Summer Time--Nauvoo

It begins

Summer begins to have one meaning around our house, road trip.  This year was no different and for about the past 6 months we have been planning yet another epic road trip.  (I will have to stop thinking of each one as epic because they don't ever stop being epic)  We drove 5,600 miles and saw most of our extended families and a bunch of neat places. 

Sunset on the Mississippi.

We left on July 3rd and our first stop was to Nauvoo, Illinois.  It is a sleepy little town on the Illinois/Iowa border but it holds religious and personal significance for Hyrum and I.  In the mid-1800s the LDS Church built a community there.  It flourished for a while and then at the martyrdom of Joseph Smith, the prophet and his brother Hyrum, the mob violence drove the Latter-day Saints west and eventually to Utah and the Salt Lake Valley. 

Hannah participated in the "Just Plain Anna Amanda" Show in Nauvoo.

There is a historical part of town where you can visit old stores, a blacksmith shop, a bakery and various homes of people who lived there at the time.  There are young performing missionaries there in the summer and they put on different shows through the day and evening.  We arrived in time for their night time show on the 3rd.  The kids loved it and it made me miss my dancing and singing days in high school.  We laughed and shed a few tears.

Our family posing with statues of Joseph and Hyrum Smith at Carthage Jail.

We started the 4th of July off with a visit to Carthage jail where Joseph and Hyrum Smith were wrongfully imprisoned and martyred. We spent the rest of the day in Nauvoo, riding in an oxen drawn wagon, exploring the workings of the brick maker, blacksmith, and finding where various ancestors owned land in the city.  We even saw friends we knew from Texas.  (They were on their way to Pennsylvania from South Dakota.)

Our oxen ride

The Spirit there was beautiful.  I love learning about how our ancestors lived and the faith they had even amidst so many trials.  The kids enjoyed the activities and the musical theater things we saw.  I look forward to going back again when they can really appreciate all that happened there and the spiritual history.

Nauvoo Temple

The End of an Era

When Hyrum and I got married, Hyrum brought with him a lovely red sedan.  It was the first car that included my name on the title.  It was a good car.  Cleitus took us all over the place, from Utah to Texas, to New York, various high points within driving distance of Texas and Utah.  It was our family car for 5 good years then with the pending arrival of Charlotte it became second fiddle to the blue van.

We still loved Cleitus and often remembered our adventures with him, including the "rest stop of doom" (must be spoken with an ominous tenor), not too far from where we now live.  Over the years, every time Cleitus needed a repair we would ask ourselves if it was really worth it and if the car would repay our diligent efforts to care for it with another several thousand miles of good service.  Each time, we won the bet. 

This winter however, I hit a pothole, really bad.  It bent the tire rim and while there was no structural damage, Cleitus just wasn't the same.  Our stalwart car was done in by a pothole.  At the end of March we decided it was time to trade Cleitus in for something more reliable and more fuel efficient since it was Hyrum's commuter car.  We bought a silver Honda Civic and look forward to putting it through it's paces. 

Cleitus will be missed but I'm glad I no longer worry about whether I'll get a phone call to pick Hyrum up from work because the car won't start. 

He was a good car.

The Zoo

Pittsburgh has lots of things to do.  Last year we had a membership to the Carnegie museums and I am still mourning the lapse in that membership.  The kids chose a membership to the Zoo this year so on one of the warm days in March we went to the Zoo.

I always hear about the disappointment of going to the zoo:  animals inside, in the shade or just sleeping and kind of boring.  We were prepared for anything.  It was a day to enjoy being outside and maybe we'd be surprised.

It was a great day for the zoo.  The animals were up and moving and it was exciting.  The lions and tiger roared.  The flamingos squawked, loudly.  The monkeys played games with us.  It was pretty fun and the kids loved it too.

President's Day

For President's day we didn't really do anything except plan on spending the day together.  We went outside early and played in the snow.  It was nice to spend a day together.

My snow babies.

Spencer doesn't really care for the snow but he'll push the baby stroller all over.

Finally, a clear driveway.

Happy Birthday to me!

In February, I turned 30 years old.  I'm not a big fan of my birthday because I feel like it's suppose to be a special day but I'm the only one who knows that.  Most years I try to make it a good day for my kids thinking if they are having fun I will be having a good day too.  It always back fires. This year I decided to have a party, just for me, no kids and no husband either.

A few friends came over and we crafted and ate popcorn--four different flavors, crafted and painted toenails.  I had a good time.  I made party favors and everything.  Of course I failed to take many pictures.  At the end of the party, Hyrum arrived home from a week long trip and my parents pulled in the driveway for the weekend. 

Saturday, we celebrated with a birthday dinner and Hannah's first piano recital.  It was fun to have friends and family all together to celebrate Hannah and I together.  We topped it off with cake and presents.  It was a good day and finally a good birthday for the books.  I think I need to celebrate more often : )