Nauvoo and Kirtland with family!

This is the first of a few posts that I'm working on. This is the oldest and from our trip to Nauvoo with Trina's family at the first part of July. We had so much fun! It was wonderful to see everyone and we miss you all so much already!

This is just as interested my children became, after a few days in Nauvoo, IL and Kirtland, OH, sightseeing our, church's history sights. Yes, everyone else in the room was facing forward, except Evelyn and Allison. Scott's was such a good sport at trying to help them be interested and pointing out things that would interest them. Like all the little beds or baby cradles, or dolls and toys....He's really such a wonderful daddy! I love him so much!!!!

What a cool dad, with his cool kids. Inside the Whitney store in Kirtland. While we were on this tour, we learned something that we didn't know. Scott's Great-great-great.....grandfather, Levi Hancock, was hired to remodel the upstairs of the store,the was living space, where Joseph and Emma stayed.

In front of the Whitney store.

Kirtrland temple (and power lines).

This day was our 5 year anniversary! We were standing in front of the Kirtland temple. A different kind of temple, with a different feel to it, that the one we were actually married in 5 wonderful years ago. We got to celebrate our anniversary in Kirtland and then driving home to New York, with my family.

All 5 of us, in front of the green doors of the Kirtland Temple. (Wow, every time I say that, I feel like I'm too young to have a family of FIVE, wow!)

Evelyn and cousin Emma in front of the Kirtland Temple.

When stayed the night in Cleveland....this is what we did at 1:30 AM. Why, you ask, did we decide to sleep on the grass, instead of forking out the money for a hotel.....well, we did pay for a hotel and it was a nice one. But at about 1:30 in the morning the fire alarms went off and they were probably the loudest thing I have ever been waken up to! Not sure what to do and if there really was a fire, we hurried to get dressed and pick up our 3 sleeping children, who were surprisingly not awaken by the loud noise, then headed down 4 flights of stairs. We got outside and then put all the kids down on the grass while we waited about 20-30 minutes before we got to go back in. No fire, just a false alarm or something. You can guess that we got a few comments, from kid-less guests, about ALL of our kids....It was quite the sight, if you can imagine, and Natalie's not even in it. Between Stacey and me, there were 8 sleeping kids out on the grass in the middle of the night.

This was taken before we headed outside. I love this picture of Evelyn and Allison sleeping on the same bed. I have a picture of me and my sister Stacey sleeping together, when we were little and I think it's so sweet. (Notice Natalie's own little bed off to the side)

Aunt Heather, cousin Tanner, cousin Brad, Evelyn, aunt Kaylee, Scott and Allison running over for dinner, just before the Nauvoo pageant started.

Aunt heather and Scott, pulling Evelyn, Allison, aunt Kaylee and cousin Tanner in a hand cart.

Uncle Mike got attacked by some strange bug the first night and his arm got the worst of it and looked awful! We all had lots of strange bites, but Mike's arm was the worst.

Taking a horse-pulled wagon ride to tour some things around Nauvoo. Grandpa, Evelyn, Grandma and Allison, with Jon and Stacey and Abby, and Mike and Holly behind them. These two girls are just as happy as peas-in-a-pod, to be hanging out with their Grandma and Grandpa! Allison ended up on Scott's lap and asleep by the end of the ride. Poor girl just had to try to take her naps, where ever she could, while on vacation.

The girls were very excited to go see the Temple.

It was so sweet to hear Evelyn say that she felt the Holy Spirit when she touched the temple.

Scott's talking to them about the Temple, before walking them up to touch it.

Really pretty, big flower, somewhere in Nauvoo.

Looks like she's already a pro at horse riding, huh?

Allison was so cute, trying to climb the bear to the top of the ropes.

There was really a neat feeling in Nauvoo. Being where the early saints were and to hear of their trials and struggles, but ultimately their faith and legacy!

Cooling our toes off in the Mississippi river, where the saints crossed. As you can see, Allison got a little more wet, than we were planning for her to. But she dried up really quick, since it was hot.

I can't imagine heading out of Nauvoo when the river was still icy. Being in Nauvoo, really made me think that we complain about way too much and that our lives are pretty cushy. I can not imagine being in their homes in the summer and having it be over 100 degrees and so humid! And then cooking bread and things.....I would not have enjoyed that so much!

Scott and the girls in front of a river barge.

The girls warmed up to this little dog and had fun petting it. (Yet they are acting scared to death of a little kitty cat that has been wandering our neighborhood the last few days.)

This wagon would not really be big enough for our whole family, and our stuff but mostly just food! Wow! It's humbling to see what they had and how they did it! Yet we have so much and always think we need more, more more.....

Evelyn and Allison had fun playing in this tree that has been half way chopped down.

Walking the Trail-of-Hope, on the way out of Nauvoo, down to the river, you look back and see the Temple standing through the trees on the hill. It was beautiful!

Taking a peek at some oxen in a field.

Pretending to paint each other's faces.

After watching a fun show, "High Hopes and River Boats," the girls had fun playing with one of the actress' bonnets. They liked putting it on then tipping forward really fast and making it fall off. She was so sweet with them and the loved her bonnet. This picture is Allison dumping the bonnet off.

This picture is Evelyn dumping the bonnet off.

Somehow I caught a picture with it still on Evelyn's head, before she quickly dumped it off.

Evelyn, cousin Brooklyn, cousin Tanner, aunt Heather, cousin Abby and Allison, hanging out and watching the Nauvoo Brass Band.

A shot of the river from Nauvoo.

When we were on the wagon ride, this was another neat shot of the Temple, through the trees.

Scott reaching Allison up to a tree and uncle Mike reaching Evelyn up to reach a tree.

This senior mission make pottery making look easy and fun. Made me want to do it, until I remembered that it's not actually that easy. He's at the end of his mission and has been doing it his whole mission,there in Nauvoo.

Brad and Tanner, helping make a rope, while Scott, Mike, Evelyn and Allison watched.

Allison is preparing to make yarn/thread.

Tanner, Evelyn and Allison riding a cute little sheep.

Emma, Tanner and Evelyn, riding the sheep.

Cousins having fun running together. And Brad doing some sort of Yoga or meditation or something, in the background. He's quite the character.

Bussel-ovens. Seems like a really hot way to cook!

I got to hold these two cute girls for a few minutes. Abby is on the left and Natalie is on the right. They're exactly a week apart, with Abby being older.

Evelyn's awesome batter-pose!

Brookly's serous batter-pose!

Scott and Jon entertained the kids while the ladies made lunch.

Allison thought it was more fun to eat her grapes off the benches, than off of her plate at the table.

Not sure why aunt Heather was giving Natalie a dunce-hat. Natalie does look somewhat disappointed.

Happy as can be to be hanging out on uncle Mike's lap.

Cousin Emma had fun giving Natalie her Binky whenever she saw that it was not in her mouth.

Don't you love our rain protection, for all 21 of us. Too bad that the majority of the space under the tarp was where the two picnic tables were. And then the wind blowing the rain, yeah, not a huge dry area for all of us. Glad we had put it up before it down poured on us. The morning that we got to go to the Temple, we had tried to stay dry, once we got dressed in our nice clothes.... needless to say, we were pretty drenched when we got to the temple. And we we got re-dressed to come out of the temple, our clothes were still drenched.

We had only camped two nights when it really down-poured, one evening and with 4 inches of rain in an hour....our tent was in a puddle. We unloaded what we needed and headed into one of the cabins at the camp ground. We slept dry and even had a/c in there. In the tent, we would have been fine, on our air mattress, but probably all 3 girls would have had to be on it with us too, which didn't predict a lot of sleep. We slept in the cabins the last two nights in Nauvoo.

Natalie and Abby needed baths and so we got creative and gave them baths. We just had to put them in together for a minute, for a cute picture. Evelyn and Emma, as you can see, were also very helpful in bathing the babies.

These two cousins will be great friends, if they ever live close enough to know each other!

This is the foundation to a house that was Levi Ward Hancock's. Scott's his descendant and it was fun to see where he'd lived, and to see what is only left of his home.

In front of Carthage Jail.

The top window is the window that the Prophet Joseph Smith stood at, when he was shot.

This is the window from the inside.

This is the actual jail cell at Carthage.

Joseph and Hyrum were amazing men and it was wonderful to be where they were, when they sealed their testimonies with their blood.

Evelyn, Allison and aunt Kaylee at Carthage.

What fun it was to be with everyone. They kids all loved playing with each other.

Allison was really enjoying this s'more!

Brad, Allison, aunt Holly, aunt Heather, Evelyn and Tanner had fun roasting marshmallows around the fire

This is the first time that these two cousins met. No one in my family had seen Natalie, except my mom. And we had never met Abby.

On the way to Nauvoo we stopped and stayed with Scott's aunt Rachel and uncle Eric's. It was so much fun to see them and the girls were in heaven. Rachel's girls loved having people love to follow them around and explore their house that is much bigger than our apartment. Evelyn and Allison loved having big kids to play with! It was fun and we'll have to do it again, sometime soon!

Attempt at a sleepover in the basement for all 7 girls. This was Allison's first time sleeping out of a crib or pack and play. After a few minutes they all fell asleep (since it wasn't until well after 11 that we even had them go to bed, they were pretty tired). If you look close, you can see that Evelyn is hugging a cousin (once-removed) very tightly, in the back of the picture.

Evelyn, holding Natalie, sitting by Addison, all in one chair.