Beautiful Nauvoo

Last weekend we had the great opportunity to go to Nauvoo, Illinois. For those that may be reading this and don't know, Nauvoo is a city found by Joseh Smith, Jr. and where the early Mormon pioneers lived before they were forced to leave and make the long trip to their final destination which was Salt Lake City, UT. (Even though at the time they had no idea where they would be going.)

It was the first visit for our family and it was such a wonderful experience. It was a fairly short drive from where we live (roughly 5 hours) and our kids behaved so well on the trip there. When we arrived there was soooo much to do that I was pretty overwhelmed. Me being the crazy planner that I am had a long list of everything I wanted to do and see in the few short days we were there. We started with a wagon ride that took us through the historic district of the city. We saw many beautiful houses that are amazingly still standing after all these years. We had amazing views of the rebuilt Nauvoo Temple. It's breathtaking! I could probably write a novel about all the fun things we were able to expereince in Nauvoo!!

Since our family is very musical and we are all a bunch of drama queens, of course one of the biggest highlights for us was all the free musicals and shows put on by the missionaries!! We made sure to take advantage of each of them. Ashlynne decided that she was going to go on a mini-mission when she was older so she could come and "Perform the Gospel" in Nauvoo. LOL! I thought that was so cute. Of all the shows our favorite by far was called "Just Plain Anna Amanda." It's about a little girl who learns everyone is important no matter what they do. Elise has been asking every day since we left when we are going to go see Anna Amanda again. It was a delightful show.

During the evening the kids participated in a childrens parade and we had a fun time at Sunset By the Mississippi. Later, the BYU International Folk Dancers were there and we were happy to be able to see an amazing concert given by them which included traditional dances from all over the world. At pioneer pastimes, the next morning, the kids got to dress up like pioneers and play pioneer games, do pioneer chores, and go to pioneer school! This was probably the most fun part for the kids. Later, at the "Family Living Center" our family all participated in making a rope which we got to keep and bring home. I am going to be putting it in a shadow box with our family picture, since we all made it together, with a little quote that says "The Ties that Bind" Cute, huh?!

As you can see, our trip was so much fun and we can't wait to go back again. Some of our friends from Vegas are participating in the Pageant in July so we will be making another trip up there especially to go to the Pageant. If you haven't had the chance to go I would highly reccomend it! Its a very fun place, but felt a very strong spirit of peace and love there. To walk where our pioneer ancestors walked, play where they play, sing where they sang, and spend time as a family where they began theirs was very special.