More Nauvoo with JD and Val!
I can't remember if this was the carriage ride or the oxen ride or the wagon ride. The kids didn't really like this and it was a good thing we had a little food to help Tidence make it through the ride. Am I ready for a little energy ball everywhere I go? Val figured out that I was pregnant on this trip. Must be sisters intuition. However, I never know when she is pregnant!
The kids had fun trying to walk on stilts. Hyrum stuck with it longer than any of the other kids. He got better than anyone.
This was one of Vienna's favorite places of the entire trip. They had little dishes and stoves and chairs and dress up. She and Alissa could have stayed there all day.
Who's house was this? I can't remember! We went in so many houses!
Hyrum really wanted this picture because it was the grave stone for Hyrum Smith.
Definitely one of the most interesting places . . . The blacksmith shop! It is amazing what they could do back then with just the tools and materials that they had.
The brick store. Lincoln has the clay in his hand.
I watched Vienna, Alissa, and Tidence while the rest of the group went in Carthage Jail. It is a very spiritual place and I really wanted the kids to feel it. Plus, I had already been there when we came for our honeymoon.
After they went through, I was able to join a group just for the end and go up in the bedroom where Joseph was martyred.
Notice the bullet hole in the door.
There is the Window that he fell out of.
We stopped at Liberty Jail on our way back to Topeka. This is what the jail looked like from the outside.
This is what the conditions were for Joseph and the others. What a hard thing to go through. It sure makes me feel like I am weak. It would be ssssssssssooooooooo hard for me to go through something like this.
I know that this is a random picture but I wanted to remember the first church activity that William and I went to after we go here. It was a high priest social on the lake. There was a lot of young guys and some of them even went skiing! The Davis's were the first family to invite us over and be our friends. What a cool family.
We were able to take JD and Val to see our future house.
We were able to celebrate the 4th of July with JD and Val. There was a fun neighborhood party at a park with pie eating contest, band, food, and face painting. We all got chigger bites!
William and I decided to dance to the band music. It was a lot of fun! I love dancing with William!!
William's coworkers have a huge firework display that they do every year. It was absolutely amazing! It was better than any city firework display that I have seen! They spend $4,000 just for the fireworks on the 4th and they do a bunch the night before as well. We all really loved it! Val stayed back with the younger kids in her van. She didn't feel safe :)
Here is their stash of fireworks in their garage.
The next day we went to two parades. Valeri took her kids afterward and had them disperse their candy. I have become soft. I let my kids keep their candy.
Since we were still living in a small apartment, Valeri and JD got a hotel. Well, that meant swimming for the kids! They even found a frog to play with.
Here we are squishing in our little apartment. I think this might be the only picture that I have of that apartment.
I took the kids to Gage park and they have a bunch of big animal structures for the kids to climb on.
This was the first time the kids had ever seen "lightning bugs" or "fire flies" They had a great time trying to catch them.
We have so much junk downstairs!!! Where do we put it all? The kids were helping me put together the shelves. However, we still need more!
Marietta and Hunter stopped at our house on their way home from visiting Ross and Rosina since they just came back from their mission. We were still moving in but were so happy to get to know their kids a little bit. Little did we know that a couple months later we would have them with us for a whole week.
Their oldest boy is William.
Jonathon is the youngest. Notice Marietta has short hair like Arletta now.
Mathew is the middle child.
The kids decided to try out their candy store here. Rick began to feel a little old for it. He did make a bunch of money and even sold some dart guns made out of pvc pipe. Hyrum did pretty well selling popsickles. The girls didn't get any business for their balloons but we hope to start getting some business at parties.
We really need a shed or a place for the bikes.
I got a great deal on this entertainment center. Only $45!
I let the kids go on the train at gage park.
