Forever in our Hearts

 Tonight is our very last performance! It's hard to believe how quickly the time has gone by. After a few weeks filled with laughter, tears, faith strengthening & character building moments, we will be going home with this memory forever in our hearts! 

The End in Sight

 Tonight was our last night performing the British Pageant. A few of the kids were pretty sad about that because the music and dances are some of their favorites. Here are a couple of snap shots from our day and evening at the country fair! Lily loved her rag doll as I knew she would. The boys enjoyed playing the old fashioned games at the picnic tables, and we tried to soak in our last evening performing this particular pageant!

Another Nauvoo Night

Today we took the kids for shaved ice! We had been driving past this place on main street multiple times a day and today was finally the day!

 

 

 

Each of them picked a delicious flavor of their own and they came with these cute little umbrellas and gummy worms. It made for some pretty happy littles!

 

At our company meeting tonight, Hyrum was the one to fall asleep sitting up. This week has been so fun and exhausting that the kids have learned to catch a wink of sleep here and there whenever they can. I probably should have woken him up when we began stacking our chairs and heading to the bleachers for song practice, but he looked so peaceful. He had a few photos taken and even became famous on the Nauvoo Naps insta page. At least he doesn't snore!

Lily fell asleep on the drive to the Country Fair, so I carried her across the fair grounds and to the stage. Camilla made her the cutest little rag doll at the fair and I'm sure she will be in love with it! She woke up an hour later at the beginning of our performance as the bagpipes came on stage. 

The view of the temple up the hill from the stage will never get old. 

 

Hyrum got to be a flag bearer during the laying out of the city.

Oliver loved being one of the "penny children"!

The stickball scene was also a fav for all of our boys!

At the end of the evening I hauled a tired, grumpy Sawyer back to the van. He missed out on the snack table because he was off playing with friends somewhere and I didn't get him his ticket. He was devastated! Soaked with sweat, and tired myself, I carried him to the van while the boys pushed the wagon full of costumes and lily and Daddy looked for a few missing older kids. I was on the brink of tears by the time we made it to the parking area, exhausted and ready for bed! 

Beneath the Black Walnut Trees

This morning we all got to sleep in! We took our time getting ready for the day and then took a drive to Carthage to see the place where Joseph, and Hyrum Smith were jailed and eventually martyred on June 27th, 1844. Elders John Taylor and Willard Richards were also there during the attack, but survived. 

As we began our tour a few of the boys began pushing and shoving and one of them ended up in tears. Daddy hauled them both out to the van while the rest of us finished up inside and then it was decided that they would like to catch the next tour group going through. The kids said it was a good experience and they learned a lot. I think seeing the actual place and the holes in the door where the gun was shot made it more of a reality for them. To know that these events really happened has strengthened their testimonies of the prophet Joseph Smith and all that he did in restoring the full Gospel to the earth.

Lily hadn't napped all day and I knew performing would be tricky with her tonight. When we arrived back stage in the evening, I scooped her up and slowly wandered into a nearby grove of black walnut trees. I found a tiny cobblestone bridge and began swaying and dancing back and forth to the sound of hymns being played on the bagpipes and the chatter from the gathering crowds. 

It didn't take long for her head to start slipping off my shoulder as her body became heavy in my arms. I slowly wandered back to the stage area and tucked her into the wagon where she stayed asleep for half of the show. She always makes sure she is there for her big bow at the end!

"The Gallant Ship" is a favorite scene for many in our family! I'll often catch a few of the kiddos humming it throughout the day.

There is one scene where we are singing "Beautiful Zion" as we enter from the back ramp and make our way to the bottom corner of the stage. During this song there are parts where the lights change and we are supposed to freeze. Mr. Stannix nailed this pose everytime and Ollie was such a champ sitting in the awkward "falling" position for close to a minute during each freeze pose. 

It was interesting watching the transformation in our older kids who were a little bit apprehensive about spending a good chunk of their Summer dancing and acting on stage. They quickly grew to love it, and crave it, and I hope it will be a memory they always cherish and tresure!