We had an awesome week! My parents and brothers all came to visit us and while they were here we went to Nauvoo, Illinois. I had been there when I was Matsen's age, so long enough that I remembered next to nothing about it. It turned out to be one of the best short trips our family has ever taken! There was so much to see and do there that all ages could enjoy. We learned so much about our pioneer heritage and overall the kids did pretty well considering all that we got in in 2 days! (There were a few melt downs, of course). The Nauvoo temple is beautiful!
Getting all four kids to cooperate for picture taking usual ended up at this below, at best, we won't scare you with the worst ones....
We loved going inside the pioneer's homes and hearing stories about them and some of the original artifacts, the story of John Taylor risking his life to go back for this wooden horse for his son made me cry. I have so much love and respect for all of the pioneers.
We took an hour wagon ride around Nauvoo, which was a highlight!
Kelston tried his hand at carrying some empty water buckets.
We visited Carthage jail, this is the room where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum died. There was such a special spirit at all of these places!
On our way home, Wes made the connection that the Far West temple site was only a few minutes off the road, so we made a side stop there. It's a beautiful peaceful place out in the country, as you can see by the rolling farmland below.
We also made some more history with this visit as we reunited with my [little] brother Jacob who just returned from his full-time mission for our church from St. George, Utah. He had only been home for 2 days when they came here. He got to meet Shelten for the first time and they became fast buds.
It was so awesome to have my family here, minus Lindsey and her family, which we missed!! It was so nice to have extra hands here to help with the kids too. They all loved having grandparents and uncles around to wrestle and play with.
And look who's FOUR now!! His squirt gun had sprung a leak making water fights a little rough, so now he can hold his own.
He wanted a rocket for his birthday, so we got him one you hook up to a bike pump and the water pressure makes it shoot up really high. He thought that was pretty fun.
He also wanted to go to the "craft place" that we went to for Matsen's bday. Our kids just love doing things with their hands. Jazlyn made him this cute birthday crown.
Some fun things about Kelston:
He is kind of a wild card. Sometimes I think I have him all figured out and then he'll completely surprise me and do something I totally don't expect.
He LOVES to sing and is really good at remembering words to songs and carrying a melody. Hearing him sing songs about Jesus is one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard.
He is a very caring big brother to Shelten. He loves to help him and he also adores his big sister and brother.
He gives awesome hugs!!
He can be very funny and comes up with silly and very long stories that he makes up.
He adds some great spice and excitement to our family!!
7 comments:
What a great trip! So fun to have your family in town. I can't wait to see you guys this fall. Tell me more about the rocket launcher? I am positive Henry would love that!!
WE enjoyed Nauvoo so much when we helped Kris and Spencer's family move from NY to Utah. You could spend days there and not see it all. We only had 2 hours to spend to stay on schedule for the move but it was still great. And BTW, your kids look great for the pictures. Very normal and happy kids. It's great to be reunited with Jacob I'll bet as well as everyone else. They all look great. We miss you all!
We had so much fun there, the only problem was it went WAY too fast! Your new home is beautiful and I love the neighborhood. Our trip to Nauvoo was just right and I'll laugh every time I watch the video of your family trying to get pictures at the temple. Thanks for a great time! Love you, mom
What a cool trip! I can't believe Jacob is home already! has it really been two years? Is he going to come to BYU-Idaho? I would love to see him again.
What a great trip! I hope to make it out there someday. It looks and sounds lovely.
I've been out of the "blogging" world for so long and I've missed seeing your adorable family. I was telling aaron tonight that I might be in a place where I can start my blog back up. At least so I can do something with all the pictures for posterity. PS; are you on instagram?
Im so jealous that you got to go to Nauvoo. It is also exciting you got to spend some time with your brothers.
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