Nauvoo

 Well our Nauvoo trip was kinda last minute, but we are so glad we made the time to go!  Justin's brother Kevin and his wife Amber and their cute little boy got to come with us, which made it even more fun!  I was the only one that had ever been to Nauvoo before, and that was when I was 9 yrs old.  Things have changed quite a bit since I was there last, so I was excited to get to go and discover it again with Justin. 

We flew in late Thursday night to St. Louis, and then stayed the night there before heading out the next day to Carthage. The drive the next day looked like a lot of this:

 Fields going on for what seemed like forever.  And no mountains in sight, which was weird.  

We decided to stop in Carthage, Illinois on the way in.

 As soon as we pulled up to Carthage, I felt the spirit so strongly.  I still vividly remember visiting there as a child.  Hearing about the history of what had happened in this place and thinking about the people that were in these rooms is an unforgettable experience. 

 This is the room that the attack happened in.

 The jail cell in the room next door.

 Joseph and Hyrum Smith

That night we go to the Rendezvous show put on by all the site missionaries.  It was so fun to see Mom and Dad in the show!  They did such a good job!  We wished we could've seen Dad in his new role as Editor, but he didn't start till the next week.  It was really funny and touching, one of the highlights of the trip for me. 

Don't they look happy!

We went for a session Friday afternoon at the temple.  It was so cool, and very beautiful!

The next day we did most of the touring at the different sites.  We started at the visitors center.  The woman's garden is out back with statues af all the stages of a woman's life.  This one was my favorite.  Next we went and rode in the ox cart.  They were training the new young oxen how to pull the wagon, so the more experienced ones were resting. They let us get super close!  

Then we went on a horse drawn carriage ride around the town.  It was a good overview of the sites and kinda oriented us to where things were.  These horses were super strong!

At the brick shop Justin was helping with a demonstration.  

I'm glad I don't have to carry water like this!

The printing shop was my favorite of the different trade shops.  So many phrases we use today come from this trade!  It was super interesting.  I got to help run the press for a bit and Wow- that would've been a very physically demanding job!

Dad gave us tours at the Tin and Blacksmith shop.  It was fun seeing him make a mini horseshoe! 

Mom and Dad took all of us out to eat at this Amazing buffet! It was great food.

Sunset on the Mississippi.  This is the view from right in front of the Nauvoo temple. 

Our whole group!  This was taken in the Heber C Kimball home.

Dad in front of the assembly hall.  

Mom gave us the tour at the family living center in the bread making and candle making areas.

Amber and I got up early Monday morning and did Inititories.  It was a great way to start the day! 

This is at the end of Parley street on the bank of the Mississippi.  It was sad to go home so soon, but I definitely left with more of an interest in the history of the beginnings of the church and a stronger testimony of Joseph Smith. 
One of the most interesting things I felt was how different the sites that the Community of Christ owns, were.  It was such a different feeling from the warm welcoming spirit of the LDS sites.  We weren't able to take the tour of the insides of their sites because we ran out of time, but I kinda wish we had.