Family History

On Sunday the lesson in primary was about Family History. The primary president read a story about collecting memorabilia. She gave the kids a family history sheet. On the back were questions that they could ask a family member. Today we went swimming at Grandma and Grandpa's. We brought the questions with us. Alice asked one question each to Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandma: How did your family celebrate holidays when you were a child?
We didn't celebrate a lot, but Christmas was important. We would get presents from some of our aunts and uncles. We would have a turkey dinner with carrots and turnip. Some years my Dad would make us toys. One year he made a crib for all my dolls, he made it out of wood and painted it blue. When I was little all of my dolls had to have 'R' names because my name begins with R.

Grandpa: Tell me about your childhood home.
We lived at #2 Selby Street in Toronto. By Bloor, it was noisy when they built the Mt Pleasant bypass, there was a lot of traffic. I shared a room with my sister Anna. It was nothing special. We moved away when I was 9.

Me (Mom): Who's the oldest relative you remember, and what do you remember about him or her?
My Grandma Helen, your Grandpa's Mom, she was vibrant and full of life. She loved to laugh. She gave big hugs and would pat me hard on the back. She lived in Florida during the winter and we went to visit her a few times. She had lots of friends and loved to have dinner parties. She played bridge. She was loving. She had the prettiest doll in her basement and a little bassinet for her. She also had a lightbrite toy that we loved to play with when we would visit. She took me to the ballet and the symphony. She paid for my music lessons. I loved her very much.

Oh and Kate told me that she and Anna named the mop Bob Marley. She wanted to marry Bob Marley, but she decided that he needs a shower because he smells bad.

The Drive Home - Indiana, Michigan, Home - Day 5

Last night, the girls were scared because the last time we were in Indiana they barfed. It's funny that perhaps forever, their association with Indiana will be that of barf. Good times.  My association will be not sleeping well. Kate was crying at 1:30 and scratching. Nauvoo, we needed bug spray. Alice counted 40 bug bites on her legs, Fiona had a couple, I had a bunch, Ken a bunch, and Kate a bunch. We were covered. At least our legs were. Fiona and Alice fell asleep without too much difficulty, but Kate had a tough time and woke up like I said after one and had a really hard time falling back asleep. We had bought benadryl gel but it didn't seem to make much of a difference, at least not for more than ten minutes, but she finally did sleep, so that was good.

Two final things about Nauvoo - I feel like we hardly saw anything. There were so many buildings to go to, so many messages to hear, and we saw a handful. We didn't do the carriage ride, or the oxen ride. We only saw one performance (not including the band), and we didn't go to Carthage. I definitely want to go back there sometime and see and do more. I love going to historical places. I love the spirit you feel. It was neat at general conference last time or the time before one of the general authorities spoke of visiting Palmyra and he waited to feel the truth of the place, in the place, but the testimony didn't come. The testimony came when he was on his knees in his bedroom. I say this because we don't have to go to the place to have a testimony of what happened there. But I am grateful that I've been able to travel to so many wonderful historic sites.

This morning was good, but before we finished breakfast, there were signs that it was going to be a long day...

The first photo is of Fiona freaking out and running away. I can't remember what great offense was perpetrated, but it was awful! She calmed down enough to take a picture with the fun cup, and did come upstairs to get dressed. The mustache cups at the Hilton chain are really cute! (They have smiley faces too.)

Okay, the road home! We didn't rush. We had breakfast and were leaving the hotel around 10 I think, but I wanted to stop at Target. We had talked about getting backpacks and lunch bags at Target, they have such cute stuff - so off we went. I didn't mean to take an hour...

So we were finally on the road about 11, and then I don't know, we crossed over into Michigan, we lost an hour, and all of a sudden Ken and I felt really tired!

We stopped at a McDonald's play place for lunch, and it was a little cuckoo. I don't know why the order was so hard to do, and then the girls wanted to play, they took forever eating, and Ken had his I'm so done moment.

Then it was the road again. I'm not sure how long we'd been driving before Fiona started crying. She wanted us to return her backpack because she didn't like Barbie and she needed to go back to the store immediately. She alternated between this and I want to go home right now. She cried a lot. Then Kate cried because Fiona wouldn't stop crying. And then I missed the exit for the interstate because I was having my I'm so done moment! We had a stop at a rest stop, which didn't seem to help at first, but then Fiona fell asleep! Thank the heavens.

As we got closer to Sarnia, and the border we could see a huge storm. We crossed the border with no issues, but we were getting closer and closer to the storm.

We had beautiful weather the whole way across the country. I think there was a sprinkle somewhere, but I literally mean sprinkle, but other than that, sunny skies. It was a great blessing, but just as we drove over the border the heavens opened. The rain was intense - thunder and lightening, and a wall of water. We all had to go to the bathroom at this point, but I wasn't going to stop. We got a little ahead of the rain and stopped, but the storm was following us so we made our "rest" stop quick.

We stopped one more time to get some food just outside of Cambridge, the storm continuing to chase us. The drive, the last bit, it's always the longest isn't it? So close and yet so far...

It's funny to me that the last picture sign is the blurriest - it says Ajax. I suppose all the rest were taken during the day! We got home just after 10 p.m. It does feel good to be home because the drive is over. But my sister is now a 28 hour drive away, and that doesn't feel good. Mentally I know which time zone I'm in, but the rest of me might take a while to get there.

We had an amazing trip. We did so much, we saw so much, we felt so much. There were fights and hugs, there was sickness, but mostly health, there was safety, so much safety. I feel so blessed, and even though I'm a little sad, I'm so very thankful. We live in a beautiful world. I'm so grateful to have shared so much of it with my girls and with Ken. Life is good.

The Drive Home - Nauvoo, Indiana - Day 4

I feel badly. Alice and Ken are such morning people. I am not a morning person. I'm better than I used to be, but I move very slowly in the morning. I can't remember what time we woke up this morning but we got dressed, (well, except Fiona) and went to the Buffet breakfast in the hotel - extra money, but it was food and after having cereal in baggies for dinner last night, everyone was very hungry.

We checked out and were off to explore Nauvoo. The first stop was the temple. I wanted some pictures, and I wanted to look at the statue. It took my breath away - the statue. It was of Joseph and Hyrum, as they stopped on the bluff to look out at Nauvoo before they rode off to Carthage, and off to their deaths.

The view of the Mississippi River was gorgeous. I really get why they call it Nauvoo the Beautiful. It was really beautiful. The weather was perfect today, not too hot with a beautiful breeze. The only problem was the bright sun. Taking pics of the girls in front of the temple was not enjoyable.

Fiona was in heaven walking around the temple. She sang the temple a little song about God and Jesus and happiness, it was so adorable. Sadly Kate didn't find it adorable, but she eventually got over the offence of the cuteness of her sister... Next was the visitor's center.

 One of the original sun stones was on display in the visitor's center. The Saints mostly left Nauvoo in 1846, the inside of the temple was burned by fire in 1848, and a tornado knocked down three of the walls in 1850, so it was pretty much completely destroyed. It was cool to see one of the original sun stones though. I wasn't sure of the symbolism of the sun stones, but thankfully there was an explanation! "The sun and the trumpets breaking through the clouds announce the restoration of the Kingdom of God on the earth and anticipate its promised heavenly glories."

Fiona hopped up on the edge of every single display and said "Mom, take my picture!" I'm a terrible person, so instead of telling her that she wasn't allowed to sit on the display, I just kept taking her picture. She literally sat on the little sign that said "don't sit on the display". Like I said, I'm a terrible person... I actually do feel a little guilty.

We watched the film "Only a Stonecutter". The girls and I saw this in Winter Quarters, but the girls really wanted their Dad to see it. I need to not forgot this film. The message, and the man -  John Rowe Moyle, what an incredible human, so inspiring!

After the movie and after looking at the displays, we walked around in the Woman's Garden. It was really lovely. I'm so grateful that I'm a wife and a mother. My heart aches for the women that aren't wives and mothers. They too can and do have mother hearts and they do amazing things, they are important too, I want there to be a statue in the garden representing that. But still, the garden was lovely. I don't like the current sentiment in society that the time for women is now, and men suck. Kate was sharing a bit of that attitude. Ken and I pointed out the statue to her that accompanied the scripture "Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord."

Next up was the homes and businesses and hands on fun. We stopped at Pioneer Pastimes first. It was awesome. Dress-up, games galore, and the Nauvoo Brass Band drove up while we were there. The members of the band came and spoke to everyone. They were cute talking to the girls. The band members are on a service mission. They serve for 3.5 months, and they have to audition to be in the band. The girl I spoke to plays trombone and is currently studying at BYU-I and this is her second summer doing this special service mission.

Next up we went to the Gunsmith's, then the Printing Press, John Taylor's home, and the Brickworks. The gunsmith - Jonathan Browning, was an inventor. He lived in the Quincy area, the missionaries found him, he was baptized and settled in Nauvoo. He made guns in Nauvoo. His son was also an inventor - the business stayed in the family for four generations. I have such weird feelings about guns, it was weird and interesting listening to the talk about guns. But we stopped in the back garden, where the Brownings buried their daughter Ella that died in infancy. They buried her in a place where they could see the temple. It made the weird gun history stuff spiritual!

Next the printing press. Goodness the work that went into printing things. The copy editor, the type setting, the inking one side of one page at a time, the drying, on and on and on, week after week. Amazing!

John Taylor was the editor of the paper. His house was next door. He was a good and humble man.

The Brick Works and the message shared there, that was the one that moved me the most. The senior missionary, Elder Hill, he spoke about the process of creating the bricks. He spoke about collecting the sand, sifting the sand, baking the sand, then firing the bricks after they'd dried out. The different types of bricks - too hot, too cold and just right. He showed us what happens if a rock gets into a brick, and what happens if it isn't caught and the brick is fired with a rock in it. He spoke about the defects, the rocks we have in ourselves. He spoke about the Savior, turning to him, getting baptized and getting rid of those rocks. Then spoke about the scratches on our smooth surfaces, and how we need the sacrament every week to polish us.

The girls were pretty done at this point, so after each receiving their own Nauvoo brick, we walked to the van and drove back up the hill to get lunch. After a far too long trip to a souvenir store, a trip back to the visitor center to use the facilities and fill up water bottles, we set off for points unknown in the north and east!

Ken started driving and I kept trying to use the map on my phone but the cell service in and around Nauvoo was not good. We drove blind and then I finally got a map, and then it finally loaded with directions and we were really off! We made one pit stop at a rest stop on the 74.

We stopped for dinner - Subway, picked up a few supplies and then after Ken decided to pay for some cell service we were able to find a hotel. The Illinois sunset, the cornfields, the rising moon. It was a pretty night.

And just over the border in Munster, Indiana, we stopped for the night. I love the message on the back of the bathroom door. I think I need a positive life message in my bathroom.

The last day tomorrow. This has been such an amazing trip. I'm so thankful for being able to take my girls to so many amazing places. I'm not quite ready for this to be over, but I am ready to stop driving!