Family Trip: Nauvoo 2013

January 16 - 24: 

We took a Stoker family trip to Nauvoo, Illinois. 

We saw the: Brickyard, Brigham Young Home, Browning Home & Gunsmith Shop, Cultural Hall, Family Living Center, Heber C. Kimball Home, Lucy Mack Smith Home, Mansion House, Nauvoo House, Nauvoo Pageant, Nauvoo Temple, Pendleton Home & Log School, Post Office, Print Shop, Quarry Overlook, Red Brick Store, Riser Boot and Shoe Shop, Sarah Granger Kimball Home, Scovil Backery, Smith Family Cemetery, Stoddard Tin Shop, The Homestead, Webb Brothers' Blacksmith Shop, and Wilford Woodruff Home.

Where we stayed during our stay.

Hyrum Smith Home & Farm (where we stayed)

So at the house they had a hot tub. Steve and I got in one night and Steve was messing around with it trying to get the jets to turn on. My dad comes in and says " oh you just push this button" he pushed it and seconds later Steve and I were gasping for breath and racing to get out of the hot tub. Ends up my dad had pushed the cleaning button and a bunch of chlorine came out :) 

Our first stop after we got to Missouri. Liberty Jail

Far West (the fenced off portion is where the ground is dedicated for the temple)

One of the 4 corner stones (under the glass)

Adom-on-di-omin

Our trip to the Nauvoo Temple

My cousin (and good friend!) Kara went through the temple when we were there before going on her mission (she actually left to the MTC today! :)

The Nauvoo Pageant

Pageant cont.

After the pageant we got home to discover that the lock pad to open the door was not working. So we were locked out. We soon discovered the old garage door could be lifted up about a foot.......

.....so they lifted it up and we shoved helped Adriana under to go unlock the door. Adriana was our hero that night!!!

Family Living Center

Some of us drove up to Waterloo, Illinois to visit the John Deere Factories, where they build the engines and tractors.

Cathage Jail

The upper window is where Joseph Smith fell out when he was murdered.

We stopped at the St. Louis Arch before we flew back.

At the top of the arch

At the top of the arch

Our plane trip home was very interesting and VERY long. We were probably 20-30 min to landing in Salt Lake City when we heard the dreaded voice of the captain saying that they had closed the SLC airport due to freezing rain. So off we went to land in Grand Junction, Colorado. Really we couldn't feel too bad for ourselves we sat by a group of missionaries that were coming home to Utah. They were pretty disappointed! We landed and ended up waiting for at least 4 hours for the airport to reopen and for the plane to be refuel. We did have the opportunity to get off the plane and go into the airport but with 19 people in our group we decided we didn't want to haul everyone off. Just my dad got off to go find food. It ended up to be a good decision everyone else got off and we practically had the whole airplane to ourselves.  

Kind of a dorky picture of me but I looked up and there was my mom with the camera.

The pilot even ordered pizza, but OUR true hero that day wasn't the pilot but our dad! He got off the plane and ordered pizza and hauled it back just for our family and then we ended up sharing a little bit too. But it gets better. Abigail was on her last diaper and we still had to fly to SLC and drive home. Dad couldn't find any diapers in the airport, because it was SO crowded, so he paid the pizza guy to go get him some outside the airport. The diapers made it just in time before our plane took off.

At about 3 p.m. we finally landed in SLC. We were suppose to land about 10 a.m.

It was an amazing trip full of SO many great memories!  Giving thanks for a wonderful family!!!