Monday, May 10, 2010
This weekend was a hugely exciting one. I took the kids to Nauvoo and received my endowment! The Temple was amazing and Nauvoo was so neat. The kids did not want to leave!
On Friday (5/7/10) we drove with Kadarah and Annie to Nauvoo. It took seven hours to get there... The temperature dropped 20 degrees during that time and Nauvoo was quite chilly! I had packed for hot, humid weather and the kids were FREEZING. Our first stop was at our hotel, Nauvoo Villas and Condos, to check in and drop off our stuff. Then we went shopping for sweatshirts. Our first stop was Allyn House which was really cool, but no kid seatshirts... We did get Hannah and Leah pink bonnets there, along with some jacks, a temple magnet, recommend holder, and 3 squished pennies. Next stop was Latter Day Harvest where they DID have the cutest "Old Nauvoo" sweatshirts that became the kids' uniform for the weekend. I also bought a Simon Dewey print "As I Have Loved You" and a rubber band gun for Elijah. I saw the Simon Dewey print that I *really* want in a HUGE frame... too bad it cost about $600! Then we drove by the Temple and I jumped out and snapped a picture on my phone to post on Facebook :) By that time it was 4:30pm and we only had 30 minutes before the demonstrations closed. We went to the Scovil bakery and got our gingerbread cookies (yum). I got a text from Vanessa saying they wouldn't be getting into town in time for dinner, so we decided to eat and go 'home'. We ate a pretty expensive buffet at the Nauvoo Diner (Grandpa John's, I believe)... fried shrimp, which was good, and the kids ate most of mine!
The next morning (5/8/10) Vanessa and I had to be at the Temple at 9:30am to prepare for the 11:00 endowment session. Kadarah came along to do some initiatories before the endowment session. We met Vanessa and Michael at the Temple Arrival Center and exchanged Vanessa for my three kiddos. Michael and Annie took Hannah, Elijah, Leah, Jed and Zoe to all the cool demonstrations. Apparently, they got a lot of puzzled looks as people tried to figure out the ages of those five kids ages 7 and under :) Annie wondered how she, at not quite 21, could possibly have that many kids!
Inside the Temple, the Brother in charge of getting my records in order forgot that endowments use the maiden name, so he couldn't find my records... that took a few extra minutes! Kadarah took my cards of ancestors who needed initiatories done for them. Then she and Vanessa each took one to do the endowment for them. What wonderful friends!!
I was quite overwhelmed with the endowment session. Too much to learn at one time for sure! It's a good thing they walk you through every step :) If I go alone next time, I'm sure to get an "I don't know what I'm doing" sticker for sure, lol. I know it will get better each time.
After the Temple, the kids were a cranky, hungry mess! Hannah had scraped her knee on her boot (brace for her hurt foot) and was very sad. We had a yummy sandwich lunch at Nauvoo Mill and Bakery and everyone felt much better :)
We dropped Kadarah at the Land and Record building, then we managed to get on an unadvertised wagon ride! Even wrapped in quilts it was a pretty cold ride, but it was worth it. Leah fell asleep on me for the entire hour ride!
The kids had missed the barrel making exhibit at The Family Living Center so we went to that and then got to hear about candle making before it closed. Everyone we met commented on Hannah's cute bonnet!
We had a light dinner at McKee's (??) , then it was time to head to "Rendezvous at Old Nauvoo". It was very entertaining to see so many of the missionaries performing!
Sunday morning we went to the 8am missionary Sacrament Meeting and we saw several of the performers from the previous nights show passing the Sacrament. That was neat! There were something like 346 missionaries in Nauvoo!! The place was packed... We sat in the 2nd overflow!
After church we headed back to the Temple and Michael took pictures. The kids all touched the Temple, and Hannah can't wait to be old enough to do baptisms there!
We went back to the condo for an early lunch and to pack up the car. We headed home at 11am. Amazingly, Michael and Vanessa, who were staying elsewhere, ended up behind us on the highway. After a while I had Michael pass us and we followed him and his GPS most of the way home.
The kids are ready to go back! Maybe in the fall...
