City Beautiful!

Last week I had 2 days off (YAY!!!!) from school to go to the state teachers' conferences if I wanted to. Obviously I didn't and I convinced Kurtis to take me to Nauvoo. It took A LOT of convincing but we got there. It's about a 5 hour drive through small towns and beautiful countryside. We stayed in a small family-style hotel and enjoyed every minute of it.

When we first arrived, it was already dark and rainy. We dropped off our stuff at the hotel and changed to go to the temple. I was so amazed by the beauty of that temple! It has so much symbolism and history behind it, I couldn't help but drop my jaw whenever I looked at it. Our session was small, which was nice, and the sweet couple missionaries showed us some special bits of history inside the temple including Joseph Smith's sword and the Assembly Hall. It was a special experience to be there and to remember the extreme faith the early Saints had to build their temple only to leave it a week later when they were driven from the state.

The next day we bundled up to tour the original downtown Nauvoo. We took wagon rides through the town and heard stories about the Saints who once lived there. We got our infamous Nauvoo brick and hugged some oxen. I think Kurtis' favorite part was the gunsmith house. He was in heaven to be surrouned by so many guns!

It was so peaceful in Nauvoo and beautiful too. I told Kurtis I was too wimpy to be a pioneer and was glad I was born with the luxuries of this day. What made me realize this was when our tour guide told us that 9 babies were born on the frigid morning the first group of Saints crossed the Mississippi River, only 1 survived the journey to SLC. He agreed (that I was wimpy, haha!) but that he was grateful for what we had. I am so grateful for the sacrifices from those who came before me. They paved the way for me to be as happy as I am today and for me to be able to live with my family forever.