Nauvoo

The kids had a Monday and Tuesday (election day) off of school towards the first of November so Brooks and I decided to take the kids 3 hours north to Nauvoo, IL.

I found a house RIGHT on the Mississippi River (my kids are kinda obsessed with the Mississippi)....and I mean RIGHT on it. This is our back porch.

After I booked it I thought to my self, "Self, that was REALLY dumb. You have 4 out of 10 kids that can't swim and 10/10 that probably couldn't last a strong current."

When we got there, my worries were in vain though. The current was in the middle of the river and we were on a sort of carved out shallow part that was 2-3 ft. deep for about 100 yards until the middle of the river.

We got there just before sundown on Saturday night, you better BELIEVE the boys went right on out there to fish. After all they bought a TON of "Stink bait" (the name is VERY appropriately named) to catch themselves a catfish.

Iris and Aleeya were busy looking for seashells.

And it took the kids one toe-dip into the water to realize they did NOT want to go in the river anyway. I probably couldn't have even PAID Kellyn and Everly to step in the water.

The view was absolutely spectacular over the glassy water.

There was even a trampoline! The youngins are jumping, the olders fishin.....

And the babies chilling on a blanket.

Yikes, looks like Iley (pink onesie) has a poopy diaper here. haha

The place was a two bedroom but slept 10 in beds. The kids loved their room upstairs with a ton of beds in it. And I thought the brick floors were so charming in the place (until we had to check out and sweep them all!) Family movie night.

6 A.M. on a VACATION Bronson and Camden got out on the canoe to fish. Well, actually it was Daylight Savings Time so 6 AM felt like 7 AM to them. 

They were still in search of their illusive catfish.

Later, Emerson joined in.

Aleeya did a lot of puzzles

Mornings were so chilly there. I love this picture of Brooks and Aleeya snuggling, watching the boys in their canoe.

Church was at 11 there and WHAT LUCK! It was actually a special regional broadcast from Salt Lake.....the SAME broadcast we were going to see in St. Louis at church anyway. But before we went the boys needed a little more time to skip rocks.

Papi forgot his tie...... but Camden's mop is distracting enough I don't think anyone will notice.

The 2 hour broadcast was a joke. What was I THINKING in letting kids stay up late on Day Light Savings Time when we were going to church during the girls' nap time?!?!

The babies were pretty good. It was Everly and Kellyn that about ran me to the looney farm. With twenty minutes left I had about reached my limit of nice, smile-til-you-fake-it-mom-ness so I grabbed Everly (and a twin just for fun) and stormed out to the Yeti to buckle her in her carseat just to scream all she wants.

Aaaaaaaaand she did. I just stood outside the Yeti (though I could still hear her) and admired the view of the temple in the distance (the white building in the back).

Next thing I know I hear screaming coming from the church and I turn around and see Brooks storming out with Kellyn (and the other twin just for giggles). Now SHE was losing it because I had left and was basically inconsolable.

AND a melted puddle too.

Shortly after everyone else joined us in the Yeti when the broadcast was over and Brooks and I looked at each other and said, "That was the WORST our kids have ever been in church".....and we were grateful we would never see anyone from there again.

We went home, ate, and stuck prime candidates down for naps. The boys went back to fishing and I snuck out with Iley to drive around and find some of my ancestors homes.

Ah-HA! We found one.

This duplex is pretty cool because Erastus Snow (the man who owned the house on the right) is my great-great-great grandpa. While serving a mission he converted Nathaniel Ashby who later lived in the other side of the duplex. Erastus Snow married Nathaniel's daughter, Elizabeth, making Nathaniel my 4-great grandpa. So it's kind of a double ancestor home for me.

Nathaniel and his wife had 11 children and after living in Nauvoo for three years they (like all Saints there) were driven out of their home by angry mobs. Three days into their journey west he took up sick and died. 

I HAVE to include my favorite story of Erastus Snow though because I always tell my Bronson I can TELL he is a descendent of Erastus. Erastus and Orson Pratt were in the first group to head out to the Salt Lake City Valley. They were sent before the group to scout the path and were the first two men to enter the valley actually. The story goes that Erastus was walking in the lead to enter the valley first. Then he realized he had lost his coat a little ways back where they had stopped to rest, so he walked back to try to find it. In the meantime, Orson was the first one to enter the Salt Lake Valley when it should have been Erastus. My boy Bronson is ALWAYS leaving his things places. haha

As I was driving around I saw a lady walking by herself. I stopped and asked if she needed a ride. When I stopped she said, "Hey, I was sitting right in front of your family in the Broadcast!" I quickly apologized. She said, "On the contrary! I can't stop talking to my daughter about how WELL BEHAVED your family was. I couldn't get over how you got them all to sit there the whole time."

WHAT?!?!?!? I couldn't believe it. Maybe I faked it better than I thought!

After naps we decided to take the kids to Carthage Jail where the prophet Joseph Smith was martyred  alongside his brother Hyrum Smith (Royce's middle name is Hyrum after him). It really was supposed to be a quick 20 minute drive. A straight shot actually. 

HOWEVER, my phone maps was set on "bicycle route" for some reason instead of driving directions. Lets just say it took us a hour to get there through EVERY SINGLE nice BIKE RIDING DIRT ROAD there is.

This was our view.

Oh, and the poopy diaper still on the dashboard from church. Lovely.

This next picture may LOOK the same, but I assure you, it was another 20 minutes down the road from the last dirt road picture I posted above. We couldn't stop giggling at how ridiculous it was.

Brooks hates gravel roads so every time we turned onto a new one the kids would lose it in the back.

The kids thought the corn fields were pretty cool too and wanted to see what a dried cob of corn looked like.

And of course Brooks started driving off leaving them.

We DID eventually make it. Shortly before it was going to close though.......with a little extra energy too. Before the tour started the sweet senior missionary couple said, "This is a sacred place and we just want to remind you to be reverent during the presentation and the tour afterwards."

It was THEN that I caught Brooks' eyes and we didn't have to say a thing. I stood up, grabbed Royce, Kellyn, Everly and the twins and walked out. We walked around the pretty grounds with the strollers while those CAPABLE of being reverent continued on. MUCH MUCH better. The older kids really enjoyed it. 

And I enjoyed that we took the car-straight-shot route on the way home since it was dark.

Brooks couldn't resist....he had to build a bonfire.

Look at this angelic smile at the end of the day. 

SERIOUSLY?!?!? Everly is something else.

Monday morning......BIG surprise........Brooks, Camden and Bronson went fishing, with their stink bait, for catfish. (I just can't adequately describe the smell of that bait.....and how much I love everyone smelling like it)

They came in later in the morning saying they "hooked a gigantic one" and they reeled it all the way by the boat, but I guess it was "so big" that it got away. Riiiiiiiiiiight.

I loved looking out the window at the view of the Mississippi while telling my girls neat stories. I couldn't help but sympathize with my 3rd-great grandparents Arnold and Lois Stephens who when driven out of Nauvoo in February of 1846 crossed the Mississippi that had turned to ice. While crossing the ice cracked and their wagon of possessions had 3 out of 4 wheels in the water and was pulled out by the oxen and strong arms. Oh, and they had 11 kids. One had died just before they left but I CAN'T IMAGINE worrying about my brood in those temperatures and crossing a river of ice JUST because of your religous belief. I just felt so connected and bonded to my roots there.

When all the old shops opened up we all voted we wanted to go to the ol' Blacksmith shop first.....since it had a fire. Plus the kids got to hammer things and get "Prairie Diamonds" which are just horseshoe nails made into a ring. .....oh and a good luck horse shoe that Emerson claimed for himself.

No one was there. It was so fun walking around the streets with everyone.

The brick yard and how they used to make the bricks. 

Bronson, especially was really enjoying every presentation. I knew I wasn't going to drag the younger kids through some of them and worry about them touching things. So Bronson and Camden ran to the boot shop to learn more. Then they begged Dad to take them to the Gunsmith presentation next. 

I opted to stay outside with Iris on down. Something told me that taking Royce into a gunsmith shop with my arms full of babies wasn't the BEST idea. #thisisntmyfirstrodeo

We walked around and found some tree stumps and counted the rings to find out how old the trees were. This one was 102! (Look at their cute prairie diamond rings on their fingers)

Iris showing me her ring, with the temple in the background.

The temple is so pretty

We went to the bakery and then met up with the others. 

THEN we took the younger kids home to nap while Brooks tried to STILL catch the teasing catfish.

I took the older four back to more places. They kept asking to go see more things. I loved that.

Well, truth be told, Emerson wanted to sample some of the homemade bread from the bakery.

Then we went on a Wagon Ride around town.

The horses were so beautiful too.

The rope making presentation was my favorite. Probably because it's one I had never seen before.

He put Bronson on the far end turning and turning the rope. Then Camden on the other spinning the other direction, and Aleeya and Emerson tightening up the spins.

They took their job very seriously......and I couldn't help but smile to see these two actually working TOGETHER....and NICELY! Nauvoo really is a town of miracles.

Lastly we went to Wilford Woodruff's home, my great-great grandpa. (Emerson's middle name is Woodruff after him)

I love that when he built the house he wanted a fireplace in EVERY room. There are 8 fireplaces total in the house, which is cool because he also served 8 missions for the church.

Aleeya looking at a younger picture of Wilford Woodruff.

He, like everyone else was forced out of Nauvoo as well. In 1846 while leaving Nauvoo, Elder Woodruff recorded, “I looked upon the Temple and City of Nauvoo as I retired from it and felt to ask the Lord to preserve it as a monument of the sacrifice of his Saints. “

That's what his house really was. Preserved so well and a reminder to me of my ancestors testimony of Jesus Christ and to their religion. It's hard to describe but there were parts of me that just felt so complete in Nauvoo. I felt such a connection to my family there....both from the past and my kids.

Oh, and since I'm sure EVERYONE is wondering.....there was not ONE catfish caught......or any fish for that matter. Despite seeing them swimming under the canoe the whole time.

One more thing, a week later a lady in my church here asked how my trip to Nauvoo was. I never mentioned to her or anyone I was going so I wondered how she knew. I guess her daughter lives up near Nauvoo and was at the Broadcast and sitting a few rows behind us. After the broadcast she called her mom and said, "Mom, you will NEVER believe what I saw today. I saw a family with 10 kids today and the last two were twins just like you! It was the craziest thing. The kids sat so well the whole time, they didn't have any toys or snacks or anything." Then the lady from my church smiled and said, "Did the twins have big bows on? And did the parents look like they were in their 20s?" 

"Yes!"

"I know EXACTLY who you are talking about then."

HAHAHA. 

When she related that story to me, I told her how AWFUL my kids were that day in church and I still couldn't believe no one saw what I was seeing or feeling for that matter! She said that the only thing the daughter saw was my 4-year old sucking on a tack from the hallway, but that I noticed it shortly after and got it out. Yep, sounds about right.

It just goes to show 1) things are always as bad as you think they are and 2) cut every parent you see in public a break. You have no idea what kind of day they are having! :)