Nauvoo

On July 17 we made the 9 hour drive to Nauvoo. I was excited for the boys to learn more about our Church's history and see what life was like for the early saints. Unfortunately I think the number one thing they are going to remember is how hot it was! Each time we would go in a building for a tour Tyler would announce (in his most dramatic voice) "I cannot believe how hot it is out there!" The missionary giving the tour would then ask him where he was from, and I always got a funny look once Tyler said Florida! He really wasn't exaggerating about the heat though, the average temperature for the four days we were there was 100. If you factor in the humidity it was close to 120! It actually felt hotter than what we're use to! I am happy to say that the Nauvoo Temple has stuck with both the boys. Later in our trip we were in a Deseret book store and they both kept pointing out pictures of the temple and saying, "That's the temple we saw in Nauvoo!" We had a great time sight seeing and really enjoyed the Nauvoo Pageant. My mom even let me slip away one afternoon to do some work in the temple. It was definitely the highlight of the trip for me!

Our hotel was in the town next to Nauvoo, we never did figure out the official pronunciation of it's name!

We drove through 75 miles of corn fields before reaching our hotel.

Tyler was excited to get his picture taken with the corn!

We learned how to make rope, and Tyler got to help!

The boys with the finished product.

Waiting in the shade for a tour to start.

Riley trying one of the pioneer games.

Granny showed the boys how it was done!

Playing Joseph Smith's favorite game, the stick pull.

Tyler getting some help on the stilts.

Riley playing another one of the pioneer games.

My cute pioneer children!

This sun stone is from the original Nauvoo Temple. Only two sun stones survived after the temple caught fire in the late 1800's, the other stone is on display at the Smithsonian.

The statue of Joseph and Hyrum leaving Nauvoo for the final time.

The Nauvoo Temple (from the back).

The front of the temple.

Granny and Madison in their matching outfits.

The boys loved being pulled by the oxen!

In the visitors center.

Standing in the Mississippi River.

Nine months down...

...and only three more to go until Madison's first birthday! Really!?! I think time goes by faster with each child! She has been a busy little girl since I last posted about her! Here is what she's been up to:

*Growing! She is now a whopping 17 lbs 2 oz and is 26 3/4 inches long. That puts her in the 25 percentile for both her height and weight.

*July was a big month for Madison, she learned to sit up and cut two teeth!

*Her hair is getting longer! It has a mind of it's own though, and the only thing it wants to do is stick straight up. Madison always looks like she stuck her finger in an outlet! Her headband and bow collection is growing, I just need to remember to put them on her!

*Her diet has expanded and now includes baby food and cereal. She also fusses at us if she sees us eating and we don't offer her any! She is an amazing eater and hasn't refused anything yet. She happily eats all her veggies, and even eats the baby food meats. Of course she loves fruit too!

*She is picking up toys and cheerios with two fingers now instead of her whole hand.

*She is crawling!!! It is the cutest thing to watch! She is an even happier baby now that she can get things all by herself!

*She 'talks' all the time! Her favorite thing to say is dada, in fact it's the only thing she says other than her baby babble. Not a single attempt at mama yet.

*She is such a happy, content baby! I can sit her on the floor with some toys and as long as one of her brothers is in the room she will sit there happily for really long stretches. (And I take full advantage of this to get laundry and other chores done!)

*It is so fun to dress a little girl! Madison has a lot of people who love her and supply her with endless amounts of adorable outfits! Get ready for picture overload...

These sweet shoes are courtesy of her Aunt Marci!

Even though she is completely ignoring me I think this picture is so cute!

She is the happiest baby unless you are a professional photographer trying to take her picture, then all she wants to do is cry!

Despite the look on her face she loves to eat!

If you click on this picture to see it bigger you will also see her two teeth!

She is so excited that she can get things all by herself!

Posts are coming!

Now that I've gotten everything unpacked, caught up on my tivo, made it through the first two weeks of school (mainly learning to be a morning person again!), and gotten back into the normal routine of life I'm ready to tackle the hundreds of pictures I have from our trip. I promise posts are coming!