The British Pageant

 Tonight was our British Pageant rehearsal in full costume. It was open to the Gold cast (who is helping us out this week with temple/house building and the finale) and to the public, so it's practically opening night right? We were told to expect hundreds of people in the audience. Everyone was pretty excited as we tried to figure out who's costumes were who's to get everyone dressed in time. The costumes looked so great and I had to grab a picture before we left for the evening!

The Gold Cast is running the country fair this week, so we got to arrive a little bit later than usual to mingle with people and then head back stage to get ready for the show.

This was my view as we entered the fair and it cheered my heart. I will be forever grateful that I purchased this little wagon to cart the littles and all of our water bottles and snacks around. 

Ollie and I stopped by the wood burning tent to check out these gorgeous souvenirs and made sure to snag a few for our fam.

As the golden hour approached, these two were walking and giggling around the fair grounds together!

Sawyer was pretty excited to hop on stage for our group photo. His scrunchy nosed smile melted me.

There was a fair amount of time to explore before the crowd started gathering.

Soon it was time to start gathering our props for the opening scenes and get into position.

The boys took one last walk to stretch their legs before the show began, and tears welled in my eyes as I watched them spend time together. After such a tough week preparing, it was nice to see them all getting along and enjoying each others company. With our gathering place behind the stage chosen, we quickly went over our cues for the first few scenes, tried not to feel too stressed about missing something, and reminded the children to enjoy!

 

The line I hear most from Lily while on stage is, "Put me down, Mommy? Iw'll just STAAAAND, I pwooooooomiiiise." She loves dancing and being apart of it all!

Joseph (on the far left) really loves singing, and has great pitch! I could see him getting into performing in the future.

The Stannix children were all feeling pretty happy after the performance and many hugs of joy were given and received. Although it was stressful to remember everything our first time through, it all worked out and left us feeling fulfilled and excited to do it again on Wednesday. We walked back to our van with big smiles as the fire flies danced around us and Cicada song filled our ears.

Trail of Hope

 Today after Sacrament Meeting, we had the opportunity to take our family and tour Old Nauvoo. We started with the gun shop (because, boys). We got to tour the entire home, including the added on kitchen, the gunshop portion, and the backyard. 

These old brick buildings have my heart. They are so gorgeous!

 

I love the simplicity of the times and tidiness of the spaces. I can imagine small gatherings of neighbors for tea and conversation, or meetings being held in these homes.

This old stair case we passed by on our way to the gun shop also intrigued me.

While the boys sat and listened to how the guns were crafted and shaped, Lily plopped herself down on this step and made faces at me across the room. She's such a sweetheart!

This butter churn was also such a neat thing to see. Mothers would get their butter churned and rock their babies on top at the same time.

We then crossed the street to check out the print shop. The letters are kept in cases and it was interesting to learn that the upper case letters got their name because they were kept in the upper part of the case while the lower case letters were kept in the lower part of the case. 

Next door to the printshop, we were able to tour the Taylor Home. I had Joe snap a picture of Mike and I out front because the door and the bricks were so pretty!

 

Inside the children sat and listened to a senior missionary couple give us a little bit of history about the home and its occupants.

When the children had their fill of history, we walked over to the family living center to check out the different activities that they had for them. On our way we stumbled across a tree filled with these nuts. We used google and discovered that it was a black walnut tree. As the kids searched the ground, they were able to find a few different stages of the nut as it dried and opened. The freshly fallen nuts had a citrus smell to them which they all found very interesting. The older boys spent the remainder of our walk playing catch with these across the road. 

At the family living center, the children got to dip candles, make bricks (to bring home), see how wool was carded and turned into something more useful, and pack a handcart. 

On our way out our new friends pointed out this little birds nest tucked away in a tree. Their big kids were sweet enough to lift some of our littles up to see it from a distance. They all thought it was pretty neat!

After a quick drive along the Mississippi, we headed back to the cabin for naps before dinner! 

After dinner, we went back down to Old Nauvoo to walk the Trail of Hope and see the vignettes performed by the Missionaries serving there. Visitors stroll Parley Street towards the riverbank and are able to "meet" those (acting) who walked this road in the 1840s as they left their homes and headed West. 

The tours begin at 70s Hall and they take small groups every few minutes to watch the vignettes and get a glimpse into the real life experiences of the Saints as they left Nauvoo. Some of the boys were feeling extra rambunctious, so I volunteered to stay behind with them while Mike and Camilla joined a group. 

 

We spent the next hour hanging out here where the boys built tiny houses and forts from sticks and grass and walnuts they collected near the road. 

I thoroughly enjoyed watching another golden sunset while the boys quietly built and played nearby.

Lily and I explored and enjoyed the view together!

Mike and Camilla arrived back just as the sun began to dip into the horizon and we made our way back to the cabin for bedtime.

Camilla made sure to take this picture for me at the end of the walk, when they reached the banks of the Mississippi river. What a humbling thing to think about crossing this in the frozen Winter by handcart, leaving your home and persecution behind.