July 2, 2014

Sorry we didn't get anything posted last week. We simply ran out of time to get everything done that we wanted to do on our Prep-day. So you'll just have to put up with a couple of weeks' activities together in this posting.

The past few days Jill and Jodi and their families have been here in Nauvoo, and we had fun being with them in some of the sites and on a carriage ride. We were sad to see them leave today, but hope they and others will be able to come next year. Below are a few shots of our time together. 

Sunday evening we all went to the outdoor performance of "Our Story Goes On."

On Monday (Jan's and my prep day), we visited several sites, such as this Tinsmith shop . . .

. . . where you learn about this ingenious mousetrap . . .

. . . and the Browning Gun Shop . . . 

. . . and the Blacksmith and Wainwright shop . . .

. . . and the Log School House, where Grandma gave the tour, and . . . 

. . . and Pioneer Pasttimes where you can dress in pioneer clothing . . .

. . . and more clothing . . .

. . . and more clothing . . .

. . . and even more clothing!

Or you can learn to walk on stilts.

And, of course, no gathering is complete without lots of food!

Look at this spread that Grandma provided!

Nothin' like a good ol' home-cooked dinner!

Even the kids agree.

Jeff and Jodi and their gang at the Brickyard

Jodi, Jill and their families with Ben and Mick, the two four-legged missionaries that took them on a carriage ride out in the countryside north of Old Nauvoo

Last week we heard about a Horse and Buggy Museum in a little town called Biggsville, Illinois, which is located 11 miles outside of Burlington, Iowa. We had to go Burlington to do some shopping so we decided to go over to Biggsville to check out the museum. Well, to make a long story short, I thoroughly enjoyed the visit, but Jan not so much! She said it was comparable to my having to go to quilting exhibition in a perfumed store. Anyhow, in this museum there were about 50 different antique horse-drawn farming implements. And, in addition, there were about 10 different touch-screen video screens around the walls of the museum where you could choose to see any of the these horse-powered machines in action. I found it very fascinating and could easily have spent another couple of hours there. The following two pictures give you an idea of the kinds of equipment they had in the museum. If you would like to see a movie snippet of the museum owner driving various teams of horses (4-horse, 6- horse, and 9-horse hitches) while plowing, go to the following URL:

http://www.horseandbuggymuseum.com/Horse_and_Buggy_Museum/Gang_Plow_Video.html

The week before Jill and Jodi and their families came to Nauvoo, we had a terrible wind and rain storm that blew through town. It up-rooted a few trees, but fortunately it didn't cause any personal injuries.

The past couple of weeks, we have been keeping our horses in a pasture down the the road from the barn. It's fun to see all 22 of them parade down the road at 7:00 in the morning, coming into barn to be harnessed for their day's work with the carriages and wagons.

It was so much fun having Jill and Jodi and their families with us--if only for a few short days. It reminded me how much our family means to us. We have been blessed with wonderful kids, in-laws, and grandkids. Sometimes I find it hard to believe how blessed we are. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father loves us enough to provide for family relationships. They are truly what life--and eternity--are all about.