Nauvoo Rendezvous Part 4

And now to finish it all off.  I don't remember where these next two pictures were taken -the post office? the print shop? Probably the store that had all kinds of spices and herbs... Anyway, the sister missionary had one of the bigger boys come up and heft this water carrier on their shoulders, explaining that it would have been their job to go get the water. Everyone wanted to try it, of course, so we went through and took a picture of just about every grand kid. Cole wasn't even tall enough to get the buckets off the ground, but he was determined to have his turn at it.

This is the upstairs of the Red Brick Store. Very cool. It is rebuilt on the original foundation and owned by the Community of Christ (RLDS) church --as is the Joseph Smith homestead and the mansion house.

Here is Tessa teaching a Relief Society lesson. :)

Here is the Smith homestead. We were not allowed to take pictures inside here or the mansion house. This homestead was the first place where Joseph and Emma lived upon their arrival in Nauvoo. The log cabin part is the very original structure that was built as a fort or trading post of some kind before Nauvoo ever existed. The other parts of the home were additions once the family took ownership.

We drove out to visit Carthage Jail and to see Jake's parents working there. What a spirit about this place. We were able to go to the upstairs room of the jail and process how Joseph's and Hyrum's martyrdom would have really taken place --also to understand how John Taylor and Willard Richards were able to miraculously escape the mob, and in Willard Richard's case, a single bullet amid all that were flying. There is absolutely a special spirit about the place.
The little girls by a statue on the grounds:

All the grandkids (good luck getting everyone looking at the camera at the same time):

The whole family right outside Carthage jail:

I love these people.

The grandchildren (minus Paige) on the porch of the old blue house:

When people have asked Tessa how she liked Nauvoo, she makes sure to list the park across the street from this house as one of her absolute favorite things. All these cool hands-on sites, and she loves the seesaw most. Figures. I do have to mention that whenever the presentation at one of the sites was finished, the missionary would ask if there were any questions. Without fail, Tessa would raise her hand and then let the missionary know that she was here just visiting. They were all so sweet to her about her "question", and her aunts and uncles would start to laugh as soon as her hand would shoot up. She was not going to miss her opportunity to command at least a few seconds of a group's attention. I think Tessa is old enough that she will remember this trip. I look forward to reminiscing with her about it.
We really did have a lovely and enlightening time, and the kids could not have been better roadtrippers. I was really proud of them. It was so fun to see the kids get to play with their cousins so much. We treasure the time we get to spend with family, so this trip was really great on several levels.
We had the intention of driving all the way home in one day, but blech. I couldn't do it. So, we stopped in Miami, OK again and relaxed. We ate at a horrible Mexican restaurant (I've since been told to avoid mid-west Mexican food) and took the shortest swim ever at the cold hotel pool. We still had a nice time doing both, though.