Kelso Chronicles: The City of Joseph

After months of discussing, some of my family decided to go to Nauvoo together and watch the pageant. My brother Trebor, his wife Liz, and their three kids Nicholann, Aleana, and Trinity, as well as my sister JoAnn and her (our) friend Martha, my brother Rob, his wife Jane, and three of their kids Jessica, Lucy, and Sophie joined Ernest, Ally, and myself in Nauvoo this weekend. We all headed up at various times on Friday. Ally did a much better job in the car than I thought she would, playing and singing most of the way. We arrived at the house we rented in Nauvoo (The Gatehouse) first, and JoAnn & Martha showed up a little bit later bringing Casey’s pizza.
**side note: I remember Casey’s pizza was a huge treat growing up and I loved it. Practically every little town we drove through from Kansas City to Nauvoo had a Casey’s General Store, and every one made me want their pizza. I mentioned it to JoAnn, and they brought the pizza for us – and it was just as good as I remember. I will be looking up the nearest Casey’s General Store so that we can get their pizza on occasion – so good! **

The plan was to go to the pageant Friday night. Ally wasn’t cooperating (she was tired since she only slept for an hour in the car) so she and I stayed at the house while everyone else went to the pageant. We turned on Pirates of the Caribbean and I let her play with pillows on the couch until she fell asleep. Well, that was the goal. She wasn’t slowing down, so I put her in her playpen with a couple of the pillows and her blanket. I fell asleep on the couch around 9:30, and when I woke up, she was crashed out in the playpen. The house we stayed in is right off the Mississippi River, and the sunset over the river was gorgeous. My camera was downstairs and Ally wouldn’t let me leave the room, so I didn’t get a picture. We ended up with a giant slumber party. JoAnn and Martha crashed on the sleeper sofas on the main floor, and the rest of us were upstairs in beds, air mattresses, the sleeper sofa, and on the floor. Quite interesting, and rather loud at times! So, Ally and I missed the pageant but everyone else said it was great. I’ve been to Nauvoo several times now, but have never seen the pageant. Oh well, maybe next year.

Saturday morning Jess, Jane, Rob, Trebor, Liz, Ernest, and myself went to do a session at the temple. Martha and JoAnn were angels and hung out with all of the kiddos at the house. The session was fabulous. I was feeling pretty frustrated because I hadn’t slept well the night before. Ally woke up crying at 1:00 and didn’t settle back down completely until 3. I’m sure she woke other people up too. I don’t know how other mothers do it, but when I don’t get enough sleep, oh my goodness. Though, when I’m not pregnant I don’t think it so bad. Anyway. I was frustrated Saturday morning and ready to just skip the temple, and just go on a walk with Ernest. But, we went. As soon as I walked in the temple – there is nothing like it. They were quite busy, so we got to go up to the 4th floor to change, then back down to the 2nd floor, then up to the 3rd floor. It was so fun to walk around and see the architecture inside. Gorgeous! And so peaceful. One of my favorite parts of the endowment session is getting to be in the Celestial Room – and it is so much sweeter when my family is there with me. I love looking around and seeing the sweet faces of my family. It truly is heaven on earth. (by the way, the photo in the attached link is used by permission of the church and was taken before it was dedicated - no cameras are allowed inside now. There is also a great article that goes along with the photo and shows many other pictures of rooms in the temple).

After the temple we stopped by Zion’s Mercantile (a lot of breakables inside, so better done without the kiddos) and then Ernest and I ran to the Fudge Shoppe. I have not had better fudge anywhere. And I try fudge everywhere I go. This time we got German Chocolate and Chocolate Walnut (my personal favorite). We met everyone back at the house, and thankfully everyone survived. Ally, again, was cranky because she hadn’t taken a nap yet and hadn’t slept well the night before. I put her down for a nap and took one too – we slept for a glorious 3 hours. I also didn’t mind so much because it was 95 degrees outside and 90% humidity. Summer in the Midwest. Martha, JoAnn, and Ernest hung out downstairs watching movies and I think playing games. Everyone else went back into Nauvoo to walk around and try not to melt in the sun. We ended up all meeting at the Visitor’s Center to see “High Hopes and Riverboats” performed by the young missionaries. It was so good! I don’t know what it is about Nauvoo, but there is such a special spirit there. I love walking through the town and just feeling the place. Watching the performance, I cried several times. Some were happy tears for what the Saints gained and learned, some were sad tears for what the Saints lost and what they went through.

Ally was getting sleep again (funny how my life is ran by a 1 year old now, and I don’t mind all that much) so we went back to the house for dinner. We had lasagna (yummy, Liz!) and then watched a movie and played until I put Ally to bed again. Just before Ally went to sleep, she played the piano for us (sitting on Auntie JoAnn's lap) and sang for us. We have a budding pianist! That night after everyone was back there were a lot of games going on, and some pillow fights, until Big Brother Rob was trying to sleep and told everyone to go to bed. They didn't, they just got a bit quieter about their playing :)

The next morning, we all packed up and prepared to head back home. Ernest, Ally, and I headed back into downtown Nauvoo and took a slow walk around the temple gardens. Allyson loved looking at all of the flowers and pointing at everything. She also likes to walk in between Mommy and Daddy, holding both of our hands. We then headed back to Kansas City, thinking that we need to go back to Nauvoo for another family weekend, but next time maybe in April or October when it's a bit cooler and less humid out!

Ally did really well on the ride home too. We played in the car a bit before she finally gave in and took a 3 hour nap. Here are some pictures from the car.