More Celebrations!

 We were fortunate to have my mom and dad here for my mom's birthday.  I think this is the first birthday cake I've ever made for my mom!

 Even though we could have put more candles on, (29 right?) I think it was bright enough. :)

Happy Birthday Nama Elliott!

 A Happy Birthday to Nama Earl too!  (a few days later)

Avery's Growing Up

If left alone in the living room, this is where Avery gravitates.

She loves that she can reach the keys now, and believe it or not, she plays softly.

Here is a cute video of things Avery can do now.

 She loves pickles (like her brothers)

Not quite sure about lemons though.

Some of Avery's latest:

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Easter Festivities

We got to have a lot of Easter celebrations this year.  We started off with our Branch pancake breakfast/egg hunt.

 The kids enjoyed all the candy and the scripture references that helped them to see the real meaning of Easter.

Then we got to decorate eggs.

 (or eat puffs while brothers decorated eggs!)

 The best Easter Sunday pose I was going to get.  :)

Then after church it was off to the Smith's house for friends and food and fun.  We got together with the Smiths, Morris', and Burlesons.

 The younger kids getting ready for an egg hunt, the teens getting ready for their water balloon hunt. (We hid water balloons so that they could have fun too.)

 Stephanie having fun!  We also got to celebrate her birthday while we were there!

 What a stud!

 Roswell had fun finding eggs with help from Dad.

 It was fun to see the young adults having fun with the water balloons.  They were all pretty soaked!  This was Christian trying to steal Ethan's bucket of balloons.

 Poor Christian, Ross was jumping pretty good on his stomach after we ate.

 The boys playing a game. (Little Christian, Dono, and Hyrum)

Nama & Papa Elliott came to visit and the kids got to make candy charm necklaces.

 Yummy eating!

We also got to decorate yummy cookies from Nama & Papa Earl.

She even got a little taste!

Donovan Lost His First Tooth!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We wiggled and wiggled but he still had his tooth when he went to bed.

The next morning (Easter) he ate some toast and voila!  It was out!

He was so excited!  He got a note from the tooth fairy, a container to put his teeth in, and a dollar (the tooth fairy said that the 1st tooth is so special that she gives a little extra for that one!).

Congratulations on another step of growing up Donovan!

Nauvoo Spring Break April 4-8

Day 1

For Donovan's spring break, we decided to finally take a big family trip.  So we decided to go somewhere that we've never been.  Nauvoo, Illinois.  This was a historical place in our religion back in the mid-1800's, and come to find out, we found many relatives of mine that lived there and had some of their history there as well.

(Sorry for the car antennae in the middle)

Because of the historical importance, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) has renovated many buildings in the city of Nauvoo and restored them to what they looked like when the Saints of the Church lived there.  Senior missionary couples give tours and re-enactments to show visitors how daily life of that time was.

 Our first night, we went to a musical play called the "rendezvous" where it gave a fun description into lives of the Saints at that time.

Day 2

 We went on a wagon ride (and later on a carriage ride) to see some of the sites of Nauvoo.

 The original Nauvoo Temple was burned by mobs as the Saints were forced to evacuate Nauvoo.  This temple is a duplicate that was re-built and dedicated in 2002. 

 The boys loved the horses (Jim and John)

 This is the upper floor of the cultural hall.  This is the original flooring.  Dances, meetings, and other things were held in this room.  The tour guide let our wiggly boys dance away.  Dan and I got to dance too. (This was a great time of year to go because there was hardly any visitors there, therefore a lot of the building/house tours were just for our family.)

 In the Family Living Center, we got to learn how the people of that time period did tasks.  Here the boys learned how candles were made (and received a candle).

 We learned how to make wool into something you can make clothes with.

 The sister missionaries demonstrated how to make bread in those old ovens, and gave us a taste.  Yum!

 Our family made our own piece of rope, and got to keep it!  I loved that!  There were many things that we got to take home as souvenirs for free. (candles, rope, a real Nauvoo brick, and a prairie diamond ring)

Day 3

We drove into Carthage, Illinois to visit the jail where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were martyred.

 As historical accounts tell, Joseph, Hyrum, John Taylor, and Willard Richards were wrongly accused (again)by angry men of crimes they did not commit.  This time they were taken to Carthage Jail.  Here is the small room that these four and others were forced to share.

 The jailor did not believe these men to be guilty, so he moved them into this bedroom that was not so hot.  This is the room that the mobs broke into and murdered the Prophet and his brother.

 This is the original door that still has the bullet holes in it.

 They built this memorial in honor of Joseph and Hyrum.

Then we went back for more tours in Nauvoo.

 This is an old time mouse trap.  The mouse will run up the ramp to get the bait in the middle of the pail.  The wood will spin and the mouse will fall in the bucket of water and never make it out.

 This is a image of the original angel Moroni that stood on top of the temple.  All the subsequent temples have the angel Moroni standing and blowing his trump.

 An old fly catcher.  The bottom has a hole.  The flies would go in there to eat the sweet that was planted as bait and not be able to figure out how to get out.  I wonder why these types of traps aren't used today.

 I'm glad my kids don't use this kind of potty chair!

 Along the Trail of Hope (formerly the Trail of Tears) that the Saints walked to evacuate the city and cross the Mississippi River, there are many accounts from journals of Saints that trekked West.  There is also at the base of the Mississippi this memorial depicting Brigham Young and Joseph Smith to embark upon the journey.  There is also a great building that lists those known Saints that traveled but didn't make it to the Rocky Mountains.

 Among them, my ancestor Benjamin Freeman Bird.

Day 4

 Our family in the Seventy house.

 The blacksmith showing us how horseshoes were made.  This is also where our prairie diamond rings (rings made out of a "diamond"-brand nail) were given to us.

 We were on spring break, but Donovan and the boys still had to go to school!

 Donovan helped set out the type for the printer.

Then they put the ink on the letters to print the paper.  I loved how involved they would let the kids be.  Of course it wasn't real because they didn't want to damage the antiques, but they got to act it out.

 Joseph & Emma Smith's mansion house, where they housed many without homes.  (The Smith homes/buildings are owned by the Church of Christ and they do not allow photographs of the insides to be taken.)

 The Red Brick Store

 The Tinsmith Shop.  This building was built by my ancestor Phineas Bird and then sold to the tinsmith.

 The Browning Gun Shop.  The main house was built by my ancestor Benjamin Freeman Bird.  He then sold it to Browning where more home and a blacksmith shop were added .

 Browning was and his posterity are still wonderful gun makers.

The Nauvoo Temple

 The kids aren't old enough to go inside the Temple yet, but they were excited to be able to touch it.

What a beautiful place!

Nauvoo was well named - it means beautiful place. :)