A couple of years ago Joel's parents decided that they wanted all of their family to go to Nauvoo to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. The date finally arrived so we, along with the other 7 families, made our trek to Nauvoo.
Since Joel travels so much we started to save his frequent flyer miles on SW. We booked airplane tickets from Boise to Kansas City and on June 19, we boarded our plane, free of charge. Chloe's first time flying was very exciting. We got up above the clouds and she gazed out her window for a long time and finally turned to me and said, "So where is Heavenly Father's house?"
We arrived in KC that evening and rented a mini van. We drove 20 miles to Liberty and stayed the night in a "daddy's gone all the time, so we get free hotels!"
Saturday morning we went to the liberty jail and took the tour there. We loved the presentation and learned of the terrible conditions there while the prophet Joseph Smith along with others, were imprisoned here for 4 months and endured many hardships.
We drove about 30 minutes to Far West Missouri and saw the temple corner stones that the pioneers laid in hopes to build a temple. But because of the great persecution to the saints, they were driven out of Far West.
Adam-ondi-Ahman was our next stop. We hiked around and tried to find the remains of a nephite alter that is believed to be the alter Adam used after he was driven out of the garden, to offer sacrifice to the Lord. We didn't find anything, but had fun hiking around and thinking about what will happen on this holy ground one day.
When we all got back into the van to leave, Chloe said "well, we didn't find Adam, but I'm glad cause he was naked."
We were excited when we got to Jamesport, an Amish community. The Amish mission is to live closer to God; so they lead a simple existence without electricity, phones or computers. Their clothing, homes and lifestyle reflect these values. We saw many horse drawn buggies and enjoyed a fabulous home made lunch of meat, potatos, gravy, vegetables, bread and jam and pie for dessert! We loved roaming their shops filled with handmade quilts and other items.
We drove to Keokuk Iowa and checked in our hotel then drive the 12 miles to Nauvoo and watched the BYU ballroom dancers do a show in the outdoor pavilion. It was really good!
Sunday morning we went to the grocery store in Keokuk. We cooked all of our meals. We then drove to Nauvoo and met the Hammer family at the condos that we all stayed in. We went to a 2:00 sacrament meeting and enjoyed hanging out and visiting with everyone at the condominiums. All 8 siblings were there with (most) of their families. 45 people in all.
Monday morning we started with a family meeting in "the grove". This is where church meetings were held for the pioneers. We learned about ancestors who lived in Nauvoo and made the trek West. Austin Hammer who is a GGG Grandfather was killed at Hauns Mill.
OLD NAUVOO: It was hard to believe that in 1839-1846 Nauvoo had 2,500 homes. It became one of the largest cities in the state, even larger than Chicago. Today there are 30 restored homes to see.
Horse/Wagon tour ride
Chloe petting Clyde and Charlie; the horses from the wagon tour.
The final resting place of Hyrum, Joseph and Emma Smith. The Joseph Smith homestead in the background. This is all owned by the R.L.D.S. church.
The Mansion House
The Smith family moved here in 1843. It eventually had 22 rooms as the hotel wing was added for additional income.The smiths housed many people here, and when the martyrdom toom place Joseph and Hyrum's bodies were brought here. Emma lived here with Lucy Mack Smith, until she died here.
Brother Warr from Meridian, showing us how to make a horse shoe in the Blacksmith shop.
Our awesome "prarie diamond rings" from the Blacksmith shop
Scovil Bakery and the yummy gingersnap cookies.
One of the original sun stones from the temple. The other is in the Simthsonian.
The end of the Trail of Hope. The saints crossed the Mississippi River while it was frozen over and 30 degrees below zero! There is a pioneer exodus momument located here, it is very moving to see the 2,600 names of those who died before reaching the Salt Lake Valley.
This is a game that Joseph Smith claims to have never lost.
The girls playing like pioneers at "pioneer pastimes"
The boys trying out some pioneer stilts.
The family back in 1839.
A really fun pioneer game...getting the iron ring to stay upright with the stick. Once you get the hang of it, you can't stop playing!
Weather
When we arrived in Kansas City it was rainy and VERY humid. It rained off and on for the next 2 days. While we were in Jamesport we had a huge downpoor! That was exciting. While we were in Nauvoo we had 2 days where the heat index reached 110-120 degrees!! It was SO HOT and HUMID! We were all drenched with sweat. (kind of gross) We had a couple of very delightful day of 80 degrees and a nice breeze.
Shows
We saw 5 shows in all at Nauvoo. The first show was a special picked BYU ballroom dance team for Nauvoo. They perform for 2 weeks in Nauvoo. They were GREAT!
ANNA AMANDA was a children's musical. The kids loved this and Chloe was chosen to go on stage at the end of the performance. She almost started to cry she was so nervous.
Chloe with "Anna Amanda".
HIGH HOPES AND RIVER BOATS
This group of young adults are hand picked to perform in Nauvoo. There is 10 girls and 10 boys. They have amazing talent. They perform Anna Amanda, High hopes and River boats and Sunset on the Mississippi with the Senior missionaries.
SUNSET ON THE MISSISSIPPI
This was our favorite show. This is a picture of Joel's Aunt Charleen and Uncle Frank.(center couple white hair and hat) Charleen is Gary's sister. They have been serving a mission in Nauvoo for a year now and will be there another 6 months. This show is performed outside which makes it very fun to see all the fireflies!
RENDEVOUS
This is the show the senior missionaries do that is about life in Nauvoo. It is in the Cultral Hall.
The Nauvoo Temple
All 8 siblings and spouses were able to do an endowment session together in the temple.
All cousins 12 and older were able to do baptisms in the temple.
It was a big highlight of the trip. Probably our favorite!
This is a statue of Joseph and Hyrum as they left Nauvoo and rode to Carthage. It is across the street from the temple An interesting story is of Joseph's horse, Charlie. He was a very large animal and made for battle. He would stand next to a cannon and not flinch. He also chased after mules, because he didn't like them.
Anniversary Dinner
We had a nice dinner and program for Joel's parents. This is a picture of us all reciting the proclamation to the family. Each family had to memorize a paragraph.
Cousins
The kids are very lucky to have cousins their ages on both sides of the family. They love to see them. Cousins are a special part of their lives.
Chloe with her girl cousins. All of them have January birthdays! Hannah is 3 and Isabelle is 2. Chloe is 5. There are boy cousins she plays with too. Logan and Stockton are 7 and Ethan is 4.
Haileys group consists of Alyssa-12, McKenna-10 and Maiya-9
Caden has a ball with this group. Jace-15, Cade-14, Brysan-13
Coelton's troop are Austin-17, Paige (not in the photo)-17, and connor-16.
Carthage
Joseph was hit several times and fell out the second story window. 5:15pm June 27.
This was the second gunshot that came through the door and struck Hyrum in the face.
Hannibal
This town is located about 90 minutes south of Nauvoo. It is the birthplace of Mark Twain. Also Molly Brown was born here and was on her way back to Hannibal when the Titanic sunk.
We enjoyed an hour long tour of the infamous CAVE from the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckelberry Finn. Good thing "Injun Joe" wasn't there.
Independence
From Hannibal we drove 4 hours to Independence. We stayed the night there and on our last day we went to the wonderful LDS visitors Center they have there.
We also went to the R.L.D.S. temple. They have changed their name to the Community of Christ Church. This was very confussing for the kids to understand.
We flew home on June 26th. We had a WONDERFUL time. Many memories made, and good times had. Our testimonies were strenghtened and I think we all learned something along the way.
