Nauvoo Pageant

The day Ryan got home just happened to be the last day of the Nauvoo pageant, a yearly summer tradition held in Nauvoo that culminates each night with a live show about Joseph Smith and the early latter-day saints and the sacrifice and faith they showed to build the city of Nauvoo and the Nauvoo temple. 

There is a fair held beforehand with bagpipe players, games and activities common to the 1830s and 40s, and crafts for adults and kids to enjoy.  

We knew it would be the last night the pageant was running, but we also knew Ryan would most likely be exhausted after being in a completely different time zone for three weeks and then traveling home for more than 24 hours. But, around 4:00 in the afternoon, we decided we should give it a shot and we made the two hour drive to Nauvoo. 

I'm really glad we did. We were able to walk around for about an hour and the girls had fun making fabric braids (which Kate refused to take off for a few days) and seeing all the entertainment. They wouldn't let Ryan out of their sight! 

The pageant itself was wonderful. The singing, dancing and acting were all top notch. And I really want to make this pageant a yearly family tradition (also because I'd love to watch the show again without wrangling a 2 year old at 10 pm). 

Kate was really worried when they turned the lights off of the temple they had been building on stage for the entire pageant (as the saints left Nauvoo and the temple was destroyed). And it was such a great moment when they lit up the current temple, rebuilt in its original location. Kate was honestly awestruck and was so happy the temple was back again. 

We packed up our sleepy ladies and made it home just after midnight, which made for a sleepy Sunday (never a bad thing!).