Nauvoo

Here are some highlights from our trip up to Nauvoo!

After a performance by the performing missionaries, they invited Esther onto the stage and sang a refrain of their song with her there. They chose her because she had been so vocal and excited throughout the performance.As a result, Esther and her other vocal cousins were well known by most of the sisters and they enjoyed talking with her everytime we saw them around Nauvoo!
Kids by the Nauvoo temple in their new Pioneer hats.

Nathan got really good at this Pioneer game. He couldn't quite catch the ring, but he got really good at throwing it! Daddy was so proud!
Cute pioneer kids at the Pioneer Pastimes area. There were two little log cabins - one set up as a house and the other as a school. There were Pioneer games, stick pulling, pretend animals, and all sorts of things for little ones to do.
Yeah! Daron put on a hat! And I think it looks great.
And Mommy had to get into the act, too!
We hiked two miles up and down hills, through thick mud and cowpies, and around thorny trees, across streams, and pulling handcarts all the while. Pretty much everyone ended up muddy up to the knees and many slipped and some were nearly run over by their slipping handcarts!
The kids rode the carts occasionally but Daron had them walk for quite awhile at the end so they could get a better idea of what Pioneer children had to do as they crossed the plains.
Each night throughout the summer, the Senior missionaries, the Nauvoo Brass Band, and the Young Performing missionaries do an outside variety show. It was pretty fun!
Singing about the mosquitos!

These two brothers, children of my ancestors, Moses and Nancy Naomi Tracy, are buried in this graveyard a couple of miles outside of Nauvoo.
Originally, although there was a record of where in the cemetary the boys were buried, there was no headstone. Some descendants put up this headstone years later.
Three sons of Moses and Nancy Naomi Alexander Tracy died before they reached Salt Lake. Two of them are buried at the Old Nauvoo Burial Grounds, and F. Moses was buried in Iowa as they crossed the plains.
Look carefully at this old map of Nauvoo. There are two circles that show the three properties that Moses and Nancy Naomi Tracy owned. (Two are close together in one circle.)
The Tracys first owned this property when they moved to Nauvoo. Nancy Naomi talks about selling the property to Wilford Woodruff (eventually the fourth president of the church). The Woodruff house continues to stand on this property.
The second property the Tracys owned. The lot they owned includes where the white house is currently and up to where the brick house is.
This is the third property the Tracys owned. It is right near the temple. Nancy Naomi mentioned in her life history that she could see the masons working on it from her bedroom window.
We saw the Oklahoma City Memorial on the way home. It was so peaceful and such a loving way to remember those who were hurt by the bombing in 1995.
The Park Ranger invited the kids to dip their hands in the water and leave their handprints on the wall - thus leaving a part of themselves.
Each chair represented someone who died in the bombing.

We stopped at a rest area just outside of OK City to celebrate Nathan's third birthday. We ate cupcakes we'd picked up at a grocery store and opened presents. He was so excited to be a big boy now. Unfortunately, the area was really shady and the pictures didn't turn out well. So you'll just have to take my word for it!

We got home late on Monday night and have been trying to get back into the swing of things ever since! What a marvelous trip!

St. Louis Adventures

On Monday morning, we sent Daron off to New Orleans for a business trip. The kids and I were going to meet Emily and her girls but her 4 year old woke up sick. So we decided not to hang out. So we were off on our own!

The St. Louis Zoo was lots of fun. We got there about 9am and stayed until 2pm. It was very hot and humid, leaving us sweaty, panting, and dripping by the time we got back to the car. Esther's favorite part - riding the carousel. Nathan's favorite part - the elephants. Heather's favorite part - the sea lion show and the penguin house, which was freezing!

The Zoo is located in an area of town called Forest Park. It's a large green park where the 1904 World's Fair was held (remember the musical Meet Me in St. Louis?). Forest Park now has golf courses, tennis courts, museums, the zoo, lakes, pathways, boating, etc. It's well taken care of and just beautiful.

We went back to the hotel for a rest, took a quick dip in the pool, then headed down the street to the Golden Pancake for "Happy Face" chocolate chip pancakes and Country Fried Chicken. Yummy! Daron, meanwhile, was having shrimp gumbo.

Tuesday morning we slept in. Well, the kids got up about 6am (yikes!) and I tried to sleep some more while they watched cartoons. We finally got out of the hotel and saw the St. Louis Art Museum and the Missouri History Museum - both free museums at Forest Park. And the Art Museum is located in the only building left from the World's Fair. Beautiful collection at the Art Museum and a fascinating exhibit on Charles Lindbergh and also the 1904 World's Fair.

Our lunch was at Bixby's, a nice restaurant at the Missouri History Museum. Perhaps not the best choice for two very tired kids. As it was, they were not very well behaved and were rather embarrassing. But probably no one really noticed but me. But the food made it all worth it. Paprika and citrus hummus with vegetables, baby spinach salad, foccacia bread with melted gruyere cheese and portabello mushrooms.

Daron got back about 3 o'clock and we picked him up. At the hotel, Daron and Nathan took a nap while Esther and I ran around the hotel doing laundry, eating popcorn, and hanging out. Dinner was at The Fountain on Locust, an art deco period restaurant with great sandwiches, salads, and ice cream sundaes.

This morning we rushed to the Arch overlooking the Mississippi River and rode a tram all the way to the top. It was pretty nifty - like a little escape pod from a space ship. Not a great place to be if you're claustrophobic, but a good way to meet new friends! We met a nice couple from Maine. You stand at the top of the arch at 630 feet and peer out tiny viewing windows, trying not to think about the slight swaying feeling you have. My sister, the civil engineer, would remind me that the swaying is a good thing. Yeah.



Our next stop was the Lumiere Casino ... to meet a trolley. We were the only ones on the guided tour and it was very informative as we drove around the city learning about the origins of St. Louis and the historic buildings. My favorite story was about Mr. Laclere, the founder of St. Louis. At one point, he went further up north to build a fort and left his son, Shoto, in charge of building homes and a trading post. The son faithfully accomplished his task, starting to make friends with the Indians and getting things under control in their new settlement. Shoto was 14 years old!

After the trolley tour, we ate lunch at Fitz's, home of Fitz's bottled root beer. Can we say yummy?! The only unfortunate thing was that we drank so much root beer we had to bring the rest of our lunches in to-go boxes!


Then we picked up Heather Lorraine at the airport and now we're on our way to the hotel. We should be there within the hour.

Meet Me in Saint Louis!

I'm putting up some posts that I had previously put up on the Brown family blog. So if they seem a little off time-wise, that's why.

Just wanted to share some pictures of our yummy dinner. We stopped in Springfield, Missouri and ate at a place we found online called Grad School. It was definitely hole-in-the-wall material with the cooks and waiters being heavily tatooed and bearded (except our waitress - she wasn't bearded). The food ranged from fish tacos to big burgers, homemade fries, hummus, wings, etc. It was served on trendy plates, which didn't really go with the greasy atmosphere, but the food was good and we enjoyed it. My only complaint was that the music was too loud and more along the lines of dance club music.



Fried tilapia tacos. Nummy - though nothing compared to the ones I had in San Diego years ago.
The Full Ride burger - best part is that it was freshly grilled and the sharp white cheddar in the middle wasn't so bad, either!
Yummy wings in a sort of gravy, Asiany sauce.

But here we are in St. Louis! We went to a Stake Conference this morning where Elder Oaks spoke. It was so packed that we ended up in an overflow room and the kids were very well behaved.

Then we spent the afternoon with a friend of mine from college. We shared M,W,F Dance 180 and immediately afterwards, a Shakespeare's rhetoric class. We were both English majors, loved to dance, of Italian heritage, and going through heartbreaks. We became great friends but lost touch until just recently. She's the type of friend that you know for sure Heavenly Father put in your path for a certain purpose! What a difference she made to my junior year of college!

They have three girls - Esther fits right between their two oldest - and they all got along fabulously! It was fun to catch up after so many years.

Daron takes off tomorrow morning to New Orleans for an oral argument in an appeal. He'll be back Tuesday afternoon/evening in time for us to drive up to Nauvoo on Wednesday. In the meantime, the kids and I will play with Emily and her girls.

Where I've Been

We just got home from a 10 day family vacation. It was wonderful! It was also Nathan's third birthday yesterday. But I'll get to all that in a day or two - or three. A few fun things to read while you're waiting:

We were passing through Oklahoma City on our way home yesterday.

Me: Look Esther and Nathan! That's the Oklahoma Capitol building.
Esther: Nathan, see the Lowercase building?
Me: What?
Esther: I mean the Uppercase building!

It took me a moment to understand that she thought I had used the word "capital."


Esther learned how to sew a button onto fabric tonight. I was mending a skirt and she asked me to teach her to sew. At first she wanted to make a doll shirt. But I told that was beyond my ability. So we did a button instead. What a good button sewer she is. I think I'll have her sew all the buttons on now!


I promise my son is not swearing when he says "fruck." He's been trying so hard to say "truck" correctly and that's just the way it is coming out right now. We try not to talk about trucks in public anymore after the incident when he saw a toy one in the store and started wildly shouting "fruck!!" Ugh


Esther told me that "gurglers" are bad people that come to your house and steal things while you're running errands. Oh, and bad people eat dirt. Hmmm...

George and Martha

I found a funny email I wrote to a friend right before my mission that I just had to share! Except for a couple of lines that I'd written the next day and added to this, it is word for word how I wrote it that evening.


Mon, 3 May 1999

We had a visitor tonight. His name was George. And he brought his friend Martha. His visit was quite unexpected. You see, Dad and I brought home Chinese food. We ordered some regular stuff that we always get but decided to try one Taiwanese dish - Lo Mein. Sounds pretty safe, huh? Well, Mom opened it and began to scream! "I am not eating that! Paul, get it out of here!" Everyone rushed to the kitchen to see a little shrimp poking his head out of our noodles. Really, his head and eyeballs and footsies were all still there. And he was looking at us with that fishy dead sort of face. We all shrieked a little and I bravely (not really) got two forks and pulled him and his friend from our dinner.

We put them in a bowl on the table for Dad to eat. Angelyn began a discussion on our new found friend. She announced that his name was George. And his friend was Martha - his long lost love. Soon to be reunited in our father's stomach. We had a difficult time saying the dinner prayer because right before Dad chose someone to pray, Angelyn whispered "please bless George." Needless to say, I hope that Heavenly Father has a sense of humor as our dinner prayer was not very reverent.

Pretty soon, Angelyn had George peeking out of the bowl, whimpering for help. "Please don't eat me," he pleaded. It was sick, just sick. There was a romantic conversation between George and Martha and much hysterical laughing.

Then Dad tried to pull them apart at the table but Mom shooed him to the counter where we would not have to witness his molestation. Poor George. And Martha. Dad ate them with a snarl. Michael almost cried. Not really. Well, actually he was laughing so hard he fell off his chair with tears streaming off his face.

Angelyn wanted to bury his remains in the backyard and plays Taps but Mom wouldn't hear of it and promptly threw George and Martha in the trash. Let us have a moment of silence for our departed loved ones.

*****silence*****

Angelyn made a delicious cake for dessert. It was prettier than George was. And we all enjoyed it very much. Thank you, Angelyn. Burp. Excuse me.

Thought you would enjoy hearing about our guest that came for dinner. I am afraid of ever eating Lo Mein noodles, Taiwanese style again. Mom wondered if I could really eat the food over there. When Dad suggested that might keep me from going, I said no, but Michael decided that if ever I had to have an excuse of why I wouldn't go, I could say, "Well, I was going to go on a mission and then I met George."

The End

Mother's Day Celebration

I really enjoyed my Mother's Day. Daron let me sleep in a bit while he got the children ready for church. Then while I showered, he and the kids made a yummy brunch. Omelettes with goat cheese, fried pepper and zucchini, and Greek yogurt with strawberries and granola.

Daron even sat down with the kids and they handcrafted cute paper flowers in paper vases for me. I forgot to take a picture of those, but they were so sweet.

After a wonderful afternoon at church, I got to blog and call my own Mom while Daron made dinner. Spicy Honey Brushed CHicken Thighs, Rosemary Potatoes, and Spinach with Sweet Potato Salad was on the menu. Yum. During dinner, the kids and Daron each said something that they loved about me.
I am so happy to be Esther and Nathan's Mommy! I wouldn't trade my job for any other job in the world!

Mom

I find that as I get further into motherhood, I learn more about my own mom. Especially during those frantic phonecalls: "Mom, Esther just..." or "What do I do about..." And then loving, soothing words from my Mom. Wait, dare I suspect a chuckle in the background? A sort of been there, done that laugh.

But in all seriousness, I'm amazed at how I viewed my mother growing up. She was just Mom. While I loved her and we had fun together, I also saw her as simply the chauffeur, the umpire during fights, a cheerleader, sometimes the "bad guy", cook, and decision maker. How many times did I forget that she was her own person with her own struggles, achievements, and personality? Probably more than I want to remember. As I grow more wise, I also have gotten to know her better as her - not just as my Mom - but as a fellow human being traveling through this journey called life.

We had a lesson on service at church today. I just kept thinking about the amazing example of service my Mom is. I may have already shared this, but it's one of those things that has imprinted itself so deeply on me that it ought to be told again.

When my older brother started a paper route, he met a sweet old couple - the Brizas. She often sent him home with cupcakes and other goodies for his family. How we loved those treats. When my brother went to college, I took over the route and we continued to get to know the Brizas. When I went to college, my Mom took over the route and so the friendship continued. While I was on my mission, Mr. Briza became ill. When he died, my Mom helped with the funeral arrangements as they had no children and not much for close relatives. As Mrs. Briza aged, it was difficult for her to drive and so Mom began taking her to the grocery store and to run other errands. Quickly, she became a surrogate grandmother. Feisty Mrs. Briza was the one who insisted that's what she be! I am still amazed at how much time Mom spent taking her around town and helping at her house.

Mrs. Briza became ill shortly after I was first married. In fact, my wedding day was the last day I saw her. We all mourned her greatly when she passed away. Appointed as Mrs. Briza's executor of her will, Mom took care of funeral arrangments, emptying her house, helping get it ready to sell, and doing work with her attorney to finalize her wishes. It took a few years of work for everything to be finished.

A family friendship became something even deeper because of the service that Mom gave to the Brizas. I am humbled by Mom's example of service. And this wasn't a one time thing. There are others that she has been serving for years and spends much time with their needs. Not to mention the many trips to see us kids and grandchildren, care packages sent our way, hours on the phone listening to her children and giving needed advice.

Whereas when I was a teenager, I didn't always want to be like my Mom - now I do! I hope to grow up to be like her!

I love you, Mom. Happy Mother's Day!