Nauvoo day 2

Day 2 in Beautiful Nauvoo
Julie and I got up early this morning to go stand in line to pick up reserved tickets and hopefully get some tickets for the wagon ride.  This ride is highly sought after, and tickets sell our fast!  When we got there we found out that due to the weather, the wagon ride was only running until noon!  We had to quickly readjust our schedule for the day to make everything work. 
Up until today, the weather had been pleasantly mild by anyone's standards.  Everyone kept commenting on how nice the weather was and how the humidity was relatively low.  We were blessed to have such good weather for July in Illinois!
Due to the weather the first thing we were going to do was cancelled.  The brass band was supposed to perform, but had to move location.  So instead we took our family to the Family Center.  What a cool place!
 They had many activities to do and learn about, all in a big air conditioned building.  We chose to learn about rope making.  I love how the whole family was involved.
 It was neat to hear about the pioneers would make rope, and I'm grateful we don't have to cut and dry plants to make them anymore! 
After the family made the rope, the Brother missionary talked about how the family is bound together, and how we find strength in each other.  It was a great object lesson.  We all go to keep a family rope to remind us to always be strong.

 

With only a few moments to spare, we hurried next door to see the live performance of Just Plain Anna Amanda.  This was more for the little kids, but I think it was enjoyed by all.  Karly was especially excited, and she really paid attention! 

After the performance we RACED back over to the Visitor Center just in time to make the Wagon Ride.  They were very kind, and waited until our whole group was there. 

The younger kids didn't enjoy this as much as the rest of us, but for the next hour we toured the town of Nauvoo and learned more about the rich history here.  We learned a little more the buildings, and it gave is a pretty good game plan for where we wanted to focus our afternoon touring to continue.  I actually loved this ride.  The weather was defiantly hotter and more humid than before, but not as unbearable as they thought it would be.
One highlight of the ride for me was when then stopped and talked about the temple.  This Moroni faces West instead of East.  We learned it was to honor the pioneers that made the trek so many years ago.  The Salt Lake Temple and the Nauvoo Temple angel Moroni's mirror each other.  What a beautiful tribute!


After our wagon ride we returned back home for some lunch.  We were there for about 20 minutes, and I told everyone, "We have 15 minutes to eat, get dressed, and get to the temple if we are going to do a session!"  That got their attention.  Eleanor loved it when I said that.  I always had something planned, and I didn't want to waste a minute if I could help it!  Ok, I wasn't a drill sergeant, but everyone wanted to see as much as they could, so I did my best to make and keep a schedule. 
We were all pleasantly surprised when we were all able to make it to the temple on time.  We dropped Eugene and the kids off at the Family Center, and I gave my kids strict instructions to NOT leave Karly.  Every time someone would open the front door of our house she would come running down the stairs crying, "Don't leave me alone AGAIN!"  I wanted to make sure that didn't happen again.... at least not until we left Nauvoo. 
The temple was nice.  We were able to visit several rooms during our session.  Each one was beautiful in its own way, and really helped portrait what was being said.  The Celestial room was very different than what I imagined.  I love how they kept everything as authentic to the area as they could.  I am grateful we were able to make time to visit and do the work for others in this beautiful place.
After the temple we picked everyone up and visited a few places before they closed for the evening.
The brickyard was pretty cool.  We got a demonstration on brickmaking.  It was very interesting!  They had to make a LOT of bricks!  The lesson I came away with this is how we can be molded and shaped with the master's hands.  These simple life lessons are great.  Each family was presented with a beautiful Nauvoo brick. 

The next place we visited was the school house.  What fun! 

It was neat to see how the saints would write, based on how things sounded.  The "teacher" had them all do some math on their slates.  They were heavier than I thought they would be.

Education was very important back then, and I'm grateful for those who took the time to teach others these important skills.  I can't remember if it was here or some other place, but we were told that there were a good  number of educated saints that signed up for the Mormon Battalion. They had been taught how to read and write and could sign for themselves.  I guess that was unusual for the area and the time.

Julie's pick was to visit the Lyon Drug Store.

 They had all kinds of herbal remedies and even teeth extraction equipment on display.  How cool is that!  I was impressed with how much the pharmacist had to have known about natural remedies and how to treat the ailments!  Karly was a bit unruly, and this sweet sister was so kind and gave her a special job of attaching the rope and reattaching it while she spoke.  It worked wonders, especially when Ethan also was done and needed something to do.  These missionaries are so patient!

Our last tour was the Brigham Young Home.  I didn't get to see much as a certain 4 yr old suddenly had a potty emergency, but I was able to snap a couple of pictures of the interior of the house.  He was a cabinet maker, and all of the homes he had portrayed his magnificent workmanship.

After dinner we attended the Country Fair. 

 

There were so many activities for the kids to do!  We didn't even get to do all of them.  The highlights were headband making, the puppet show, the bean bag toss, the wood cutting and burning of the Nauvoo Temple, the "yo-yo's", and the dancing!  It was pretty humid at this time, so everyone on the dance floor was hot and sticky.  The music was live, and man could that band play!  I was impressed at the quality of everything here.  The church takes great measures to  provide the best!

All too soon the bagpipes were once again playing, signaling everyone to their seats for the Nauvoo Pageant.  The performance was PACKED this time around!

 I am grateful we went earlier in the day to reserve seats as we had been instructed to do.  The pageant takes place after the immigrants made their way to Nauvoo.  It is about their struggles and their desire to build a temple.  It was a touching performance.  With about 20 minutes left in the production the rains came down HARD!  Everyone ran for cover, but the show continued.  I chose to stay under a tree and finish the show.  The rest of my family went to the van and waited.  Towards the end of the performance the rains ended and it was nice.  The temple lights are turned off for the performance, and then come on at the end.  It was a special experience for me to see that all by myself with the rain barely a sprinkle.  I was touched by the spirit and couldn't help but love these people and what they did.

 After seeing the performance I am looking forward to our visit to Carthlage Jail bright and early in the morning.