Rendezvous In Old Nauvoo

Hi Again!

We returned this week from a family reunion up in Nauvoo, IL.

We had a wonderful time.

We drove up through the night ...12 hour drive.

Ali slept most of the way, but then started waking up near that last half of the journey.

We both only got about 2 hours of sleep switching from the driver's seat.

We reached St. Louis, MO at dawn in time for some great pictures of the arch.

It is a beautiful park. A must see if you ever get the chance.

After taking a short 2 hours nap early that morning, we set out on the final leg of the trip and got settled in our suite where the family reunion was being held at.

We had a wonderful reunion with those that arrived at the stunning temple in Nauvoo.

Throughout the week we had great times playing games and catching up with each other's families.

The week was also filled with up-beat music, inspirational stories, comical acting, and moving pageants that are presented by the many volunteers in the historic city.

(display of guns made by Jonathan Browning father of the founder of Browning firearms. He became a member of the church during Nauvoo's growth.)

(Blacksmith shop)

They had beautiful landscaping everywhere...

and there was one garden that had statues that were a tribute to the contribution of women in society.

On our way back we also visited Carthage, IL were the prophet Joseph Smith was martyred.

Then it was on the road again.
Ali and I played in the back for awhile too.

Look at her pretty blue eyes.

Ali said we had to take a break from the car for a while, so we stopped at a rest stop.

Later, we stopped in Nashville because we were exhausted from driving.

To see some of what we were able to experience in Nauvoo go here, here, and here. And here is why this city is significant.

A Bug's Life

Ali just had her last physical therapy follow up exam.

She is still behind, but that is to be expected.

We still are going to need to continue to do exercises with her so that she can develop and catch up:

pat-a-cake, tummy time, and rolling exercises.

She recently got a exersaucer. She is still a little small for it and sometimes gets off balance, but enjoys it.

Ali has been rolling from her back to her tummy for a couple of weeks now. She has only rolled from her tunny to her back once that we know of.

She is really close to sitting up by herself. In the next week of so, she'll be doing that on her own!

This is Ali's normal routine for falling asleep: hand in the mouth and arm on the forehead.

(In this picture she took her left arm down before I could take the picture)

Sometimes though she is too tired to get her hand to her mouth. Like here.

Question: When was the last time you were up close and personal with nature?

(not including pictures on the internet... the real thing)

We went to weed in the garden this weekend.

I took pictures of some of the smaller worlds there.

Busy, busy, busy bees.

It is amazing all the small places where you can find life.

Pictures of the corn:

This week.... we are off to Nauvoo, IL for Jodi's family reunion.

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