Nauvoo Or Bust (parts 1-7)

You might be asking yourself, where has RoseAnna gone? She seems to have dropped of the blogging face of the earth. Well, fear not all 3 of you who read my blog. I am back. Our family just got back yesterday from a wonderful trip to Nauvoo. I have always wanted to go back there to see the sights, but haven't ever been able to make it there. My sister Becca mentioned that she would like to go on a road trip, so Nauvoo was our joint destination. We loaded up in a Suburban and hit the road for a week long trip. It was so fun to be together and Nauvoo was definitely worth the drive. It was so beautiful and awesome to see the sights and know that it was real and learn more about the people who settled there. I definitely have a greater respect for those pioneers and all they sacrificed. This post is going to be long, just warning you.

Jacob and Carter with their umbrellas. It rained quite a bit when we were there. Carter said that his favorite part of the trip was holding his umbrella.
My friend Aubrey and her hubby Drew drove down from Mahomet and spent some time with us. They brought their Wii. Here is Becca and I rocking out to guitar hero.

Here is the beautiful Nauvoo Temple

Our family in front of the temple

Our family in the wind and rain

JOSEPH SMITH SITES

The Community of Christ Church owns all of the Joseph Smith sites. We paid to have a tour of the sites. It was cool to see the places were Joseph Smith and his family lived. The spirit was totally different from the LDS Church sites and the Community of Christ sites. It was still cool to see them.

This is the mansion house that Joseph and Emma built to help house the many travelers that were seeking shelter.

This is the homestead where Joseph and Emma lived when they first came to Nauvoo

The homestead

JOHN DEERE HEADQUARTERS

Moline, IL is only about 2 hours from Nauvoo. This is where the John Deere Headquarters are. With Jacob on the trip, we decided we needed to take a trip up there. Jacob had the time of his life. When we were leaving, he was walking really slow with his head down. I asked him what was wrong and he said, " I'm so very sad because I have to leave. I love this place mom." It was really cute. They had tons of tractors and other John Deere equipment that the kids could climb on look at. Jacob was very interested but I think everyone had a good time.

Jacob and the John Deere sign.

The whole gang inside of the bulldozer bucket

Jeremy, Will, Becca, Carter, Caleb, RoseAnna, Jacob, Clay, Drew and Aubrey

Caleb inside of the combine tire

Jacob inside of the combine tire

Jacob, Caleb and Clay by the Johnny Popper

CARTHAGE JAIL

We took a morning and went to Carthage Jail. It was really cool to be in the place where the prophet was killed and to feel of the spirit. The kids were being really noisy in the visitors center but as soon as we went into the jail, they quited down. You could just feel the spirit so strong.

This is a statue of Joseph and Hyrum

The top window is the one that Joseph fell out of

This is the jail cell and the actual bars from the upstairs part of the jail

This is the hole in the door that the bullet that killed Hyrum came through. This is the original door.

This is the window that Joseph was shot through and fell from

THE NAUVOO TEMPLE

Clay and I got to go and do a session in the Nauvoo Temple. It was so beautiful and awesome to be in there. I loved it. The wood work and murals on the walls were just exquisite.

This is a statue just outside of the temple. It is of Joseph and Hyrum looking back on the city of Nauvoo on their way to Carthage.

Me and Clay outside of the temple

Me and Aubrey after our session

The beautiful temple

THE OXEN RIDE

One of the coolest things we did was go for a wagon ride pulled by 2 very large oxen. It was cool to have a glimpse of what it would have been like to ride in a bumpy wagon pulled by the oxen.

Carter and Jacob got to ride in the very front

Some people didn't like the oxen at all...

but some people did :)

Our family (minus Caleb who was too scared) and the Dalls

OTHER NAUVOO SITES

Clay and the boys outside of the Browning house. This was by far Clay's favorite house. They had some really cool guns in there.

The brickyard

IN THE CAR

Honestly we spent over 40 hours in the car. It was a really long drive, but well worth it. The kids did so good and were really happy. Jacob didn't get carsick until we were about an hour from home.

Jacob and Carter

Caleb

Will and Caleb with their fruit-roll-ups stuck to their heads. They were so silly together, it was really funny.

Well there are a few highlights from our vacation. I know you won't believe it but those are only like half of the pictures I took. We had a fabulous time. Thanks to Aubrey and Drew who took the time to come and hang out with us. Thanks to the Dall's for putting up with us and for going to the John Deere headquarters with us. Thanks to Joe and Dianne for letting us use their vehicle so we could all ride together.

We love you NaBoo!!