Road Trip...The Middle

So we it made through the sketchy hotel stay...the inside of the hotel was super nice it was just a little too close to downtown Omaha which made it unsettling. We hopped into our cocoon on wheels and headed a few miles down the road to Winter Quarters, Nebraska...

Most people outside of the Mormon religion have no idea where Winter Quarters is and why anyone would go there. For me it was a must stop. It is a place where Mormon Pioneers were forced to stop for the winter because the weather was too bad for them to go any further West. These people were forced out of there homes in Illinois and were trying to get out West free from religious persecution. There were also hundreds of saints who had immigrated from Europe months before enduring many horrible months at sea and then getting stuck in Nebraska to endure a bitter winter. If they survived that they then had to pull a handcart the rest of the way to Utah. Regardless of what religious beliefs you have, you cannot help but be inspired by what these people did for their faith.

So we stopped at the visitors center there so the kids could see what these pioneers went through and have a deeper appreciation for what we have.

The kids got to see what it was like to pull a handcart. They thought it was kind of fun...

Then they got to see how hard it was to pull a handcart over a small rock. It was amazing how much harder it was to pull with just one rock, I can't even imagine pulling it over mountains!

Across the street from the visitors center was the Winter Quarters Temple and a Pioneer cemetery.

Maya has inherited my love of cemeteries. She wanted to read all the head stones...

Eden was interested too...

Sadly we couldn't stay too long because we had a very irreverent 3 and a half year old with us...

Growing up as a member of the LDS Church I have always known of these pioneers and their sacrifices. I even have an ancestor who crossed the plains and endured many sufferings because of their faith. I have always had a deep love and appreciation for them. Over the years I have studied in depth their stories but I have never felt as close to them as I did on this trip.

My sacrifices and sufferings pale in comparison to what those amazing pioneers endured but this journey that we are on is a direct result of our faith in God and trusting that this is His plan for our family. Now I can relate to them in a way that I never could before. It was very emotional for me but also very inspiring.

The Monument

"That the struggles the sacrifices and the sufferings of the faithful pioneers and the cause they represented shall never be forgotten this monument is gratefully erected and dedicated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints."

We really enjoyed our visit here. We stayed way longer than I thought we would at the visitors center. So it put us a little behind schedule. After this stop we headed to Nauvoo, Illinois. Another random dot in our country that has great meaning to me and my faith. It is where the saints lived and built a city before they were driven out of it by mobs. Part of the city has been preserved so that you can see what it looked like and how people lived. The kids were so awesome on this leg of the drive. After seeing what the pioneers went through there was no complaining...none. It warmed my heart to hear the girls talk about what they had seen and learned. They were definitely moved by the experience and I know it made them more grateful of our air conditioned car, yummy snacks and their ipods.

After so many hours in the car Maya started going a little stir crazy...this is a side rarely seen so I had to document it :)

Here is the first toll bridge we encountered. For about 2 minutes I couldn't find my wallet and started to freak out a little bit on the inside. Thankfully I found it, it had fallen out of my purse and was wedged between the seats...PHEW!

Once we got to Nauvoo we realized that it was kind of late to do much touring around so we didn't do much. Since we were traveling West to East we kind of did the sites backwards but it was still fun. 

(Original Sun Stone from the Nauvoo Temple that got destroyed when the saints were forced out of the city)

The new rebuilt Nauvoo Temple. Exactly like the original except with all the modern conveniences. I love this picture! I took it while stopped for like 10 seconds in the middle of the road. No one was behind me so I stopped real fast and I thought it turned out so cool with the clouds and lighting...

The visitors center in Nauvoo had a neat garden with bronzed statues that my kids loved looking at. They each found their favorites and wanted pictures by them.

Maya's favorites...

Eden's favorites...

She insisted on posing, it was all her...

I can't honestly say that this was one of Camden's favorites but it had a boy in it so we had to take a picture...

However, this statue was definitely his favorite!

C was missing his Daddy big time!

This was one of my favorites...

After the statues we only had time to tour one house so we went and the kids loved it. Nothing that exciting about it except that it was so old, full of old things that told the story about who once lived there. I love that I have created little history buffs!

Since things were closing up we decided to head to our hotel and come back the next day. I had a very detailed "Trip Itinerary" before we left but I knew I would have to be flexible and that it was all tentative. I haven't always been so flexible but I'm so grateful that I am now! The kids were so fantastic and I enjoyed everything about this day...except for the little "short cut" the Garmin took us on...seriously I thought it was possessed and taking us to that ghostly corn field from the field of dreams!

Day 4...Thank You For Being So Awesome.