Nauvoo, MO, and AR

We had a great trip to the midwest a couple weeks ago. We flew into St. Louis and then went to see the kids great-grandmother who is now in an assisted Living facility. I think she enjoyed meeting them and getting to know them a little in person. She had not met Andrew before and it has been about 4 years since she met the girls. The next morning we woke up and drove up to Carthage and Nauvoo. We had a really great visit there. They have really done a lot to fix up Nauvoo. We could have stayed 2 or 3 more days and had plenty to do and see. As it was our time was limited but we sure enjoyed what we did get to do. I loved going on the carriage ride all around the area and hearing the missionaries tell stories about this pioneer or that pioneer--Pointing out their land or what was significant about that particular spot. We went to a performance that night by the BYU accapella group "Vocal Point". They were great! Highly entertaining and fun to watch. I also was able to get some really great pictures of the Nauvoo Temple during the sunset and at night with this great big full moon behind it. We STUFFED ourselves at the best buffet that we have ever been to. It was at the Nauvoo Hotel. --Seriously the best ever! We stayed in little cabin on the outskirts of town. Very cute.
The next morning we jumped back in the car and headed south to Cape Girardeau. Mimi-Jeff's grandma is still alive and doing great for being 98 years old. Her mind is not as sharp as it used to be--she tends to repeat herself quite frequently--We now know that, "Andrew sure is a pretty boy." She must have told us that 50 times. But for all of that she is doing pretty well. We were really happy that the kids could all meet her and will hopefully be old enough to remember her somewhat.
Jeff's aunt and uncle and cousins have several horses and the kids were thrilled to be able to ride them. We went to a church fundraising dinner that night. It's definitly the bible belt and quite an experience to have 900 people waiting for hours to get the chicken and dumplings and roast beef that they served. I can't imagine that happening anywhere else except there. The next day we went swimming in the pool for most of the day. It was nice to be able to swim in the pool all day without getting cold like we do here. They have a beautiful piece of property with a lake and gazebo and woods. It's really gorgeous. Andrew had fun chasing the kitties and exploring down by the lake and the woods.
Anyway, after a few days playing in Cape, we drove further south to Little Rock and had some fun days with Jeff's mom and dad and brothers and sister. We went to a waterpark there and the kids had a blast shooting down all of the slides and playing in the wave pool and stuff. Even Andrew went down the big slides with us. It was great. He loved it. We got to play at the park in the rain, picked up a couple AR and MO geocaches and repainted Jeff's mom's bathroom. (just a few of the highlights) All in all it was a pretty good vacation. We flew home without any issues and made it home for the kids to start school the day after we got there. They seem to be settling in pretty well and I am enjoying my one-on-one time with Andrew. We usually have a blast with each other.
We are now just excited about the prospect of a visit from "grandma and grandpa". The kids have all sorts of plans for them!
--See you guys later