Illinois Reunion

We got back on Monday from a Johnson family reunion in Illinois with all of Walt's siblings (there are 6 kids). It was so fun! We wished we could have had many more days together. The first several days of our trip was spent at Walt's Dad's house with Anna and Charlotte. We did some yard work and cleaned out the storage room. We also got all the boxes of things belonging to the kids and went through them. It was fun to find Walt's baby book and some grade school assignments and high school year books. I wonder if we would have liked each other if we'd known each other in high school.

The second part of the trip was spent in Nauvoo, Illinois, where Andy and Stan's families met us. Jim's family drove down, too, so we were all there. We toured the old city and learned a lot about life in the days of the early pioneers. We toured the Jonathan Browning gun shop (Walt and I are both related to him), visited the brickyard, blacksmith shop and bakery, and spent time in the Pioneer Pastimes area (playing pioneer games) and the Family Living Center where they showed us how to make rope and candles, how to weave. etc. We took two wagon rides and watched a short video about the temple before taking pictures in front of the temple. Lastly we walked the Trail of Hope where all the pioneers lined up to wait their turn to cross the Mississippi, hoping that the new life ahead would finally be free from the intense persecution they'd endured in Missouri and Illinois. They could look back and see their temple up on the hill, and I'm sure it was somewhat discouraging to think of all the work they put into it only to have to leave. I am so thankful for their faith that God's promises would one day be fulfilled.

We went to Carthage Jail on the way home, which is always a solemn and reverent experience. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.