We started February off with a quick overnight trip to Nauvoo! The Winter Quarters Temple is closed this month, so we decided to spend the night so we could spend more time in the temple- and our of the car. A six hour trip to the Nauvoo temple feels like so much more than the five hours it takes to get to Nebraska! But it was completely worth the drive and so fun to see what a great view we had out our hotel window.
And we were nicely set up inside- a three bedroom suite with room to sleep 12 was definitely more than we needed but Nauvoo basically shuts down in the wintertime, so they gave us a great deal on the room. It was fun to see all of the pioneer touches that were in the hotel. There is so much history in Nauvoo!
Bright and early the next morning Jason and I headed over to the temple while the kids enjoyed a morning of cartoons, donuts, and texting with Grandma, who was on stand-by in case of an emergency.
And then Jason and Leah went back over to the temple
while I stayed with the kids and got ready to check out.
It was a pretty nice way to enjoy the temple and some snuggles!
The weather was warming up, so all of the ice and snow was melting and dropping down on us!
The view from inside was much drier.
We headed over to the Family Life Center after checking out and got to go on a wagon ride down Parley Street.
This weekend marked the commemoration of the exodus from Nauvoo when the Saints were forced to leave the city they had built, cross the frozen Mississippi River and head west. They went to Winter Quarters Nebraska next and eventually ended up in Utah. Several of my great-great-great grandparents, and Jason's as well were included in the companies that left.
So a trip down Parley Street is always a reverent one for our family. I'm so grateful for the sacrifices they made, and that today we live in a country where we are able to live in the very same place and actually exercise religious freedom in a way that our ancestors couldn't.
The Mississippi River was definitely frozen, but we certainly didn't want to cross over it!
It was actually a very pretty ride.
We stopped back over at the temple for a few more pictures before we left- Emma, Adam, and Noah were great supporters of Leah and are all excited for their turn to visit the temple when they're old enough.
I had told the girls that we would buy bonnets if we found cute ones, and we did! The whole store was 50% off, so the kids had fun picking out some treasures to take home.
And then we started our own journey back west, which took way too long thanks to fog, carsick babies,
and a stop for dinner at this highly recommended joint.
Which really wasn't that bad. It's always fascinating to see how different people around the country live their lives! And no one was complaining about the cheese curds and ice cream at our table!
Nauvoo made for a fun overnight trip- not entirely planned, but fun nonetheless. It's always a blessing to attend the temple, and a treat to make family memories together along the way.
I like to read the newspaper and drink hot chocolate and buy a dog. I will call him Laney. I will walk Laney to the park. I will sleep in. I will talk to butterflies. I will visit hospitals. I hope I will be 100 years old. I will visit my daughters and sons. I'll love them so much. 
