We had a great vacation. More on that later. I wanted to mention that we got our plumbing fixed on the Friday before we left. The plumber worked all day getting things done and I am thankful that the valves are working and nothing is leaking. We still need to fix the holes in the walls he had to make, but at least the plumbing is working!
Saturday the 16th Neal and Ruth did a practice hike with their full packs. I went with them. We walked around the open space and enjoyed a nice morning walk. On the 27th early in the morning they met with their group to go on a three day/night back packing trip to Colorado. They were excited to go and I hope that things are going well for them. They will be home tomorrow afternoon.
Sunday the 17th I taught Relief Society. It went okay. I feel like I need to do better at preparing my thoughts. Maybe it was because I was tired from all the things going on and getting ready for a trip and was distracted. It was also a bit intimidating because there are so many in the ward that I don’t know yet. I am sure next month will go better.
Monday the 18th we got up early and were driving away from our house at 3:30am. We had a long drive and it went well. We made it to Kansas City in time to go to a restaurant for dinner that Neal wanted to go to. It was called Jack Stack. They had excellent barbecue and we enjoyed going to a nice restaurant with the kids. We had a good rest and then on Tuesday we drove to the church visitor center in Independence MO. We spent the morning there and enjoyed the tour the sister missionary gave us. We drove to Liberty and visited the church visitor center there. It was good to learn more about Liberty Jail. We then drove to the Kansas City Temple. It was a beautiful place to visit and walk around. Then we went to Far West. That was a peaceful place and we enjoyed looking at the green fields and the beauty of the area. We ate our lunch there. We enjoyed talking to the senior missionaries who were doing grounds work there. We drove over to Haun’s Mill area. While there we had some excitement when Spencer touched poison ivy and ran through mud. But we got him cleaned up and had him wash his hand well. He must have not touched it too much because he never had a reaction to it. We left that pretty place and drove to Adam-ondi-Ahman. While driving there we got into a rain storm. It left everything muddy and damp. Everything was so green. We continued to drive and arrived at Keokuk Iowa in time to check into our hotel room and go to bed!
Independence MO
Kansas City Temple, MO
I loved all the green and the beautiful flowers everywhere.
Liberty MO
Spencer looking at the scene
Far West, MO
The kids had fun watching a field be harvested and went over to stand by a new hay bail.
Haun's Mill, MO
It is a wilderness area, no development. There was one little sign saying the name. We enjoyed walking around the creek. Neal found a tree to climb and then the boys wanted to join him.
Haun's Mill was so beautiful and green, it was getting cloudy so the sky looks white.
Adam-ondi-Ahman MO
It was after the rain and everything was wet, but beautiful
The boys found a friendly dog wandering around.
Wednesday morning we drove across the Mississippi river and went into Nauvoo IL. It was such a pretty place. We visited at the church visitor center and watched a short movie about Nauvoo. Then we just started looking around. We went on a wagon ride pulled by an ox. I am thankful we were able to do our driving in a fast moving, air conditioned vehicle. We enjoyed playing at the pioneer games area. The kids were all interesting in seeing things and so was I. It was fun to see the performers on the streets. People dressed up in pioneer clothing singing and telling stories, hearing bag pipes, watching a band. So many historical buildings to visit and tour. I am glad that we planned three days to be in Nauvoo.
In Nauvoo, IL
Ruth had fun dressing up while the boys played games.
Wednesday afternoon I went into one building and ran into my friend Barbara Cannon. I was her room mate at USU. It was fun to see her and her family. We visited for a bit and I am thankful we saw them. It has been about three years since we had a visit in Salt Lake City. That evening we went back to our hotel early and met up with Neal’s parents who had come to be with us. They are serving their mission in Iowa and spent a couple of days with us. We went out to dinner with them and enjoyed visiting with them.
Thursday we went back to Nauvoo. Neal and I were able to go to the temple to do a session. Neal’s parents took the kids geode hunting in a stream. They found a lot! We had a lot of rocks rolling around the car until we got them into a box. They had fun with it. That afternoon we toured about Nauvoo more. We went to the sites owned by the Community of Christ church. That evening we went out to eat again and then I took the boys back to the hotel. Neal, his parents and Ruth went to the pageant in Nauvoo. We had decided that since the pageant started late and the boys probably wouldn’t be that interested in it that it was better to let them rest. I enjoyed a quieter evening too. Friday evening we switched and I went to the pageant and Neal stayed with the boys. They had two pageants in Nauvoo. Neal saw the “Nauvoo Pageant” and I saw the “British Pageant.” The other three saw both of them. We also let the kids swim at the hotel Wednesday and Friday. They enjoyed that.
The Red Brick Store
In front of the mansion house
Waiting at the brick yard for our tour
Friday we were able to walk down Parley street and got to the Mississippi river. It was raining lightly and we didn’t see the actors who were suppose to be around. We still enjoyed the morning. I went into the building to get help with maps and land things with the pioneers. Neal’s parents and Ruth joined me. I was able to find information on my ancestors who lived in Nauvoo. I had done some research before at home and had a list of people I knew had lived in Nauvoo. I was able to get help seeing a map and knowing where their homes would have been. I enjoyed seeing where people had lived, we drove around the town to identify the lots. Some we couldn’t drive to because there are no longer streets, but some were available to see, like the green lawn behind the Community of Christ visitor center. We felt like we were able to see all the historic buildings and had a wonderful time learning more about the pioneers. We also drove out to the pioneer graveyard. I think that is a special place and very peaceful. We have ancestors who were buried there, but don’t know where their graves are.
The walk down Parley's street
The boys got in the Mississippi river. We thought the lily pads were cool. The boys went up to them and pulled a couple of them out. They wanted to keep them but by the end of the day they were getting very smelly in the hot car and we convinced them to throw them out.
They were big lily pads.
The pioneer burial grounds, a peaceful place
The statutes of Joseph and Hyrum Smith riding past the temple on their way to Carthage.
The temple, a beautiful building, inside and out
Saturday morning we got up and drove to Carthage IL. We had a tour of the jail and spent some time on the grounds visiting about the things we had seen all week. It was a nice morning. We then drove into Iowa. We stopped at a little town called Pella to eat our lunch and look around at the cute Dutch heritage town. We then continued on to Newton Iowa where Neal’s parents have their little apartment. We had a hotel room for some of our family. The older kids stayed with their grandparents and enjoyed that. Saturday evening the Branch was having a Pioneer day activity and dinner. We went to the church and enjoyed dinner with the church members.
Carthage, IL
Pella, Iowa
This clock rang at 3:00 and played music for about 10 minutes. They had little scenes come out on a little stage as the music played. It was fun to watch.
Sunday morning we went to church with Neal’s parents and then spent the afternoon at their apartment to visit. It was an nice quiet day. Monday morning we picked up the kids from their night with their grandparents and said our good byes. It was a nice visit we had with them. We drove into Des Moines and went to a science museum. Our membership pass worked to get four of us in for free, I am glad I know about this pass sharing thing now. We spent about 4 1/2 hours exploring the museum and playing. It was a fun place. Then we drove to Kansas City. We went to another barbecue restaurant, Arthur Bryant’s. They had great food too. We went to our hotel and had a good rest. Tuesday morning we got up and drove all day long. The kids did well for such a long day and few stops. We made it home after being in the car 12 1/2 hours about 7:00pm. It was good to find our home safe and secure. We got unpacked and rested. It is good to be home and to eat at home. We had a lot of restaurant food this trip. Also, I am glad to be back to a dry climate. The humidity was high and everything was so hot. The kids swim suits didn’t dry out well and it is nice to be home where things will dry in a few hours.
At the science museum
There was a work station at the museum where Andrew came up with an idea and then he got to make it.
The boys loved this ball wall.
Then, like I mentioned, Neal and Ruth got up early the next morning to go hiking. Wednesday I spent doing laundry, cleaning up from the trip and also went grocery shopping. That afternoon about 4:00pm my brother Doug and his family came to be with us for the night. We had a great visit with them and enjoyed dinner together. They left Thursday morning to continue on to Utah for their vacation. We will see them again next week when they are returning home. It is nice to be in the path way for those going from Texas to Utah.
Today I worked with the boys to go through their clothing. It is good to review what they have in their drawers at least once a year. I helped them get things cleaned up. Then in the afternoon we went shopping and bought a few things that they needed to feel ready for another year of school.
Tonight Caleb has been invited over for a friend party at Miles’ house. He is so excited. I hope he can have fun with his friends. The time has gone quickly. The boys are talking about how fast the summer went. Next week we will work on getting our school supplies ready and then school will start on the 11th. Andrew is also planning a birthday party for next Friday and that has been fun to help him with his plans.
I hope everyone has had a great summer!
