Nauvoo, Day 3

One last visit to complete our trip to Nauvoo--the Family Living Center. Here they teach you about all the work the families had to do just to function. The baking of bread that lasted hours each day, every day, the candle making, rug making, rope making, thread making, carding of wool and linen, spinning, pottery, barrel making. It's exhausting just thinking about it. And I complain (and am seemingly unable!) to keep my nice modern home tidy. And then add in my kids, and I think I would have lasted a total of a day back then.



We all contributed to rope making.

Then began the long drive home. Why is it that going home always seems to take longer than going there!? I was actually really impressed with the girls. Even with Mac being fairly newly potty trained, she did great and there were no dire emergencies. We're home safe and sound, now, and happy to have our own beds back again!

Nauvoo, Day 2

Today was our only full day in Nauvoo, and we started out with a wagon ride through the old settlement. Mimi was, ahem, very difficult to keep relatively still. I think Brad and I passed her back and forth like 8 times.



Much of the ride went something like this:



The Senior Missionary men that drive the wagons are real teamsters, and they take care of the horses themselves. Our horses were lovely dappled greys.



Mac was totally interested in touching the horse's little forelock (?). Is that the right word? Of course, this was after asking if horses were nice.



Look at that Leiden's face.



While I stayed with Meems at the hotel for naptime, Brad, Colin, and Joy took the girls to check out some other stuff. Wagon wheels,



Bricks from the brickmaker,



The Pioneer Pastimes spot, where the girls got to dress up, and...ride pretend sheep.



Later that evening we went to go see the Women's Gardens, which were lovely. Mac took some time out on the grass.



Mimi was perplexed by a flower. (I love this picture.)

Mimi was also fascinated with an orange cone. She not only carried it around, but, of course, tried to bite it.

She had some thoughtful moments in the gardens. (I also LOVE this picture. Brad has a good eye.)

Here we are right before we went to the Sunset on the Mississippi show, which was really a great show. We were kind of expecting more of a devotional type thing, but, while respectful and spiritual in parts, it was mostly a remarkably entertaining example of what the original residents of Nauvoo might have done for entertainment. There was music, stories, funny jokes, and many other highly amusing antics. It being Memorial Day, they did a special segment for the armed forces, singing each of the divisions' songs while they had those in attendance who were past or present members of each respective division stand to honor them. I was truly touched to see a surprising number of older men stand and many would sing along with their song. What an honor to have been in their presence on this Memorial Day.

Nauvoo, Day 1

We left for Nauvoo this morning, and after about 6.5 hours in the car, we arrived in Nauvoo. Whew. Uncle Colin served his mission here, so it's fun for him to come back and visit. Joy hasn't ever been here before, so it's also fun for him to show her around.


This is one of the original sunstones on the Nauvoo Temple. Absolutely amazing craftsmanship. And to think that it was all hand carved. What an astounding amount of work and love went into that building.



I've mentioned before that Leiden's response to the Spirit is to get love-y and sweet. And I'm glad I know that about her. (As an aside, I laid on the floor of the Nauvoo Visitor's Center to get this shot. Don't mind the lady on the floor.)



Mimi was pleased to be free, and the flowers were just perfect for her to contemplate.



Later on at the hotel, she found one of the girls' swim packs and put it on her head. She very often provides the comic relief for our family--when Mac is taking a break from the job!



Colin and Joy stayed behind with the kids after bedtime so Brad and I could take a walk. The Nauvoo Temple is so lovely.

Leiden's Birthday Party

Leiden loves science, so we decided to have a science birthday party. I had seen some pretty awesome inspiration online, so we forged ahead. These are the invitations I sent out.



These are the coordinating favor bags. (Love them.)



These are the little bubbling flask cookies I made for the favor bags.



I also made the cupcake toppers. Whew.



And little craft foam centerpieces for the balloons to hide in.



The set up, complete with placemats, test tubes, lots of empty cups, safety glasses, and little experiment cards.



Food experiments for dinner: Does pineapple taste good with olives? Let's find out!



Unfortunately, because we did this on Memorial Day Weekend, only two kids were able to come, but the little boy is the life of I'm sure any party he attends, so it was just fine. Leiden has made a lot of new friends here, so we stuck with just the new ones.



The experiments included color mixing, with these great color tablets that dissolve in water, and they mix, just like paint.



Too bad I have like 8 pairs of kid safety glasses left over. We sent out 12 invitations, and from the RSVP's, we expected 8 kids, including Mac and Leiden. There were 4 total. Including Mac and Leiden. I guess people don't really understand the function of RSVP. Mac was stylin'.



Leiden looked pretty cute in them, too!



The next experiment was Insta-Snow! Such fun for the kids,



and thankfully we took it outside.




Brad had the bright idea to experiment with the colored water and the Insta-Snow, but then it got stuck in the test tube.



Cute little water bottle labels.



The kids loved this experiment--soda and mentos geysers!

This was watching the first of three demonstrations of the geyser.

Then, someone thought it would be fun to try and run through the geyser.

Mimi was pretty entertained, as well. Although confined to her seat.

Experimental ice cream sundae bar. All the things you could want (well, six of them) on ice cream!

Like I said, life of the party.

The candle pictures were all blurry, so here is the birthday girl with her cupcake.

We are so lucky that Uncle Colin and Aunt Joy could be here for Leiden's special day!

Whew. It's been a busy few weeks leading up to this party! Brad tells me I need to not work so hard the next time, but it was so fun, and Leiden had a great time with her friends.