Nauvoo

We had the opportunity to go to Nauvoo last week to pick up Danny’s grandma (Ora Mae) from her mission. Danny and I, his parents (David and Becky) and his sister left Wednesday, September 9th and came home Friday the 18th. We drove as far as South Jordan and Wednesday night and then the next day we got up early and headed to Martin’s Cove in Wyoming. That night we stayed in Cheyenne, Wyoming. 9/11 we drove from Cheyenne to Sidney, Nebraska to go to the Cabela’s headquarters then continued on to Omaha, Nebraska. That night we went to Winters Quarters aka Mormon Trail Visitors Center. 9/12 we drove to Liberty, Missouri and went to Liberty Jail. That night we finally arrived in Nauvoo. 9/13 we went to church in Nauvoo and then went to Carthage Jail. 9/14 -9/16 we toured old Nauvoo, going through all the little houses and shops and, my favorite part, the temple session. Wow! What a beautiful temple!! This whole trip was such a good experience! I learned SO MUCH! We left Nauvoo on Thursday and finally arrived home late Friday night.
Below: These are statues of the Four Sweetwater Rescuers. On November 4, 1856 the saints came to the Sweetwater River and didn’t know how they would cross it. These 4 brave men – C. Allen Huntington, Stephen W. Taylor, David P. Kimball and George W. Grant – got in the river and helped the saint across the river. They were in the water all day helping the women and children across. The water was so cold that ice chunks were floating in it.
Liberty Jail – the picture of the key was the original key to Liberty Jail. This is where Joseph, Hyrum, Sidney Rigdon, Lyman Wight, Alexander McRae, and Caleb Baldwin were for about 5 months while awaiting trail.

Carthage Jail – what a humbling experience to be in the exact place where Joseph Smith was martyred. The picture of the door is the original door with the bullet hole from the shot that killed Hyrum Smith. The window that Danny and I are standing by is the window that Joseph Smith fell out of.

The sunsets on the Mississippi River were beautiful!

Brigham Young carved this Noah's Ark set for his son.

Danny’s dad, David, is a professional horse shoer so he got the opportunity to make a horse shoe in the old blacksmithing workshop. That totally made the whole trip for him.
The Jonathan Browning Gunsmith Shop – this was one of Danny’s favorite things! It was pretty cool too see all those old guns and take a tour through his house
Riser Boot Shop, print shop, tin shop, general store, and the Family Living Center.
What a handsome guy! :)
The sun represents celetial glory.
Making a rope at the Family Living Center.
We stayed in this cute little house right in Old Nauvoo, next to the Riser Boot Shop
This was one of my favorite stories… after the Saints left Nauvoo, John Taylor noticed that his son was really really bummed so he asked him what the matter was. His son said that he was sad because he had to leave his rocking horse behind. So, John Taylor snuck back in to Nauvoo one night and got his sons little rocking horse and brought it back to him. The family later donated the rocking horse to the church. This is the original rocking horse. What a good, tender hearted man! I just love that story.
This whole trip was such a testimony builder. I was so inspired by the pioneers and learning more about what they had to go through and the good, positive attitude that they had.
Bathsheba Smith said, "my last act in that precious spot was to tidy the rooms, sweep the floor, and set the broom in its accustomed place behind the door. Then with emotions in my heart... I gently closed the door and faced an unknown future, faced it with faith in God and with no less assurance of the ultimate establishment of the Gospel in the West and of its true, enduring principles, then I had felt in those trying scenes in Missouri". As Danny and I walked down the Trail of Hope and read that quote, we talked about what we would do in their situation and we could only hope that we would have as much faith as these saints had.
Something that I realized that really inspired me was that the saints always kept going. They didn't stop when things got rough or when they lost a loved one....they kept going. If we, in our lives today, can keep the faith and "press forward" when life gets rough and hard, we too will make it through and be stronger because of it. I am so grateful to them and their sacrifices for us.

Kanarraville Canyon Hike

Last weekend Danny was working on a trailer so I decided to go with Kyle and Emily and the kids to hike Kanarraville Canyon. It was BEAUTIFUL! Kade, Kylie and Presley were little troopers. They didn't complain one time. It took us about 3 hours.
We weren't so sure about this "ladder" if you want to call it that. It doesn't look very scary but it takes a little nerve to climb that thing. Each step is only hanging on by one little teeny tiny nail (ok maybe a couple nails, BUT STILL)
And.... we made it....