Nauvoo Trip June 2015

We hadn't been very adventurous since moving to Indy and with the looming possibility of us moving again we wanted to try and do at least one excursion before we left.  So we decided that living only 6 hours away from Nauvoo warranted a trip that way.  I came here as a kid once or twice and loved it.  I've always wanted to take my family back and it seemed like this was the perfect opportunity. We decided to make a 2 day trip out of it so we had enough time to see as much as possible.  Originally we were planning our trip with BJ and the kids but at the last minute one of them got sick so they opted to stay home, which was probably for the better since it got really hot while we were there.  We decided to skip the crowds and not go during the pageant.  It would have been nice to see it but knowing my little kids, it would have been a disaster.  It was perfect, no lines, no chaos, we could go wherever and whenever we wanted.  We left Sunday after church and got there in the evening and had dinner, goofed around our hotel and made a plan for the next day. We woke up early Monday morning to beat the heat and headed out.  Our first stop was the temple.  I remember coming here as a kid and only seeing the cornerstones in the ground.  What a transformation it was.  Love this place.  

 Then we headed to the visitor's center to get a map and visit the gardens.  Another memory of coming here when I was younger was recreating some of the statues with my nutty sisters.  So of course my kids wanted to do the same.

 This is the one I remember the most as a child.  One of us stood behind the "mom" and made her hair fly.  It was pretty hilarious.

 My weird family.

 I think this is sweet.

 not quite the same effect, but funny nonetheless.  It gets better I promise.

 Haha cracking up.

 Love Randy's face.

 Cute little girl.

 Love it.

 Then we proceeded to walk all around historic Nauvoo.  I didn't take a lot of pictures at each of the homes cuz we were wrangling little kids but I really feel like they learned something special.

 We did get to see a cute puppet show and play.

 

By the end of the day, we were all pretty worn out and grouchy from the heat.  So we went back to the hotel for dinner and to cool down.  We were going to try and go back for the evening festivities, but the kids were "done" and there was a thunderstorm heading our way so we opted for the hotel pool instead.  The next morning we went back to Nauvoo for a couple more things like the Oxen ride.

 Then on our way home stopped at Carthage to get a tour of the jail where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were murdered.  

 It was a neat experience for everyone and I'm so grateful that we took the time to go.

Caution! Lots of Random IPhone Pics

Like so many already had, I finally joined the new age and started using a smart phone right after moving to Indy.  To tell you the truth I wasn't that excited.  I loved my dumb phone...it was small, it wasn't distracting, it got the job done.  But moving to a new place, not knowing anyone or where anything was, it was sure nice to have to make sure I didn't get lost and to find anything with a swipe of a finger.  Picture taking could happen all of the time, anywhere with ease.  With that picture taking ability, my phone filled up fast, sometime with nonsense pictures.  With that I give you...Random Pics

 These girls loved to steal my phone and take as many selfies as they could before I noticed.  I mean sometimes I would find 500+ pics on my Ipad or phone of craziness.

 This little stinker crawled himself into this seat and passed out.

 The children's museum has some moving exhibits and some of these pics are of those exhibits.  This was the TV land exhibit and we got to sit in the Simpson's living room.  Uncle Billy would be green with envy.

 Someone decided tights on dad's head would be funny and tying them into a bow too look like  mouse ears was hilarious. 

  Masie got a hold of someone's lipstick.

 enjoying outside.

 Teenage mutant ninja turtle exhibit.

 Of course they would have an Indy race car exhibit.

 Kenz wanted to make shorts for girls camp as a value project.  These are the finished project.  She made them with Bry and Morgan even got a couple of pairs.

 Morgan tackling Kenzie's friend Steph.

 We always liked getting together with the Matney's.

Micah caught a fish at the outdoor adventure.

 And Masie got to ride a pony

 And we all got to shoot a bow and arrow.

 Kenzie made some great friends in Indy.  Steph and Mal made Kenz their third twin.

 Masi decided to turn Kaders into a sticker book.

 

 One of the stake dances Kenzie went to had a superhero theme.  So She went as superman.

 Masie wanted to be a bunny fairy princess for Halloween.

 Kenz stealing my phone.

Bry and Kenz Carving pumpkins.

 Or maybe they are birthing them.

 Ward Halloween party/trunk or treat at a members house.

 our yearly Thankful Turkey

 Morgan at New Beginnings.  One of the leaders painted this as a value project.

 Micah acting like Dumb Donald from Fat Albert.

 Our Turkey got really big with all of the missionaries we fed this year.

 My dad retired in January 2015 and they quickly left to come and visit kids before Andy was deployed again.  So we got to see them for a couple of days on their journey.

 We visited the Saints and Soldiers Museum downtown.

 And climbed to the top of the tower to get this view.

 They have an elevator that goes up to the top, but we opted for the exercise.  I hiked up those stairs with Kaders in the front pack.

.

 Kenz and Morgan Heart attacked us for Valentines day.  It was cute.

 We didn't get much snow this year, lots of frigid temperatures but not much snow. When it finally did snow in March the kids took advantage of it.

 We had a heck of a month in February.  5 out of the 6 kids had ear infections.  So the only way I was going to be able to stay on top of all of the medication was to make a spreadsheet.  Randy was so proud of me, lol.

 A sweet lady in our ward, Sister Banks, loves kids and she would always give treats or sometimes little toys to the kids in the ward on Sundays.  We went over to her house a couple of time to visit with her, one of the times she was raising chicks in her house to take out to her farm.  The kids really wanted to see them before they left.

 More Indy cars

 We spent Easter and Conference with the Matney's.

 We had a fun egg hunt with them.

 Kaders getting to play in the grass finally.

 We also got to Andy's over Memorial day.  

 Andy was deployed at the time, it was sure nice to spend some time at their home.

 On the way home we stopped at the Matney's one last time because they were moving back west to be closer to family in Wyoming.  It was nice while it lasted.

 One last random pic of swinging in the park.

I'm sure I will have more posts like these in the future.