Nauvoo Day 2

We got to actually tour Nauvoo, which was incredible. I wish we could have spent more time there, but it just wasn't in the cards this time around.
The graves. It's still incredible to me on how their lives ended, but it's even more incredible to realize their testimony and their willingness to do whatever it took to do the work of the Lord. I can't say I have that same devotion, but it wouldn't be a bad lesson for me to learn.
The Mississippi River - way too full, but so incredible.
The Nauvoo band.
Bed in Joseph Smith's office.

The room where the Relief Society was organized. We've come a long way since those first few women.

Walking down the Trail of Hope. Reading their experiences and their testimonies almost brings you to tears.
How they got the wagons across the river.
Standing on the banks of the Mississippi.
AJ wasn't as excited about posing.Picture of Joseph Smith showing Brigham Young the way.
It is absolutely incredible to me how they are able to get the details of the faces.
The Sunstone.
First Vision.

We visited the Memorial to Women Garden which was amazing. Enjoy the statues.













We went to the Temple this day as well. Mom, Dad, and I went to a session in the morning with the other "grown ups." What an amazing place. Then later in the day, we went back and AJ and I did baptisms for the dead with some of our family names AJ and Shauntell found. Dad was able to perform the baptisms and confirmations, which was especially nice.

He knew he was riding to his death, but didn't turn around.
Trying to get a close up of the Angel Moroni.
Going through John Taylor's home. Of course, I had to get a picture of the organ.
Cute rocking horse - with an incredible story. When their family left, his son realized it was left behind and apparently became quite upset about it. John Taylor turned around and retrieved it for his son. What a good father. They were able to take so little and he realized how important it would be to have some kind of comfort.
Making a rug. It looked pretty cool, but we missed the actual demonstration of how they do it.
The finished product.

We did get to help make the rope. It was kind of cool.





Using my mad knot tying skills learned from Girl Scouts and Young Women's Camp.
The Prophet Joseph was truly your everyday man. Dinner was a pretty good buffet at the Nauvoo Hotel.

When we got back to our condos it was time for our family talent show.
The Gunderson grandkids sharing their songs.




The Rinquest kids sharing their self written song.

Agterward, AJ was in a particularly weird mood. And so she modeled this great hairdo:
So it's a little bit out of order, but AJ and I did get to perform together. She had a song she learned in Young Women's and we were able to find the lyrics on the internet so I could sort of learn it. I loved being able to sing with her. The sound isn't as great as I would like it to be, but such is life.