Eliza Rose Empey: September in a Nutshell

So I'm down to one post a month. Life just gets busy.

We had a great vacation in September. Here are some pictures from it.

We took 10 days and drove up to Palmyra, NY - Kirtland, OH, and Nauvoo, IL. We ended with a family reunion in Missouri.

I made a few things to make our trip a bit more enjoyable for all of us, especially Eliza. I bought a cookie sheet and covered the back in felt to make it more comfy, then cut out a bunch of magnet games, like go fish, matching games, build a cupcake, silly faces, etc. This tray also doubled for a food tray and I used dry erase crayons and drew a map on it and she played cars on it. Pretty successful. Also, glow sticks were a huge hit, especially in the hotel when the lights were all out. We also got books on tape and found she likes to listen to stories! But mostly, she likes to watch movies.

Our first stop was to see the Susquehanna River where Joseph Smith was baptized and had a home with Emma. There was a really special feeling there as we walked where Joseph and Emma lived, where the Priesthood was restored, and where the Book of Mormon was in the beginning stages of translation.

Into the Water - The spot where Joseph was baptized.

Eliza loved the hotels, especially the luggage carts. I'm pretty sure she thought they were a personal playground.

In Palmyra, we stopped at the Sacred Grove. Eliza is showing her scavenger hunt paper. I made one for each of our stops on the road to try to keep her engaged. They were mildly successful.

Love that she had to pose like Dad!

This is the upper room of Joseph's childhood home where he was sleeping the night he met the Angel Moroni.

The Kirtland Temple.

One of the highlights of the trip was getting to see my sister Kari for a bit. It's been far too long since I saw her and it was really nice to catch up. Love her!

Nauvoo was really a special place for us. Seeing the temple and walking around the grounds where so many Saints gave so much was really special.

We took a little wagon ride through Nauvoo. Eliza loved it. She has no fear!

This is the home of John Taylor. The story of the little horse in the picture is very sweet. He made this horse for one of his little sons. When they had to leave Nauvoo by force the Saints had to leave many precious belongings behind. This horse was left. On the trail West John Taylor could see his son was sad and asked why. His son said he was really sad to have left the horse. That night, John Taylor rode all the way back to Nauvoo, despite being one of the most wanted by the mob and being sick, and retrieved the horse for his son.

One of the sweetest parts of our trip was going to the lands and records office and finding information about the Empey family. I didn't know that William Adam had lived in Nauvoo. Turns out he had and had buried 4 small children there.

We went to the cemetary but could not find the actual graves. Still, there was a really tender feeling there. The Saints gave so much.

We did find the land that William Adam lived on. I love this picture of Nicholas and Eliza standing where his ancestor lived and toiled. What a sacrifice.

Next to the quarry. William Adam's land was very close to this spot.

Joseph depicted talking to Brigham Young pointing to the West where the Saints would have to go in order to find peace.

Into the Wilderness: The Banks of the Mississippi as the Saints left their beautiful Nauvoo and headed into the unknown in order to try to rebuild what they had lost. They had no idea the trials that awaited them. William Adam would have crossed this river with his family, then left them behind in Winter's Quarters and headed with Brigham Young across the plains. William recieved word while on that journey that his son, Brigham Young Empey, died at Winter's Quarters only one day before his first birthday.