Nauvoo, Il

We started out the day at the Blacksmith shops. We learned how they made wagon wheels and horse shoes.

We heard the story of the Prairie Diamond and we each received our Prairie Diamond rings. 

Next we went to the house of the Seventies. It was an early MTC (Mission Training Center) of sorts. 

Mike saw his great, great uncle's name in the records.

Next we went on a horse drawn wagon ride tour.  

We saw the town but we also saw the trail the saints took down to the Mississippi as they were leaving Nauvoo called the Trail of Hope. It was hard to imagine the saints leaving the city they worked so hard to build. 

Next we went up next to the temple to find the bagpipe players. They were really good. My favorite was when they played "Praise to the Man". We got our picture taken by the pageant photographer with the band.

After the band we went and saw a puppet show and play at the cultural hall. The show was called Anna Amanda. It was a musical with great music and message. 

Next we went back down and went to the prairie games area. They had so many simple fun things to do as well as a dress up clothes. Even though I thought dress up would be fun, no one was into that. Haha.

This was the inside of the gunsmith's house. He was one of the more wealthy men in town. 

He invented and crafted many guns still in use today. 

Beautiful flowers were planted everywhere.

Right as we found a fee picnic benches for lunch, a band unloaded and began to play. They were really good. They played many primary songs. Each new song was introduced by a new member of the band. They were from all over--Chicago, Utah, Idaho, etc.

For one song they encouraged the kids to play leap frog. Aaron and Owen can truly leap like frogs. It was so fun to watch. 

Next was the brick yard and then land and records. Mike and I both had relatives that passed through Nauvoo and went through the temple there. We wished we would have had enough time to do more research and burn a disc.

We left the land and records house and hurried to catch our 4:30 showing of "the Promise". All of the performers in Nauvoo audition for a 3 month service mission. Then during pageant and the busy season they do several performances each day. They sing, dance and some play instruments. 

These two LOVED the play. It held their attention the whole time. They were laughing and hanging on every word. It was very well written, original songs with tons of talent. 

It started to cloud over so we hurried up to take pictures at the temple. There is a statue of Joseph and Hyrum leaving Nauvoo for Carthage. It's heart breaking to think of what they suffered and endured.

The temple was huge and magnificent. I love that it was rebuilt so exactly like the original. 

The rain was so heavy we didn't go to the pageant, the kids were so, so exhausted.  Poor Scarlett kept up all day. We decided to go out to dinner at the Hotel Nauvoo Buffet. It was better than we expected. The boys were in heaven. 

It was a day we won't soon forget.