Nauvoo Take 2

We just couldn't let a 4 day weekend go to waste. Especially one with perfect weather! So we packed up the van and headed to Nauvoo.

The kids have only been there twice but Conal and I have been 5 or 6 times. Believe it or not, we still found some things to do that we haven't done before.

I've never been to the Nauvoo cemetery. Very beautiful.

It's nice to live close to Nauvoo so you can go during the off season. I've never been able to get tickets to "Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo" before so it was fun to go this time.

***Mom and Dad---Conal claims to have learned all of the music so that he can teach it to you so you can serve a mission in Nauvoo. ha ha.

Of course we had to do the usual Nauvoo things too. Ya can't leave Nauvoo without visiting the blacksmith to get a "prairie diamond" now can ya.

Not pictured: Getting the Nauvoo brick, candle, bread and gingerbread cookie,Nauvoo bleu cheese, and fresh whole grain bread from the Nauvoo Mill and Bakery.

I learn something new everytime we go to Carthage Jail. That is probably because my kids find it so interesting that I can actually listen to the missionaries.

This time the group in front of us took a little longer than expected and we got stuck in the dark, hot dungeon room for about 15 minutes. I had to chuckle because I could hear several different conversations around me about how being stuck in there for 15 minutes gives you a little bit of a different perspective.

I wanted to spend a few minutes at the Smith Family Cemetery as well.

Very beautiful.

The Reflections of Christ photography exhibit followed us, yet again, to another church history site.
It has been moving from site to site for a couple of weeks at a time and coincidentally, it has been everywhere we have visited.

Speaking of coincidences, while we were in the Blacksmith's shop, a man came and asked me if we were in Palmyra over spring break this year (which we were). They were there too and recognized our family from last March. So crazy!

The Mississippi River is absolutely beautiful this time of year. The kids even refrained from getting wet. I thought for sure someone would jump/fall in. This is the spot where the pioneers crossed the river to leave Nauvoo for the west: (Feel free to insert SNL "in a van down by the river" joke here)

I spent some time by myself at the Land and Records building to research some of Conal's ancestors, as well as my great great great grandfather Edwin D. Woolley. The sweet sister helping me made me a cd with a bunch of info on it to take home and marked Edwin's land on the map for me. She realized that his land was directly below the temple and said "Oh my word, he owned the best property in the city!"

I couldn't agree more.

The last thing we did in Nauvoo was to take a ride on the wagon. The kids thought this was great. Afterward they brought the horses over to the kids and Jackson and Macy took off running.
Those horses were so big they scared them to death. Conal and I were laughing so hard. Jackson did end up calming down enough that he got close to the horses but Macy didn't want to have anything to do with them.

The kids were so sad to leave. Jackson told us the whole way home that he wanted to stay. One day we will move closer to home and I will be so sad to leave all of the church history sites behind. I can't imagine how the pioneers must have felt to approach the river, look back at the Nauvoo temple:

and leave their home behind.

Sienna's baby blessing

We decided to bless Sienna when my parents were in town.

A piece of advice.........don't try to get pictures after church when your church ends at 4 pm, it takes 40 minutes to get home, everyone is tired, and everyone is STARVING. Especially if the baby is hungry. Yeah, I'll be getting some more pictures of her in her dress at a later date =)

Catching up..........a little

To say these 6 kiddos have been keeping me busy is well.....an understatement. But here are some of the things we've been up to lately.

First day of school:

Poor Jackson was feeling a little left out.

Craig, my parents, Aunt Debbie, Aunt Becky and Uncle John all came to visit with in one week. Chicago was the happening place to be at the beginning of the month.

While we had company, we went to Dixon Illinois to visit the boyhood home of Ronald Reagan, one of my favorite presidents.

Boy..........I really need to take more pictures!

To be continued.........

Macy Lou turns two!

While we were in Utah, Macy had her 2nd birthday. We wanted to take advantage of the fact that we were with family, but I was only 6 days out from having Sienna and still felt pretty lousy. We finally decided to go to the park and have pizza and cake with cousins. Luckily my parents, sister, and sister-in-law were good sports about the last minute decision.

My sister-in-law offered to "throw together" a birthday cake a couple of hours before the party but warned me that it wouldn't be fancy. Apparently we have different ideas about what is fancy and what is not because she brought this darling cake to the party:

The pictures really don't do it justice because the frosting was sparkly and shimmered in the sun. So cute and so good. Almond poppyseed with custard filling is my fav!

Thanks for humoring us guys and bringing the kiddos to play.

Happy Birthday Macy! Love ya!

More of Sienna's BIRTHday

Just reminding myself (with random pictures) how glad I am to have made it through my 6th c-section...and in one piece. Well, mostly anyway.

3 Plainfield ward pregnant girls. I was due first, then Kayla later in July (left), then Julene in September (middle).

Mom (not so) patiently waiting to be taken back to the O.R.:

Dad ready to assist in the O.R.
OK he didn't really assist, but the doctor was joking that Conal has seen this so many times that he might as well scrub in.

Brand new baby..........with a serious set of lungs.

Conal making sure that baby got settled in the NICU ok since I couldn't get out of bed.

Me bored out of my mind in the hospital. It sure is more boring when you can't have your baby with you.

Coming home on the 4th of July, and dressed for the occassion:

Cheesy mommy smile.

Yes, I was being cheesy on purpose. I swear!

Sienna

Sienna is here! She was born on July 1st at 12:44 pm. 7 pounds 7 oz. 21 inches long. She definitely looks like one of ours. We just can't decide which of the other 5 kids that she looks most like. It changes from day to day.

Here are the before pictures (courtesy of my personal photographer and sister, Mandi):

And here are some pictures from the NICU:

We are so glad she didn't have to stay in the NICU for long. We are also grateful that my friend Lisa (a NICU nurse at IMC) was there to take care of her. It sure helped ease our fears.

Much more to come about the baby and our trip to Utah.