Trip to Nauvoo

I really love living in the midwest. Among other great things, I love living close to a rich heritage of faith for our family. Many of our ancestors date their first beginnings as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to times in the midwest in the mid 1800s. Before they made their way west, they spent time in Illinois and Iowa. I especially love remembering the pioneers during July as we celebrate Pioneer Day on July 24th {the day the pioneers first arrived in the Salt Lake valley in 1847}.

This year our family decided to travel to Carthage and Nauvoo, IL to celebrate the pioneers and check out the new pageant they put on each July. We had so much fun. I love traveling there and sharing the history with our children.

We headed first to Carthage, where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred for their religious beliefs. It was a great opportunity to share our testimony of the truthfulness of Joseph's divine mission as a prophet of God with our own children. They felt the spirit as we relived the last moments of his life.

The bullet hole in the door from the bullet which killed Hyrum right before Joseph was killed.

The top window where Joseph's body fell lifeless from the jail.

We then made our way to Nauvoo. We had fun in the garden behind the visitor's center, where Jack hammed it up posing with the Relief Society Statues of women.

Among other sites we visited, the pioneer pass times site is always a favorite with the kids.

After seeing a few sites, we headed up to the town to check into our hotel, get some dinner, and finish it off with a treat on the side of the road. These Hawaiian Shaved Ices weren't quite as good as the authentic thing, but they were pretty close. I especially enjoyed the peach raspberry covered in cream. Yummo!

Before the pageant began, we had SO MUCH FUN at the Country Fair, where the kids were able to play many more pioneer games and we learned a few dances in the mix. It was really great.

The girls tried their hand at the hand carts.

The boys played stick ball.

We learned a Scottish jig.

We raced.

Then we headed to our seats for the pageant.

It was a great production. I encourage anyone to see it if you can.

Then we headed to our room for the night. I loved the availability of this room with its four sets of bunk beds. So great for our family of 6 to fit in one room pretty economically.

The next morning we headed back to some sites, including our family favorite the Family Living Center where we got to learn some pioneer activities.

Our last stop of this trip was to take an ox and wagon ride and learn a little about the pioneers' journey west.

I am so grateful for the sacrifice our ancestors made to bring our family where we are today. Blessed, Honored Pioneers!