Company!

Dee's brother, Joel and his wife, Elana arrived on Thursday, May 23.  We had a great time exploring behind the scenes of Nauvoo, and part of the Mormon Trail in Iowa. We really enjoyed the break from routine.  But we also had work to do this week.  Dee is out of the attic and back to doing work orders for the most part.  He came home one day declaring how much he loved fixing air conditioners.  At least he can stand up straight from time to time - unlike in the attic.
The grounds crew finished the major planting and the senior missionary sisters actually had time to do some weeding - our favorite summer activity.  So here's our week in photos.

Ground's Crew

Planting at Browning Gun

Hyde house raised higher. 

Lyon's Drug in purple

Chives, allium, and false indigo

When planting is all done, we start mulching.  It's dirty, hard work. 

Joel and Elana's Visit

We started out by discovering how many Barrow ancestors lived in Nauvoo.  This is Joel's (or Dee's) fan chart. All the grandparents with checks lived here, along with their children, aunts, uncles, parents, etc. 

FM Nacho lunch

Nacho lunch in the break room

Sarah Granger Kimball garden

 Every May and June volunteer archaeologist come and dig around foundations in Nauvoo.  They have set up a museum and work station in the basement of the Red Brick Store.

Archaeology museum

Miracle of the quails camp.

In 1846 the saints were driven out of Nauvoo. They crossed Iowa, headed for the Great Basin.  You can follow the Mormon Trail today and learn about their experiences. On Saturday we followed it for about 40 miles. Our first stop was where the miracle of the quails took place. 

Lunch at Bonapart's Retreat.

Brothers have to check out the gutter display. 

 As the saints came into Bentonsport they saw an opportunity to make some much needed money by building for the citizens of Bentonsport.  We met the owner of Mason House, who has done a lot of research into the history of this town.  The hotel was built by the saints, and all of the features, and much of the furnishings are original to the house.

Chandelier designed to cast colored light onto ceiling.

Building modeled after Nauvoo's Red Brick Store

 We did a lot of exploring outside Nauvoo's historic district, including the American Indian mounds just north of the historic district.

We had so much fun with Joel and Elana.  There are more photos - but they are in Joel's camera.  I think you get the idea of the variety of things that we did.  The best part was just enjoying each other's company.