The city Beautiful

"City of Joseph, City Beautiful, City of Joseph...Nauvoo!" As the kids and I listened to the old soundtrack one day, I spontaneously decided to find a sitter for Baby Butter (Thanks again Grandma!!!), and take the big kids on a day trip to Nauvoo! After a quick stop for do-nuts and chocolate milk, we were on our way! (then just a short hour later...another stop - maybe the chocolate milk wasn't such a great idea for a 3 hour road trip!) I brought my old boom-box and we listened to the original soundtrack cassette on the way there. Tears filled my eyes (yes, I am a TOTAL sap) as i reminisced about my days (5 times actually...should have been 6...so sad) as a cast member in the pageant about the history of this amazing town. My favorite part of the trip has always been the stretch right along the river after you pass through Keokuk and cross the bridge (remember how scary the old narrow, rickety one was!). I love the view...the twisty roads right on the riverbank, the houses overlooking the lilly pads, the part where you can actually see the "Bend in the River" and imagine what the beautiful city looked like back in the 1800's. Then there's that feeling...those butterflies...the anxious excitement of seeing your friends from all over the country for the first time in a year, and anticipating the events of the next two weeks! Alright, so maybe that was all a few lifetimes ago for me, but those same feelings and so many memories came flooding back as I listened to..."Come, walk my quiet streets. Feel my spirit, and the spirit of those who were first led to this lovely and peaceful bend in the river." Now the Parents' Committee may have thought that I was only there for my friends (an easy misconception), but it truly was so much more than that, and has been a tremendous influence in my life in so many ways. And it was all of this and more, that I wanted to share with my kids! SO..... We first hit memory lane...

We would walk from the hotel to Casey*s for Treats and sodas in those big yellow mugs with the red plastic lids...and for some reason I thought I didn't need shoes! Maybe I was just trying to feel a little more Pioneer-ish! Mmmm...Nauvoo Fudge!Here they are backstage where we'd anxiously await our next

scenes, lying on blankets, gazing at the countless stars and making wishes on the shooting stars that would dart across the sky. There's the view down the hill to the stage, now missing the benches we used to gather on each morning to hear how the day's rehearsals would go.

We saw the visitors center and all of the beautiful statues. Here are some of my favorites from the garden.
Then we were on our way to some fun... We learned how the Pioneers made candles, bread, ropes, bricks, horseshoes, wagons, guns...and got souvenirs from almost every little house we visited. It was Lulu's lucky day - she got the horseshoe the blacksmith made! We even played like Pioneer kids! Big Butter and I had fun pulling sticks....how is it that I am not any stronger than my 4 year old son!? Lulu had fun dressing up and playing in the little house and school.We walked the Trail of Tears and read the accounts of those who were driven from the city, saw the memorial to those who passed on along the trail, and thought about how incredibly difficult it must have been to cross over that river, leaving most of your possessions behind and walk across the plains, not knowing what awaited you, but knowing that you were doing it in faith, and literally putting your life in the Lord's hands!"The hour grew late..." the kids were getting hungry and a bit tired, so we grabbed a sandwich (not quite the Hotel buffet, but pretty good when you're in a rush!) and checked out the new pageant's pre-show activities. Had I planned better, we would have found a place to stay the night, and watched the new show. I just wasn't really excited about driving home with 2 sleeping kids at midnight! Not to mention the storm that blew in, dropping the temperature about 20 degrees and dumped a whole lot of rain on everyone! We decided it was time to go! We ran through the cold rain (without an umbrella of course!), across the muddy field and got into our warm, dry, fast car (well, ok, mini-van that's not all that fast, but you get my point!) and were SO grateful that, unlike those strong Pioneers that crossed the plains mostly by foot with wagons and handcarts, we could drive back home comfortably, quickly and safely through that storm (and even drive-thru Sonic* for a Diet Cherry Limeade!). Even though we only stayed a few hours, we had SUCH a great time! In fact, Lulu said it was the BEST day of her life, and we can't wait to go back again next year!