Nauvoo

 Matthew's Mom and Dad, Josh, Spencer, and Nicole all came out to visit us at the beginning of the summer! Darrell rented a 15 passenger van and we all rode together up to Nauvoo for a long weekend. It was so much fun to be together and to see these amazing church history sites.

 We got to Nauvoo at night and after eating some dinner, we went down to the temple. We walked around the temple and took pictures. It looks beautiful all lit up at night.

 William obviously thought it was FABULOUS!

 The next day we went to the visitor's center and went down the pioneer trail to the river.

 Josh photo bombed my picture.  

 We totally look like pioneers, no?

The kids had fun throwing rocks into the river. Matthew tried to teach them how to skip rocks. 

 Then we took a wagon ride around the old town Nauvoo. Lily, of course, loved it. We sat in the very front so she could watch the horses, Joe and Jerry. Everyone had a chance to pet the horses after the ride.

 The Saturday we were in Nauvoo was Matthew's 30th birthday! So, what better way to celebrate his birthday then to tour the Jonathan Browning home? We saw where the guns were made and how. There was also a display of the different kinds of guns that both Jonathan Browning and his son John Browning designed. Matthew was not disappointed.

 We then took the Community of Christ tour of the Smith family properties. We saw where Joseph, Emma, and Hyrum Smith were buried.

 We also toured the Smith family home and the mansion that was changed into a hotel.

 We began Sunday by going back down to the temple to take pictures in the daytime. The sun was practically non-existent that day which made for a chilly kind of day.

 We then traveled up to Carthage where we first stopped to get jackets for our children, which there were none to be found. A very sweet woman gave us jackets that her children had grown out of. It was so kind of her to do that for us.

We went to Carthage Jail to see where Joseph Smith spent his last moments before he was martyred.

 It was a very cool experience to share with our children and to see them understand what happened and why. They still have questions, but they also don't hesitate to share what they know about Joseph Smith.

 We were only able to see a few other things in the old town Nauvoo by the time we got back from Carthage. Since it was Sunday, a lot of the shops closed earlier. We were able to see the Print Shop. The missionaries working there were so sweet. Once they found out that Matthew spoke Portuguese, they had him call another sister from Brazil. She had been serving in Nauvoo with her husband without knowing much English and she was so excited to be able to speak with someone who knew Portuguese.

 We also went to the blacksmith shop and got the famous nail rings. We went to the brick yard and learned how bricks were made and we all got to take home a Nauvoo brick. Even William and Lily!

 After dinner, we went to some shops around Nauvoo and the kids got super awesome sling shots so they could shoot rocks into the river.

 And I do mean, ALL the kids got sling shots. I'm joking. They had a lot of fun shooting things with their sling shots.

 During the wagon ride, there were places that were pointed out as places where the Saints would gather to hear the prophet speak and to have church services. Some places were groves and they also met on the temple grounds. I really wanted to walk through one of the groves and everyone was so patient and nice to walk through also.

There were so many amazing quotes from the Saints about being in the Prophet Joseph Smith's presence and there were quotes about Brigham Young declaring that it was time to move west.

 

Nauvoo is such a powerful place. This was the first time Matthew, William, and Lily had been to Nauvoo. It's great to see where the earlier stages of the restoration of the gospel took place. There is a lot more to see and I'm excited to take our little family to see all of them. 

 

 After we got back from Nauvoo, we spent a day or two shopping, shooting, and going to downtown Nashville. It was so much fun to have family come to see us and share experiences with them.