Nauvoo

Day 8: July 7, 2012

Nauvoo, Illinois

No Time

No Miles

It was great to stay in one place again.  We were ready to see some more of Nauvoo.  It was a scorching day again, so we prepared by hair pulled back and lots of water!

We started the morning out bright and early with a horse and wagon ride.  It was great to learn of all the sites and maybe some of the places that we would stop by later.  

The girls are gearing up for the ride!

 Beautiful Nauvoo Temple

 The homes are amazing.

 This is a raft that would have carried wagons, horses and people across the river.

 This is where Joseph and Hyrum are buried.  It is owned by the Restored Church.  We didn't tour any of their sites.  They charged a couple of dollars per site. We had plenty to see and do in the section owned by our church and it was free.

 The girls gave the horses some petting after the ride.

 Ashleigh especially loves horses.

 Then we went on a carriage ride through the country side.  We learned of the saints' sacrifices.  It was very nice and relaxing.

 Then we went through the Family Living Center.  There we learned of many skills and some object lessons behind them.  Wes was able to help make rope.  He twisted it together to make it strong.  Each strand is a family member.  As we are twisted together, we are strong.

 The barrel making was all done by hand.  They had to shape each piece to make it fit tightly.  They used these instead of boxes or other containers.

 They used fat from the animals that they slaughtered.  They dipped the candles because that made them last longer than using a mold.  Candles can remind us to be the light of Christ and to be examples to those around us.

 In textiles, we learned how they made linen and wool.  There was so much work to make clothes.  It isn't a wonder why they only had a couple of dresses!  When they dyed the wool, they added ingredients to help the dye stay.  Certain things we do help us to remember what we have learned and help it to stick.  Repetition is a important tool to help us remember.

We also learned how they baked bread.  They used an oven of bricks and used their hand to test the temperature.  Just like bread fills our tummies, Christ is the bread of life.

 I think the kids really enjoyed learning the life of pioneers.  We had lunch and then went to a play about a girl who was trying to figure out who she is.  It was called, "Just Plain Anna Amanda".  It was really cute.

After that we toured houses and shops.  We sure learned a lot!!!

 We got our own brick to take home.

 We also got rings from the blacksmith's shop.  The missionary showed us how they made horse shoes and we were the lucky family to take it home.

 We watched another show put on the Senior missionaries called, "Rendezvous".  It was about the pioneers love and sacrifice in Nauvoo.  It was amazing too.

We were exhausted by the end of the day, but we can say that we saw a lot.  I don't think we missed much at all.  The kids were real troopers.  Like I mentioned before, Nauvoo was their favorite stop of the trip.