PS: I'll try to get some pictures up soon!

Good to be home!

We are now back home and I can update and let everyone know how the week ended. Last I wrote Janie and I went to do some looking around and touring of Old Nauvoo. We really enjoyed it and the weather was perfect. We met a family from Alaska and they just split off of the Stake that Laura's family belongs to. When Janie and I got back, Dana and I got ready and did a session at the Nauvoo LDS Temple. It is so beautiful. We loved it and had reserved a couple of seats so we could be sure to get in. What an amazing experience! Then we took Janie and traveled 25 miles to Carthage and toured Carthage Jail and that was also such a great spiritual experience for us. That evening we sat outside in the Nauvoo Outdoor Stage area and watched the show that the missionaries (senior and young both) put on, called "Sunset by the Mississippi". It was one of the best programs I've ever seen. We all loved it, even Janie - she rolled her eyes in the beginning, but by the end she was as entertained as we were! On Thursday we had to leave to come home and it was with real mixed emotions that we left. We wanted to get back home, but we also loved the feeling there so much. It was hard to say good-bye. Anyway, we got home Friday night late and it is good to be home.

Spur-of-the-moment vacation!

So Janie and I left on Saturday and went shopping the first part of the day with Sadie (for her birthday), Libby, Gracie, and Mitzi (Brock's Mom). We had so much fun - let's do it again! Later in the afternoon Dana came and picked Janie and I up and we left for South Dakota. We got a room and spent the night in Rock Springs, WY.
On Sunday we listened to conference cds and church music cds and then we got to Martin's Cove and hiked up into the Cove. It is a very spiritual and special place. We also passed Independence Rock and traveled most of the day to get to Mt. Rushmore, SD. We got there in time to get some good pictures and then to stay and watch the evening program. It was pretty cool.
On Monday we got to Aberdeen, SD and unloaded a reel of cable we took up there. Then we headed to Nauvoo, IL. We really didn't plan on going there, but decided while we were this close we may as well go. It was a good day to travel because it rained all day. We stopped and slept in Stuart, IA.
On Tuesday we got up early - which Janie is protesting because it is suppossed to be summer vacation - and got to Nauvoo by early afternoon. We went to a couple of places and got some great pictures, and then we ended up (after pricing several motels) renting a little log cabin for a couple of days. It is soo neat! We went to a show "Rondevouz at Old Nauvoo" done by the couple and senior missionaries. It was hilarious and so cute. We also ran into Jerald and Kathy Tolman who used to live in Monroe and now are on a mission here. It was so good to see them.
Now today we are going to tour a few more of the Old Nauvoo sites, do a session at the temple, then on to tour Carthage Jail and catch the show "Sunset on the Mississippi". It will be a fun day!
I'll catch everyone up when I get home.