Burns in Nauvoo: Kids, Concerts, Plays and a Luau

June 20, 2021

This week was amazing! I had Austin and Sydney here all week and Bryson here for a good share of it and I didn't get a picture of us all together! I love my kids and there is nothing better than spending time with them! I love the sacrifices that they made to come and spend time with us! The fact that we are serving in Nauvoo is also a big bonus for when they come! This was Sydney's first time in Nauvoo and I'm happy to report that she loved it!

We joined with our children and attended, I think, every production that the YPMs are doing at this time. We attended "Sunset by the Mississippi" - twice, "Love of the Savior Concert" (I've attended this one 3 times - it's that good!), "Trail of Hope" - twice, "Go Ye Into All the World", "The Promise", the Brass Band Concert, and "Women of Nauvoo". All of the shows and concerts are wonderful and I highly recommend all of them! I will definitely be seeing them all again! We went on a few tours with them and the wagon ride. It is so much fun seeing Nauvoo alive again! What a joy it is to see people walking the streets and enjoying the sweet spirit of beautiful Nauvoo! Sydney and Austin have a good friend who is a YPM so it was/is fun seeing her in all the plays/concerts. We also made it to Annie's several times. Don't be too jealous!

Along with having our kids here, we also completed all of our Missionary duties. Because of the heat, I went in most mornings at 6:00 a.m. I'm not a morning person so that was hard but it was sure nice beating some of the heat! I'm still loving working at Lyon Drug in the gardens. It is so beautiful and serene.

Doug has been keeping busy with his welding projects. There will be several pictures on the blog. He also took his first swim in the Mississippi. He was working on a project, digging with the backhoe, clearing the silt, etc., from the irrigation pump and was putting the strainer back in the hole he had dug. He needed to move the chain, but as he did, he slipped and fell into the hole. He says he only fell into his waist, but he was soaked when he got home.

Saturday is our prep day and this one was busy! Sydney and Austin left early this morning - that was hard to say goodbye! Goodbyes are the hardest and are done so often on missions! After cleaning the house, doing laundry, etc., Doug took a long nap. He is still having daily headaches, ever since he received the Covid shot. Saturday he had a bad one so I did the shopping myself. We had a Senior Missionary Luau that night and President Ballard could tell that Doug wasn't feeling well so he and Elder Koop gave him a blessing. He felt better and was able to enjoy the luau! Food, music, friends and fun made for an enjoyable evening! I had to cut a huge watermelon and then help set the food on the tables. I went Friday and helped set up. Doug played his banjolele in the ukulele group and some Senior Sisters danced for us. It was a great evening!

Sunday after church, we had our Zone Linger Longer - a chance to get together after church, eat and visit for a while. After that, I fixed lunch for us (yay for left-overs! haha), fixed muffins for the YSMs - once a month our District provides Sunday dinner for a YSM District. This Sunday was our day so we decided to make breakfast for dinner and from what I hear, they loved it! Sunday afternoon, we get to hang out at the Visitors Center for a few hours and help out while Doug is the IC. While he locked up, I attended the "Love of the Savior" Concert - again - and I love it just as much!

A quick tender mercy story - after I delivered the muffins Sunday, I decided to drive by Lyon Drug and check things out since we had a storm Saturday night. As I was visiting with one of the YSMs, I heard a tour group pass by on Hyde Street. I looked over and thought it looked like Ginger Rich. I hollered her name and she turned. I ran through the field to her as she's asking, "Who are you?". As soon as I was closer, she knew me. We embraced and spent a few minutes reminiscing. Her grandson is in the Brass Band so they came with Robin and her family to watch him. It was so fun to see her again! She introduced me as one of the village that helped raise her children. I have so many memories with that family.

As you can tell, this past week was busy, busy, busy and I wouldn't change a thing about it! With all of the ups and downs, I am thankful to be here serving in beautiful Nauvoo!