And Home

Ben and I slept in a bit longer than we planned, but figured it was safer to start a long day of driving well rested instead of exhausted.  We got everyone up and packed and fed, and by that time it was just after 9 am.  We had planned to find a church to attend somewhere along the road, but since the lady the night before had told us church in Quincy started at 9, we looked up the address of the chapel.  It was one block away from the hotel!  So we headed over to the building and were able to attend Sacrament Meeting with the Quincy 1st Ward where we heard some pretty good talks about self reliance and preparedness.

Then we got back in the car and drove and drove and drove across the state of Missouri (where we had lunch at Dairy Queen) and then Oklahoma (where we had a candy refill at a gas station and dinner selected at Walmart) and then finally Texas.  The kids did pretty well, and it was so nice to open the car doors in Texas and feel the WARM air greet us.  And our cat and bird--they were happy to see us, too.

It was an awesome trip.  Here are some reflections and memories the kids had:

Scott--I thought it was cool how they didn't have street lights or anything (now) so when it got dark, it was actually dark.  The baptismal font was really cool.  It had giant staircases that went into it.  I was surprised at Carthage that only one room was a jail and the rest was the house.  The man at the Family Living Center guessed all our ages exactly--he didn't miss one of us, even Emma!  Staying with Grandma and Grandpa D. for Thanksgiving was my favorite part.

Emma--I liked the ox cart ride and the horse wagon ride.  I don't remember doing that before.  I liked the house with the steep stairs.  Lucy Mack Smith's house.  I felt kind of sad at the jail where Joseph Smith died.  The gingerbread cookies were yummy!

Gracie--I liked the wagon and ox cart rides because they were fun.  I liked sitting sideways on the bench.  The toys in the visitor's waiting place by the temple was fun.  I felt like I went back in time, like the prophets were actually there.  The play was really funny.  Carthage was sad and spiritual.  It was really cool to see that.  You could be like a pioneer at the Family Living Center.

Caytie--I really liked the bakery and the one where they make shoes.  I like the gingerbread and how they used wood and leather for the shoes.  It was really cool at Carthage how they (the jailers) treated them and gave Joseph Smith a nice room, but sad how the people hated him and shot him.  Watching the play showed why they had to leave Nauvoo.

Tessa--The Family Living Center was fun; making bread and the rope and barrels and candles and all that stuff.  I liked the funny show that they did.  The jail house was sad.  Joseph Smith got shot and fell out the window.  The gingerbread (bakery) is where we talked about the plate we got.  I liked getting the horseshoe and the brick.

Benson--I want to go there again.  It was fun there.  The ice cream and the hot dog were my favorite.  I liked the horse ride.

Nauvoo Once More--Saturday Afternoon and Evening

After our beautiful morning, we drove back to Nauvoo, where we got lunch at our favorite little store/cafe (though it was a much longer wait--apparently someone quit that morning...), and then we stopped by the Scovil Bakery for another gingerbread cookie, and then we were ready to start on this day's tours.  We had warmed up enough for a short ox cart ride (and we even convinced Benson to wear pants--not a minor miracle).

It was just big enough for all of us!  Makes you think, though, because this was the size of the pioneer wagons, where they carried everything they would need to start a new life.

 The tour elder told us of a family who started out carrying a piano, but on the way to save space and weight, they buried it on the plains.  They were able to go back later and retrieve the piano, and after repairs, it worked!

We went to the Lyon Drug and Variety Store...

 ...and to the Pendleton Home and Log School, where Benson was enchanted by this Noah's Ark made from found nature items.

The kids got a short school lesson, where they did some math on slates--and a little doodling, too.

We headed over to Brigham Young's home next.  The fireplace is original to the home.

This map was in Brigham Young's "office," though of course it wouldn't have been in his day.  I can imagine him looking at it now, and wondering at all he and the saints were able to accomplish.

 The "office" where Brigham Young and the Quorum of the Twelve met to discuss leaving Nauvoo.  He actually sat for that portrait in Utah, so it's a pretty true likeness of him.

We learned all about the art of making shoes at the Riser Boot and Shoe Shop.

We then went to the Smith Family Cemetery.  These are the grave sites of Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, and Emma Smith.

This is Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith.

We were able to visit the Heber C. Kimball home and the Wilford Woodruff home.  Those glasses on the table were actually Wilford Woodruff's.  (Emma and Scott got an extra part of the tour when they had to use the bathroom and the sister invited them to use the one in the basement--generally off limits to anyone but missionaries.)  These families lived in their homes for less than a year before moving on to Utah.

We finished up over at the Visitor's Center.  Everything closes at 5 pm, so I previously arranged a baptism session for Emma and Scott at 5 at the temple.  We had a half hour to visit the center, where we saw this sun stone from the first Nauvoo Temple:

Ben and Tessa got some much needed down time while Scott and Emma changed clothes.

 We watched a movie about Joseph Smith for the last few minutes, and then I dropped Ben, Scott, and Emma off at the temple, while the rest of us went across the street to the arrival center, where we found they had toys and games and things for kids to do while waiting (and lockers, showers, and so on for those that travel to visit the temple).  I think there was supposed to be missionaries there supervising, but there was no one but us in the building.

My one regret from our previous trip to Nauvoo was that we never were able to go into the temple.  I wasn't sure if I'd be able to go in this time, either.  I had brought family names--my dad's mom's mom's sister and her second husband had not been sealed, and I had reserved their names back in April, just before the hail storm.  Then with rebuilding our home and construction (with closings) on the Dallas Temple, I had not gotten it done.  A lady on his line recently contacted me through Family Search to see when I'd be getting it done, so I really wanted to do it, and Nauvoo seemed like the perfect spot.  But I didn't know how it would work out with our kids and our hotel being an hour away.  

It turned out that the arrival center was an appropriate, safe place to leave them, so after the baptisms were done, Scott and Emma went there, and Ben and I met in the temple and were able to take the names to a sealing room.  We helped with some other names first, and then they were ready for ours.  The sealer asked if we knew the people, and when I said it was my grandma's aunt and uncle, a warmth fell down all over, like it dropped from the ceiling and covered us all.  Even the sealer said that now there was a different feeling in the room.  I was so grateful that Ben and I were able to do that ordinance for them that night.

We were in a bit of a hurry, since our kids were alone and had not eaten dinner yet, but after the sealings, a sister who had been helping us asked if we wanted to see the Celestial Room.  Yes, yes we did!  So she led us there and let us go in and sit and ponder.  That is a beautiful room in a beautiful temple.  Those aren't the words I want to describe it, but I think the impression I have of the Celestial Room and of the Nauvoo Temple are more internal, and therefore difficult to say in words.  I would like to have stayed there for hours.

We did remember our children across the street, however, so we finished up and changed and retrieved them, and headed back to Quincy for dinner at Wendy's (where a lady in the parking lot, seeing my BYU coat, informed us that church started at 9 am the next morning) and a last swim at the hotel pool before crashing for the night.

I have many awesome memories of our trip to Nauvoo, but I think the temple is my favorite.

Carthage--Saturday Morning

After breakfast at the hotel, we drove out to Carthage Jail.  I had been praying for my family to have this be an experience, hopefully spiritual, that they would remember for the rest of their lives.  I eventually realized that how others are feeling in their souls is up to them, so I focused on the fact that we provided the trip, that our tour guides were prepared, and if my family opened their hearts, they would feel the Spirit that was abundant--and that helped me relax and focus on my own heart.

Praise to the man who communed with Jehovah!

Jesus anointed that Prophet and Seer.

The cell where Joseph Smith and the others were first held

The room where he and Hyrum were killed

(I was taking a picture of the door with the bullet hole through it, and at that moment, Benson put his rubber band gun in the hole...)

It is amazing to me that this door and this hole are still there, with the various ways the building has been used through the years.  I think the building owners probably had a sense of the sacredness of the events that took place there and left it alone.

The upper window where Joseph fell to the ground after being shot

Praise to his mem'ry, he died as a martyr;

Honored and blest be his ever great name!

Long shall his blood, which was shed by assassins,

Plead unto heav'n while the earth lauds his fame.

Hail to the Prophet, ascended to heaven!

Traitors and tyrants now fight him in vain.

Mingling with Gods, he can plan for his brethren;

Death cannot conquer the hero again.

Nauvoo at Night--Friday

After our lunch, we stayed up the hill for a bit and got some souvenirs--and some more pictures of the beautiful temple.

Next on the must-see list was the Webb Brother's Blacksmith Shop.  We learned about how to make everything fit into a wagon and...

...how to make a horseshoe.  They gave a tiny one to our family, as well as prairie diamond nail rings for each child.  (I'm not sure more than one of those actually made it home.)

We then went to the brickyard.  It was pretty chilly outside, so we went into a side room, where we learned about mud and kilns and strength.  (We also got a brick to keep.)

Across the street was Lucy Mack Smith's home.  She lived here with her daughter's family for a while.  It has the reputation of having the steepest staircase in Nauvoo.  Here is a blurry shot of the kids climbing up...

...and looking down the stairs.

There is a door that folds over the stairs to give extra floorspace (and probably to prevent the toddlers who lived there from falling down those steep stairs!).

We went back to the Family Living Center to see a couple more demonstrations, like barrel making, and then over to the Stoddard Tin Shop for one more presentation before everything closed for the evening.  The family lived in their home attached to the shop.

There were actually several tin smiths in Nauvoo in those days, and they formed a union of sorts, and they were the ones who provided the original tin Angel Moroni for the Nauvoo Temple.

We went over to Keokuk to find some dinner.  We had a little time to kill before the "Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo" show started (which we were heartily encouraged to come back to see by many of the missionaries), so we went to Walmart and found a variety of food to keep everyone happy (and mostly healthy).

We came back for the show.  There was a good number of people there--the Cultural Hall was filled--but we were there first, so we got some great seats.  It was a cute show.  It was apparently recently rewritten, though I don't remember anything about it the first time I saw it except being hot and crowded.  It dramatized why different people decided to leave Nauvoo with the Saints, even after only a few years (or months, in many cases) in their new beautiful city that they worked to build from the swampy ground up.

(This was the kids' favorite part!)

("George!")

It was a late night so we skipped the swimming at the hotel, and got ready for another full day.

Nauvoo in the Morning--Friday

We were all really excited for the next part of our vacation--to visit Nauvoo, Illinois.  The last time we were there was when Scott was 4, Emma was 2, and Gracie was 3 months old.  We stayed an hour south in Quincy because we had hotel points (and I understand that they're very friendly to Mormons--at least they were in pioneer times! ☺).  We arrived late Thursday evening, and after a quick dinner, Ben and some of the kids headed to the pool, and then we all got to bed.

The next morning we drove up to Nauvoo, and we went straight to the Family Living Center just as they were opening.  (We had read that it was going to be pretty cold--and it was--so we came prepared, but it was pretty comfortable in all of the buildings.)  Scott and Emma's favorite memory (almost their only memory) of Nauvoo was dipping a candle into wax, so we went to do that.  Turns out they don't let anyone do that anymore!  But we did learn about how it was done, and then watched a sister make bread like pioneers might, and then she showed us some weaving.

The next stop was to make some rope.

The elder reminded us that we can make our family strong like the rope by weaving our lives together.

Another elder showed us how to make rugs on a loom.  They use those rugs all over Nauvoo.

Next up was a horse-drawn wagon tour around much of Old Nauvoo.  The vet drove the wagon and the elder in front and sister in back narrated the tour.  (Did you know there are several private residences around the area?  People--not just the missionaries--really live there!)

They gave us all blankets to keep warm.  Gracie, Caytie, Emma, Ben, Benson, and Tessa were on the back rows.

Scott and I sat up front!

We paused during the tour for our first good look at the Nauvoo Temple.  It really has a commanding presence in the town, and we were again amazed at how industrious and incredibly faithful the people were who were able to build it.

Now it was time to see some of the other buildings.  We started out at the Cultural Hall, where they had plays and dances.  Up on the third floor, there was another great view of the temple.  I loved that there were simple Christmas decorations all around in every building.

Ben was pleased that our next stop was the Browning Home and Gunsmith Shop.

Ben's making his own black powder rifle currently, but the process was much more complex back in the Brownings' day!  Plus, they invented many techniques that are still used.

Next was the Post Office...

...combined with a little store.  The sisters and elders always made sure to relate a gospel teaching or testimony of Jesus Christ to whatever they were telling us.  (I assume they do this for all guests, but we were obvious Mormon visitors, with all our BYU gear.)

The John Taylor home

The Print Shop.  (The sister in this picture mentioned she had a niece in the Dallas area.  Turns out her niece is my counselor in the Stake Primary.  Ha!  Small world.  We took this picture to send to her.)

We were getting hungry by this point, so we headed up the hill and out of Old Nauvoo to find somewhere to eat.  On the way, we drove past the temple.  This statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith is directly across the street.  I love how it overlooks the Mississippi River.

There are not a whole lot of food options off season in Nauvoo, but we found a little shop/bakery/cafe and we had a nice little lunch--topped off with ice cream for our frozen kids.