We spent two days in Nauvoo! It was probably my favorite of everything we have done. The people were all so nice and there was so much to do for all ages. The first day we went to see many of the houses. There are so many buildings to see it would probably take a week to go through them all. Much of this city has been restored. There is such a strong spirit in this place.
The church calls acting missionaries for the summer to do the plays that they have through out the day. I think they have to be 18 or older. Savannah loved the idea of doing this and is considering doing it when she turns 18. The first play we went to was "High Hopes and Riverboats." AMAZING! The actors/actresses were so good and sang beautifully. They picked the most talented from all over and all the kids have to be members. We also went to a show for the younger kids called " Just Plain Anna Amanda." Even thought it aimed for a younger audience, we all loved it because the acting was so good. The Pageant was Amazing too!
They have carriage or wagon rides that take you on a tour of old Nauvoo. It was really neat seeing all the sights on a horse pulled wagon. Justin really liked this.
They have a fair before the pageant. Matthew and Savannah spent most of the time doing the dancing and were able to meet some of the youth that were there. We took the other 3 kids around the fair and did things like stick pull, handcart, crafts from that time, stilts, games, stick ball, ETC. There was so much to do. We didn't have time to do it all. Really, you probably need more like a week to really take everything in.
We also went to Carthage jail about 30 min. away. The jail was almost all original. It was sobering being in the same place the Prophet was killed. I can't believe how much sacrifice it took to really have religious freedom. I guess it's always been that way. Being there made you really understand it though. I can't believe how much anger people let into their hearts to kill someone who did no wrong.
Anyway, we loved it enough that we may go back and be in the pageant when Matthew gets off his mission. They have families come for two weeks and be the non speaking parts. The first week you practice in the morning and run the fair at night. The second week you are in the pageant. They have four groups that do this because it's hard to get families that can stay the whole month and it gives more people the opportunity to be a part of it. If you want to be a main character, you have to stay the whole month (of course you have to audition too). And then they have auditions for the acting missionaries that come the whole summer and do the 1 hour plays.
Well we are on our way home as I type!! I'm so ready to be home! I miss my bath and bed and friends and family and park day and......... : ) I won't have time to rest because I need to get school planned for the fall and from what we've been told, the garden is all weeds.
Home here we come!! See you tomorrow!
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