Monday, July 24, 2017

July 2017 - Family and Friend Visits


Never Get Tired of Sunset Pictures by the Mississippi
July is almost over.  The Nauvoo Pageants have been running for two weeks and two weeks remain on their schedule.  The weather in June and early July was warm with hardly any days above 90 degrees. Mid July was the hottest weather of the summer with some days over 95 with high humidity resulting in heat indexes up to 115.  The Sunset by the Mississippi productions have been going very well.  Sister Rober and I go there every night to be with each of the three casts.  During the hot weather the show was cancelled on two nights due to the excessive heat.  Summer is a busy time.  We start in the sites at 9 am.  Sunset is over around 8 pm.  If we go right to the pageant from Sunset that means the days end around 10:30 pm.  It can be tiring but it is so fun and spiritual.

Our family began arriving in July for visits.  My sister in law Pam Daut and her daughter Kelly Rogers were the first to arrive. They were just passing through and could only spend a few hours but is was fun to see them and Kelly's beautiful daughters Savannah and Avery.

Pioneer Girls Avery and Savannah

Our next visitors were the Scott and Cori Allan and Kim and Carson Day families.  Cori and Kim are our daughters. They were able to be here at the same time along with eight grand kids.  We had a wonderful time together.  We attended shows, saw the Nauvoo Pageant, played games, took wagon rides and caught up on family news.  Ammon and Bailey were able to receive their Patriarchal Blessing while in Nauvoo since they are currently living in Japan where the blessing would have been in Japanese. It was a very special experience for everyone.  Kim and Carson are in the process of moving from Merced to Corona.  We were able to meet Hyrum David Day our nineteenth and newest grand child during their visit.

Allan Family

(L to R) Scott, Cori, Bailey, Patriarch Kim Cameron, Ammon, Leah, Larry

Day Family at the Brickyard
(L to R) Vivienne, Eve, Kim, Hyrum, Carson, Fielding

Grand Kid Reunion
(L to R) Beau, Eve, Vivienne, Fielding
Our next visitors were the Kizerians and the Pugmires from our home ward Yorba Linda 4.  We had some great times catching up on all of the ward news from home.  We were able to attend both pageants and they visited many of the special Nauvoo historic sites.  One morning we watched the horses run down the river road from their pasture to the barn where morning oats were waiting.

Pugmires and Kizerians Visiting Mission Horses at Barn
Our next visitors were Brian and Kate Rober.  Brian is our son from Utah.  Their family has just moved in to their new house in Mapleton Utah. They were on the tail end of a fantastic trip to the East Coast.  On our visit to the Carthage Jail Site we were able to arrive at a quiet time and had a private tour of the jail where Joseph and Hyrum Smith sealed their testimony of the restored gospel with their blood.  Their visit was during the heat week but since all of the sites are air conditioned and the pageants start at 8:30 it wasn't too bad.

Rober Family at Carthage Jail
(L to R) Briggs, Kate, Brian, Ashlynn, Ty, Larry, Leah

Grandpa with Briggs and Ashlynn after Temple Baptisms
What a great month July has been and it is not over yet.  Lisa and John and Mark and Lisa will be here the last week of July.  It has been so good to see family again and share with them the Spirit of Nauvoo and all of the history here.

Meanwhile, the Sunset by the Mississippi Show goes on every night. Here are a few new pictures from the show.

Sister Rober as a Dancing Grandma in Grandmas's Feather Bed

Mississippi Mud - Sunset by the Mississippi