Woffinden Family Reunion

Last week was our much awaited Nauvoo trip! The trip entailed flying from SLC the whole way to Milwaukee, WI renting a car, driving 5 hours to the middle of nowhere Illinois and then staying in a large historic building with 20 some people (my entire immediate family, minus some in-laws) Sounds crazy, but it was actually really fun! Brody even survived it. It was a super short trip, with too much traveling, but the whole thing was fun!

We did have to suffer through 100 degree weather with horrible humidity. We were basically dripping the whole time. But that was the major downside of the trip.

When we arrived to Nauvoo, we were able to go straight to the pageant. They told us at the beginning that it was a tear jerker. I was impressed with myself the whole time, thinking "wow I haven't cried yet, I'm so good" well I spoke too soon. I ended the pageant basically bawling. It was super touching to listen to stories of the pioneers and of the prophet Joseph!
I also got to see my old roommated Meghan who is currently on a mission there! It was so fun to catch up, brought back tons of good memories of living in LA.

Snow cones before the start of the pageant!

After the pagent we all crashed in bed. We had an early start the next day. We were going on a hand cart trek and wow did I need the rest! So I went on a trek when I was 14 for youth conference. I had a ton of fun and don't remember any manual labor. Maybe my memory has dimmed or we were just on the cushiest trail ever, because this handcart trek was no picnic.
As you can see in pictures, by the first 5 minutes we were all covered in mud and tired. We unanimously decided to just go 1 mile instead of 3! It was definitely an experience to remember!

We spent the rest of the trip sight seeing . I never realized how much their is to do in Nauvoo. There are a ton of historical houses and shows and plays and pioneer activities. We went on a oxen ride a nd the rest of the family went on a wagon ride through out town.

At Carthage Jail. That's my nephew Connor in the back.

Cute houses in Nauvoo.

Our wedding cake topper! My mom drove it the whole way out from PA. We shared the cake with our family (just a couple weeks early for our first anniversary celebration) A real romantic night with 20+ members of my family!

We got a chance to go to the temple while we were there! It was really beautiful!

So that was the majority of our family reunion. My parents are enjoying their mission there. They wear pioneer clothes, do tours and appear in shows. Sadly, we didn't get to see a show where my parents actually have parts, but we saw them perform none the less.

I will add the rest of our trip later. This post is getting too long.