Summer Revisited: Nauvoo

Every summer for as long as I can remember of our married life, and most of the summers when I was a kid, we have taken a road trip.   Those trips have morphed and transformed dramatically since I was little.  It used to be my brothers and I, riding in the top of a camper shell (yes, no car seats or seatbelts, but somehow we survived), singing the "50 Nifty United States", having burping contests and wrestling on the top bed over the cab until my dad stopped the truck to come and yell at us.  Ooops.  This was the road trip pattern that we followed for many years, and across the entire United Sates.  We visited Mount Rushmore, the Hershey Chocolate Factory in Pennsylvania, more battlefields than I can name, the hood of Detroit, the New Mexico desert looking for a hogan, the mall and surrounding museums in Washington, D.C., and many church history sites. 

One that I remember well from my childhood was Nauvoo, Illinois.  We visited Nauvoo on my 10th birthday.  I remember going to watch the blacksmith make horseshoes just like they did back in the early 1800's.  When he finished making the miniature horseshoe, he gave it to me because it was my birthday!  What a fun memory.

Our road trips look slightly different, but some things are very much the same.  It usually goes something like this.  Mom says no movies for a while.  The quiet serenity of family and the hum of the road lasts about 10 minutes.  Somebody gets in someone elses space, or touches somebody, or has their book that they brought, or their toy.  Somebody is bored.  Mom suggests some games, or just to look out of the window.  Another five minutes go by.   Mom yells to stop fighting and just leave each other alone.  Silence lasts 3 minutes.  Mom gives up on the ideal family road trip of conversing with one another and seeing the beauty of where we are going, and puts in a movie.  (I say Mom, because John is either usually driving, or he is unfortunately not with us, like the last two summers). 

This summer, with Grandma Hema in tow, we set out on another summer roadtrip.  Grandma Hema knew what she was in for.  She road tripped with us last summer, for nearly three weeks, across half of the United States.  And, somehow she willingly came along again this summer.  She must have a very short memory.  Our first stop:  Nauvoo, Illinois.  

This year, we mainly went so that we could see the Nauvoo Pageant, which had already finished production last year when we visited.  The Pageant definately didn't dissappoint.  It was entertaining, uplifting and very inspiring.  I never get tired of hearing accounts of the early members of the Church, and the great sacrifices that they willingly made to do the work of the Lord. 

Before the pageant, they have an entire field set up with pioneer games for families to participate in.   We had a blast trying to not kill ourselves on stilts. 




Brady was excited to try everything.  He didn't want to give up on those stilts
(especially because he saw a bunch of little girls doing it).



Isaac learned that slippers weren't exactly the
best shoes for stilt walking.





Isaac and Nathan took this very seriously.  (The man was timing them
and they didn't want to get beat out by someone else).



Avery and Brady sawing their "log".



Nathan, Brady and Isaac






Isaac, Avery and Nathan



Brady LOVED this stick game.  He could have stayed there
all night perfecting his rolling techniques.



Little Will getting in on the games



Avery won this game, so of course it was her favorite.



Isaac pulling the kids in a handcart





Yummy, Avery, Brady and Nathan, looking rather melty in the handcart.





Brady, Nathan, Avery and Isaac in their potato sack race.



Brady thoroughly enjoying his potato sack race.

Nauvoo was definately one of the high points of our summer road trip even though it was blazing hot.  We had all melted during the first five minutes.  After that, we didn't care anymore how we looked.  We just had fun.