Nauvoo Part Two! I promise I have other things to talk about... :)

Okay, so you might think I'm a nerd, but I don't care.  Last year, when I was lucky/blessed enough to be able to serve as a YPM in Nauvoo, I never got the chance to go to the Sarah Granger Kimball home.  It was the one place there I've always felt sad about not actually seeing, and I promised myself if I ever got the chance to go back to Nauvoo, this particular home would be a necessary stop.  I guess for me, it symbolizes a lot of what I love about Nauvoo.

It was in her home that the idea for the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo was born.  She initially opened her home for social and religious gatherings there in Nauvoo.  She organized a "Ladies Society" to sew shirts for the men working on the temple.  It was such a huge, central effort for all the saints living there in Nauvoo, and everyone felt a desire to help in whatever way they could.  Eliza R. Snow was asked to write a constitution for the society, which she did.  When it was shown to the Prophet Joseph Smith, he said it was the best he'd ever seen, that their offering was accepted of the Lord, and He (the Lord) had something better for the sisters of the Church.  It was in March of 1842 that the Female Relief Society of Nauvoo was organized under the direction of the Priesthood.  I have a huge admiration for the women of Nauvoo; their unfailing, unwavering strength through life's challenges, devotion to their families and those around them, and their unfailing faith in God.  Living in Nauvoo for those four short months gave me such an appreciation for all these women did and the incredible refinement that can come to all of us through living the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Needless to say, that was the one place I didn't ever have time to go visit, and the one place I promised myself I would go see if I ever had the chance to go back!  

Lindsay (She's my boss, and she's great.  I always feel a little weird introducing her as my boss.  It just seems odd for some reason.  Huh.) hadn't ever been there, either, so we went when we could both go.  I know it's just a house, but I loved it anyway.  :)  

I loved the end of the tour where they gave us this quote from the dedication of the home after it had been restored in March of 1982.  Barbara B. Smith, the General President of the Relief Society at the time, said this: 

"We hope women will understand that within their own homes, things can happen that can have great significance in the Church and in the world."

It just makes me so happy to know that all along, and especially in our world today, that Heavenly Father has had a plan for all of us to help us literally return back to His presence.  It's things like the Relief Society and this focus on the home and the family, service, and love that give me hope for the future.  

And wahoo!  Take a look at that incredible view!  It's so beautiful!  And can you imagine seeing the original temple being built every day from your front porch?  Happiness and Bliss.  :)

I know.  It's just a doorbell.  But this is Wilford Woodruff's Nauvoo doorbell, and I just happen to think it's the greatest doorbell in all of Nauvoo.  :)  Hello!  Why don't we make them cool like this anymore?!  Wilford Woodruff has always been one of my favorite prophets because of his commitment to write in his journal all throughout his life.  If you don't already know this about me, you should know now, I suppose, about my obsession with keeping a journal.  I have a whole shelf of my own journals, and I'm a huge proponent of the whole idea of keeping a personal history.  Even if no one else ever gets anything out of my personal journals, they help me remember why I've made certain decisions, and they help me remember important people and events in my life, etc.  

The Elders at the oxen ride were a hoot!  It makes all the difference in the world when you love what you're doing, eh?!  No matter where you are, or what you're doing.  :)

Yes.  We have them by the horns.  Try not to be jealous.  Also, this was Lindsay's first ride in a covered wagon pulled by oxen.  She'd never seen them in real life before!  I thought that was so weird and incredibly funny at first.  But - I guess that's not terribly odd...it's not like they're around in normal life everyday anymore...lol...

Some Nauvoo blips. :)

I don't have much time to write right now, but here are some of the good times from the past few days.  :)  I've loved running into so many of these wonderful people I love!  This is Sister Heap, who always greeted me at our morning prayer meetings with her same wonderful hug and love.  It was like coming home to see her again, and in the Family Living Center of all places!!!  If I could bottle that Family Living Center scent and take it with me everywhere I go, I would.  :)

Now this is darling Sister Owens.  I found her tonight at the Rendezvous show, along with many other long-lost senior friends!  How I've missed them!!  Sister Owens was my seamstress when I first got to Nauvoo.  I have her to thank for many funny and wonderful memories.  :)

Elder Duke was one of the first senior Elders I met last year in Nauvoo, and I found him again today!  He and Sister Duke leave just next week, along with what I swear is half of Nauvoo.  It's quite the exodus for the Nauvoo mission next week; most everyone I talk to is leaving right about then!  I was so glad to find him there, though!  He is the kindest man I think I have ever met.  And so darn funny!  :)

I found my show dress!  Funny Sister Christensen has it for her Sunset dress.  :)  And I found Bingham's blue Sunset dress at the same time.  Anothe band sister is wearing my Sunset dress from last year as well - for her Sunset dress.  I just haven't taken a picture yet.  It's so odd, at first, to see my dress running around with me inside of it!  I sometimes hated those dresses at first...but oh, how I grew to love them!!

A few hours later, I found dear Sister Duke and Sister Hyland at the Visitor's Center front desk.  We chatted for almost an hour about life last summer and life now.  It might seem crazy to other people how close I feel to these senior missionaries, but they really became some of my closest friends during my time in Nauvoo last summer.  Age is relative in Nauvoo.  We all forget we're not the "same" age.  :)  (Except I rely fully upon any wisdom they have to give!  They're all so rich in life experiences!  I love it!)

Next, I found the first showing of the Anna Amanda preshow I could and soaked in time with those silly little puppets!  They were so great!  A side note for my YPMs last year:  They beat-boxed the Lion King song!  It was hilarious!!!  AND the English Lady's father did someserious bootie shakin' as he exited on his way to the "library."  Hahahah!  

Also.  I found my satellite dish bonnet!  HOW is that giant thing STILL in circulation?!?!?!  Lol!!  I thought I was going to die laughing when I first saw it.  But the greatest part is this:  It plays an even bigger part (hahah...bigger...get it?)  this year since this poor girl has to wear it 3 or 4 times in the show.  Whereas I?  Only during Riverboat's a Comin', thank you very much!!  :)

And last but certainly not least, since the Sunset stage has been moved to the old City of Joseph clearing just above the Visitor's Center, I haven't got any amazing actual sunset pictures yet, but this was the sky last night, and it was breathtaking!  Sunsets over the Mississippi are still coming though.  Don't you worry.  :)  That and much, much more!

My undying opinion of the phantom "guy" handbook. I want to destroy it.

DEEP BREATHS.  

@&*#^!*@&%$*&@!^#*&!@^#*&!%@*&#^*!@&

&@#^&!*@&^@*&@*!@#&^!*&@#*&!@#*!&@#!

@&#^!*@&^#*!&@^#*&!@^#*!@&^#!@*&#^!!!!!!

Really?  REALLY??  Really.  They all say the same things, and then, in deliberation, they all think they're the exception and should therefore be free and clear.  Yep.  Really.  I want to find the male instigator of this book, code of conduct, encoding device, or whatever it is and destroy him and it once and for all.  This is getting beyond ridiculous.  It's like getting a computer printout that should be different and even possibly exciting each time, but - - - huh.  Well that's odd...could I get a refund?  Oh.  No?  But...and we're back to the anger/irritation/frustration of the moment.

Please review the difference between being a guy and being a man.  If that search turns up fruitless, try asking a girl.  And try listening to her this time.  Thank you and goodnight. 

Ugh.  I'm sorry.  Typical response to a typical situation.  Getting over it....now.  :)

Focus, focus, focus...

In just about an hour, I will be leaving for the airport to go to Nauvoo! I'm so antsy I can't even focus. I came to work so I could get a lot of things done today, and I'm getting them done, but I swear the clocks aren't working because I stay away from them for an hour, and when I look, only four minutes have gone by. TELL ME HOW THAT HAPPENS! :) This has been an insane week...I had jury duty for three days, and the case was so sad and so terrible. It made me sad to sit there and have to listen to these terrible things and then have to make a decision that will change someone's life forever. Clearly, their actions are not my fault; so they brought the consequences upon themselves, but...I still feel marginally responsible. I did learn a lot, though. I was surprised at how almost...unprepared...the attorneys were. It was a little unsettling, actually. Maybe I've just watched a little too much CSI/Law & Order, but...no, this was almost appalling. And it was so hard to tell who was telling the truth and who was lying; who had no idea what was going on, and who was deliberately twisting reality for the sake of saving someone they loved. Seriously people! Can we all just choose the right for crying out loud?! I'd rather not write any specifics about the case...I could, I suppose...but I'd sort of like to pretend I don't know about it anymore. I pounded every detail into my brain when it was necessary, but now? Now I'd like to go on as if I know nothing about it. *sigh* Yet ANOTHER reason I'm so glad to be going to Nauvoo!! This has been an insanely busy summer, and then the trial these last few days...I'm unbelievably ready for a break!!!

On Parley Street...

Two of the finest people I know, Shane Steel, and Sadie James, got engaged in Nauvoo just a week ago today - on July 25th in the Blacksmith Shop on Parley Street. I wish there were words awesome and incredible enough to express my happiness for them! Anyone who knows either one of them will agree with me. I think fewer words are best here: I've never been a huge believer in fate or anything like that...maybe I was and just never knew it, but...spending one miraculous summer of my life with these two and seeing how this relationship has grown since then is something I feel privileged to have witnessed. I love you both, my friends!

WHY-OH-MING and camping...the eternal family vacation. :)

Summer seems to be the time for vacations...for most people, at least.  My family was no exception...except I'm not sure I can think of a single vacation we took that didn't involve camping at least once.  Even when we went to Disneyland, we went camping on the way back.  I know that because I remember my sister and I were little enough that it was still okay for us to have dolls.  And I remember we washed our doll clothes in the stream at the Bryce Canyon camp grounds.  Yep.  I wouldn't necessarily say we all love camping.  I would say my mom loves it.  The rest of us came to love it, or parts of it, over a long period of...years.  :)  But I actually love to camp...just...this time, there was a lot of DUSTY dirt.  I don't care about getting dirty.  I don't!  But this time...for some reason this time, it started to get to me after only a day.  What a pansy I've become!  But it was fun. 

We went camping up at Beaver Mountain campgrounds for a family reunion, and the best part was when my Grandpa brought out his "activity" for all of us to do.  He split us up into families, and then gave us each a pile of stuff from when he cleaned out his garage recently.  He then gave us very specific instructions on our project: to invent something from the pile of "junk" and to use as much duct tape as possible.  He gave us three rolls of duct tape.  Yes.  Three.  Well, we got right to it, and decided to make a family myth become a reality.  See..my dad always told us when we were little if we were ever misbehaving that he would be forced to bring the "spanking machine" out of the attic and boy, oh, boy...then we'd be sorry!!!  Lol.  I think it probably worked when we were really little, but after a few years, we all knew he'd been lying.  All that time!  We were upset, but not really shocked.  After all, he always told us HE was Santa Claus, so that's how Santa knew if we'd been naughty or nice.  Argh.  :)  Anyhow, we decided to make a real spanking machine from this pile of cast-aways.  :)  My little brother, Adam, decided he was going to be the "test subject" to test the effectiveness of our new invention.  He was hilarious!  Here's a picture of what he did to himself:

I happen to think he's one of the funniest kids to ever walk the face of the earth. Lol.  If you've read Calvin and Hobbes, you've met my little brother, Adam.  He's so darn funny!  

After a few days of camping, we piled everything in the big white van again and set out for Rock Springs, Wyoming.  Why, you ask?  Don't worry.  My brother, Ben, just moved there for school.  There's not much in Rock Springs to attract visitors, but I guess Ben is a good reason.  :)  It was fun to see him, and he seemed really excited to show us around...I'm so glad he loves where he is!  His cute girlfriend, Jessica (Jess) is the only one living in her apartment right now, so she put us all up for the night.  What a gem she is.  :)  Ben and Jess took us on a tour of campus the next day, and much to the younger children's delight, there happens to be a lot of dinosaur stuff on campus...that and an overwhelming amount of other forms of dead animals.  Lol.  But it was so fun to go around with everyone and the little kids.  They had a blast, and just watching them was ten times more fun than anything else I could have been doing that day.  :)  

A plethora of summertime fun

I've been terrible about blogging lately...again...haha.  But the crazy lifestyle of working in the efy office during the summer restricts my activities to...well...I don't see my family very much, so I spent the 4th of July with my family in Brigham City.  That was the first time I've been able to be there with them in about 5 years, so I enjoyed every single second of it.  :)  I got spend a little time with my Grandma and Grandpa Kelly (my mom's parents) that day when we all went over for a family barbecue.  Yummm.   :)  These are pictures of that weekend...lots of playing in the water, fireworks of all kinds, and just enjoying family and food.  :)  I guess it was a pretty chill holiday, but "chill" is exactly what I needed this year!