Summer, School, Family - Chapter 3 back to reality

Only a 'short' 20 hour drive from Southern Idaho to Central Iowa brought us from time with family and friends back to the reality of life. School started the day after we got back and work was busy as ever. But we did get the requisite first day of school pics of our spuds. You can tell the excitement the older they get!


With school starts new activities. We have a couple soccer players. One for the first season. She is pretty excited, and scored a couple goals in her first game. I think being with brothers has toughened her up for this scrappy sport!


Cole started playing the clarinet in band and is really doing well.


Kell and Abigail also started gymnastics and is something they really seem to enjoy.

We took a little road trip on a Saturday to see Nauvoo, Illinois. It is a special place in LDS history as it was a city built up on the banks of the Mississippi, and was once the largest city in Illinois. Unfortunately, persecution and mobs forced the saints out of the beautiful city. It is about 4 hours from our home, so an 'easy' day trip!
First we stopped in Carthage, Illinois, the place the prophet Joseph Smith and his
brother were martyred. It is a solemn place. Here we are in front of the jail they were held in.


We got to experience a 10 minute ox and wagon ride. What a ride it would have been to Utah on this!



We ended the day up by the rebuilt Nauvoo Temple, the most beautiful part of the daytrip.



With that I end the three part update of the Iowa Spuds. Maybe it won't be so long until I update again, but no promises.