Nauvoo--the trip within the trip

While we were in Missouri, we left for 3 days and 2 nights and went up to Nauvoo, Illinois. Rita and Clem, aka Grandma and Grandpa, were serving up there for 3 1/2 weeks as volunteers. Clem was in the pageant and Rita was a seamstress for the pageant. We were excited to go up and see them and see Grandpa in the show.

The kids were loving how much they got to eat out. Hotel breakfasts, picnic lunches, fast food dinners. By the end, they were tired of picnic lunches (as was I) but never tired of fun things like slurpees and BK crowns.

I love the Monuments to Women Garden outside the visitor's center. We were actually the only ones there which was nice.

The kids love trying to pose like the statues. They also like hitting the buttons that play music.

Before the pageant, there are preshow activities for an hour and a half. We got to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa and the kids convinced Grandpa to pull them in the handcart. As if he wasn't hot enough in those long sleeves and pants.

Whit and Matt doing some stilt walking. I do believe it was 142 degrees that night. We were guzzling water like there was no tomorrow and we were all dripping with sweat. Yummy. The nice part was that everyone there was just as gross as we were.

Next morning, we got up and headed over to some outdoor activities before it go too hot later in the day. Here's Annie and Whit having fun on our wagon ride.

Grandma was off sewing but we got to have Grandpa as company. Actually a cute picture of us (only try #2)

I love this one of Andrew. He is playing 'pioneer games' (I believe it was mini-bowling) though it looks like he is shooting craps.

Mary was loving dressing up. At this point it was only like 94 degrees, though she didn't seem to mind.

Whit refused to dress up but played her heart out in the mini-log cabin and school.

Annie was cracking me up in this funny outfit!

After a morning of outdoor fun, we headed to the school where Grandma worked with all the sewing ladies. She took us on a tour and Mary got to sample a bonnet that was not current being used.

Night #2 of being there, Whit and Annie were too overtired to stay up til after 11pm again. I stayed back at the hotel with them (and actually fell asleep myself at like 7:30pm--what the party girl, I know). Matt took Mary and Andrew to the pre-show and show again. They loved getting to watch Grandpa perform.

Grandma even gave them the backstage tour and they got to see the awesome box, I mean dressing room, that she was in charge of throughout the performance. There were a lot of costume changes and she was on her toes all night.

Our last day, we headed to Carthage, Illinois before heading back to St. Louis. Carthage is the town Joseph and Hyrum Smith were killed in. We took a tour of the jail house where they were being held when a mob came and shot them. The kids thought it was cool that the door with bullet holes in it was still there. That's what they are posing by.

We headed back to MO and a few days later Rita and Clem joined us there for a brief visit before heading back to Oregon. The 3 hour drive was definitely worth it.