After we were finished with the brick yard we headed over to the black smith shop.
 |
| Heating up his fire. |
 |
| Making a horseshoe. |
After we finished at the Blacksmith shop we headed over to Joseph Smith's home and the surrounding area. We didn't feel like paying to take a tour by the Church of Christ so we wandered around and gave ourselves a tour.
 |
| This was Joseph and Emma's home. |
 |
| A well in front of the house. |
 |
| If you click on the picture you should be able to make it larger and read it. |
 |
| Emma's summer kitchen. |
 |
| This is where Emma, Joseph and Hyrum Smith are buried. |
 |
| This is a list of those buried in the Smith family cemetery. |
 |
| The Relief Society was organized in the second floor of this building. |
.
