Our Little Family: Nauvoo

One of my favorite places we visited while we were back east was Nauvoo, it truly is a beautiful place. We were only there for a day and half so we didn't get to see everything, but we got to see the highlights.

One of the cool things we got to see was Joseph's Red Brick Store. It is owned by the Community of Christ Church, and they rebuilt it exactly how it was in Josephs time. On their tour they let you go upstairs and sit in the room where the Relief Society was organized. You couldn't take any pictures inside so here is one from outside.

Another fun thing we did was go to the Nauvoo visitors center. It was such a nice place, and the spirit that was there was very special. Ashlyn loved all the statues of the Prophet Joseph,

but her favorite statue was of our Savior.

At the visitor center you can take a wagon ride around Nauvoo. This was the best way to see everything. Everything was so green and beautiful it reminded me a lot of England. Below is a picture of the wagon we rode in.

And this is a picture of the Nauvoo temple up on the bluff. The temple was so beautiful.

This is the four of us on the wagon ride. It was so cold they gave us blankets to huddle up in. We bundled Nathan up so much that he fell asleep.

Below is a picture of the place where the Prophet Joseph Smith, his wife Emma, and his brother Hyrum are buried.

One of Ashlyn's favorite places that we visited was the Scovil bakery. You got to go inside and the senior missionaries told you a little history of the bakery, and then at the end they gave you a gingerbread cookie. (Can you can guess why it was Ashlyn's favorite)

We got to visit the brick yard where they show you how they made the famous red brick, and then you got to take a mini red brick home with you. For some reason we didn't get any pictures of that, but the bricks are really neat. We also went to the blacksmiths and they showed us how they made shoes for the horses and oxen. Below is a picture of a replica of what the saints would have used to travel to Utah in.

Another of my favorite things we did was walk down Parley street. This was the street that the saints walked down to cross the Mississippi river to start on there journey west. At the end of the street is a memorial of all the saints that died along the way to Utah. It was so beautiful and peaceful there you could really feel the spirit of those saints.

I know I keep saying another of my favorite parts was... but visiting the Nauvoo temple was in my top two for sure. Jarom and I, his Mom and Dad, and Todd and Jess got to go though a session there. The spirit was so strong. The temple is beautiful both inside and out. I don't think you can appreciate how big the temple is until you see it up close. It was amazing to think that the saints built that temple without the use of modern tools. Also I have to say a big thank you to Laurel (Jarom's sister) who watched Ashlyn, Nathan, and Luke so we could go to the temple.