Lucy and Garrett were off school Friday so we had a nice long 4 day weekend to look forward to. The weather was going to cool down for most of it and it was perfect to be outside. It made us excited for some cooler fall weather to start showing up. We tried to think of something fun to go do with everyone. We felt up for an adventure so we decided to load up our bikes and go to Nauvoo for the day. We are about 2 1/2 hours from Nauvoo so it was a drive but not to bad. We packed a picnic lunch and got everything loaded in the car. We got to Nauvoo around noon and stopped at the visitor center to use the bathroom. We also refilled our water bottles and looked around briefly. It was cute as I was at the drinking fountain with Garrett he turned to me and just looked so excited. He had a big smile on his face and said to me " I can tell I'm really going to like it here!" I was happy to hear him say that. I have many memories of visiting Nauvoo as a child and always felt the spirit there. I was excited to be there with our family there now. We walked around the women's garden just outside the visitor center and looked at the statues.
We then went to the Nauvoo park to have lunch and let the kids run around for a little while. We got the bikes all unloaded and headed to start seeing some sites. We first stopped at the printing place, both Lucy and Garrett found most of the sites interesting to learn about. We knew Nolan would be a struggle since it was now nap time and he in general is a busy 2 year old. He did well for the most part as we toured the John Taylor home. I decided to just take Lucy and Garrett into the post office.
We then rode down Parley street, the tail of hope as they now call it. It heads right down to the river. As you go down the street you can look back and see the Nauvoo temple. This is the path the saints took as they left Nauvoo and headed west. The kids enjoyed seeing the mighty Mississippi river and looking inside the pioneer wagon they had there on display.
We stopped at the blacksmiths for a prairie diamond and to learn how they made the wagon wheels. One of JJ's seminary students told him that morning that her grandparents were serving mission in Nauvoo. We kept our eye open for them and he happened to be the one presenting at the blacksmiths shop. JJ chatted with him about how his granddaughter was in his seminary class. Lucy was the lucky one to come home with the little horseshoe they made for us there. We all picked out a prairie diamond ring.
Since Lucy got the horseshoe we said Garrett could have the souvenir brick from the brickyard. He was pretty excited about that. JJ took the kids in there to listen to how they made bricks there in Nauvoo. Nolan was very wrestles at that point and just wanted to run around.
We also stopped at the school house and then decided to ride our bikes to maybe catch a wagon ride. By time we got there they had ended for the day. It was still nice to ride around and enjoy looking at things. We stopped and walked around the temple for a little while. I love all temples and think they are so pretty. We pointed out the symbols on the temple to the kids. Maybe someday JJ and I can actually attend a session at the Nauvoo temple.
Our last stop was to visit the Smith family burial site. We didn't stay long just walked back to take a quick look. We then headed back to the park and got everything loaded back up in the van.
We were surprised that we were able to see a fair amount of Nauvoo in the short while we were there. It wasn't busy this time of year which was nice. We couldn't have asked for a better day to spend biking around. It has been 4 years since we were there last. Hopefully in the next few years as Nolan gets older we can make it back up to see the pageant. I know that as the older kids continue to grow up they learn so much from experiences like this. We stopped in Keokuk for some dinner before headed home. We are glad we went, we had a fun day together. I am so thankful for a fun family to spend time with.
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