John took two weeks off, and we went to Missouri to spend Christmas with my parents and my sister. We drove 11 hours to Kansas City, spent the night at my parents' house, and then the next day we got back in the car and drove another 5 hours to Nauvoo. We arrived around 7 pm, and the town was DESERTED! The temple was beautiful.
Nativity outside on the temple grounds.
We stayed in a lovely two-bedroom condo with a kitchen and everything, so we could cook our own meals. The restaurants in Nauvoo are not to be recommended. The next morning we started the touring at the Visitors' Center, which was also decorated for Christmas.
We took a horse and wagon ride around Nauvoo and got a nice overview of the things we wanted to go back and see in detail. It was so cold, they gave us quilts to bundle up with while we rode around.
The missionaries were lonely because the town is pretty deserted in the winter, and they came out wave at us as we passed by and invited us to come in.
I loved this statue of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young looking west over the Mississippi River.
That night we saw the funniest performance of "Rendevous in Old Nauvoo." It's a period musical put on by the all the couple missionaries, and it was hilarious.
It's interesting when you get home and realize what you forgot to take pictures of. John and I went to the temple while my parents took the kids to see more of the houses and to learn some pioneer skills. The kids cleaned up--they brought home rope they made, bricks from the brick yard, "prairie diamond" rings from the blacksmith shop, they ate gingerbread cookies at the bakery, and they learned about and sampled homemade bread baked in the fire.
When we got back to Missouri, John did an engineering activity with them using spaghetti and marshmallows.
Christmas Eve: modeling the new pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa.
On our way home, we took a detour to Lawton, Oklahoma, to visit John's parents, who are serving a mission at Fort Sill. The kids were really excited to see them, and had a good time.
2 comments:
Tamara! I miss you! It is so fun to see the pictures of the kids and hear about all you are doing! We think about you lots!
And even with the blankets we nearly froze to death!!! I love Nauvoo, but it will never be a health resort---either it is hot, sticky, and buggy, or so cold you want to hibernate!! And the food IS terrible!
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