Rough Day

What a day... it started out okay.  I was up at 6:00 and went over and had a shower.  We all ate and were on the road by 8:00.  We stopped at a Flying J just down the road to get fuel and Lennard had me finish fueling up so that he could go to the bathroom.  As we were pulling out he mentioned that he was feeling 'off' and sort of achy. We were only five minutes down the road when he had to suddenly pull off so he could throw up. Poor guy was freezing and shaking. I got a blanket and a bowl (just in case) and gave him some Gravol and then I got in to drive. I drove all day. We stopped for fuel and something to eat and Lennard was doing a bit better. 

I drove into the canyon and then Lennard took over for the last 45 minutes in the city traffic.  We got to Lagoon and Emma just about lost her mind when she saw all the roller coasters!  She wanted to go right then and had a meltdown when we told her she had to wait until tomorrow.  

We finally got the trailer set up and had hoped to take the kids to Temple Square, but Lennard started freezing and shaking again. The kids have found other kids to play with for the moment, but I'm tired and frustrated that I don't even want to be here. I'm frustrated that we've already bought expensive tickets for Lagoon and now Lennard might not even be well enough to enjoy it. I wanted to finish our 'book-ends' by seeing the Salt Lake temple and now it doesn't look like that will happen. It's not Lennard's fault.  I hate that he's not feeling well. I'm just grumpy at life and sad that things don't seem to be working out.  Not the way I wanted our trip to end.

The view from our campsite.

Travel Day

 I had a rough night sleep... there was SO much traffic all night long and my back hurt a lot, so I tossed and turned.  I was up by 7:00.  It took a bit to get the kids up and fed, but then they just wanted to go play instead of loading up. We all got a bit frustrated.  I finally turned on the British pageant soundtrack and we all calmed down.

 We stopped in North Platte, NE to fuel up and decided to eat at Denny's.  Big mistake! It took forever and Ben tried to order two different sides that they didn't have.  They brought his plate with 4 chicken nuggets on it and that's it!  They didn't have any sweet and sour sauce.  Then they didn't bring his grapes until I reminded her again.  Lennard ordered a Prime Rib Philly Cheesesteak and they brought him something with chicken.  The whole situation was ridiculous!  Never again!

When we left to go I decided to give Lennard a break and got in the driver's seat!  He was shocked and the kids made a big deal about me driving the truck and trailer. Thankfully it went fine... even with all the construction. 

We got to Cheyenne, Wyoming and the kids took off to try out the playground and the mini golf course.  They were desperate to go swimming so we took them over for a bit. There was a mom from Texas with her two girls that I visited with.  We then got out just in time as a thunder storm blew in.

We decided to go eat at Panda Express for dinner and then stopped at Walmart for a few groceries. I got a couple pairs of shoes for Emma (for school). We also got a new wiper for the truck so I'll be able to see now!  We got the kids in bed by 8:45.  We hope we can be on the road by 8:00 tomorrow morning.

Going Home

It was hard to wake up this morning!  Lennard went over and put our laundry into the dryers and we got everything cleaned up so we can hook the trailer up as soon as we get home from church. It took a while to get Ben up and going.  We went to Sacrament meeting for 9:30 and then left right after the sacrament was passed so we could get the trailer hooked up and get on the road.

We met my parents on the road as we were heading out and said good bye. The kids have done pretty good. Funny thing that happened when we were driving - a van came up beside us and started waving and it was the Gardner's! Then, when we stopped for fuel, there they were again!  What are the chances!  Andrea said that it made it easier to say goodbye when we did it gradually.  We stopped there and got something to eat.  It made a bit of a longer day, but we all needed the break.

We were all really happy to get to the campground near Gretna, NE.  The kids were thrilled to see a large playground, a jumping pillow and a swimming pool.  They could hardly stand to stay in the truck until we got to our site! I haven't seen them most of the night. Lennard took them swimming while I made dinner. While we were eating, Lennard and I looked at each other and saw how totally exhausted we both are. We had a thought that since the pageant is done now we don't have the added help of being set apart. We have definitely been strengthened during the past two weeks in order to keep going for hours with the heat and humidity. We are looking forward to an early night to bed!

I layed down after dinner and ended up falling asleep. The kids apparently played at the playground until 9:00 and then they were starving again.  Lennard gave them the leftovers from dinner and then finally went to bed at 10:00.  I guess they're too used to our late nights!

Farewell

Lennard and Emma went to the Visitor's Center early this morning to get tickets for the Harper's to do the Carriage ride and go see "The Promise".  Ben slept in. We had a quick breakfast and then we headed up to the chapel for our Cast Testimony meeting.  We arrived 15 minutes before it was supposed to start and there were only 3 other families there.  We all laughed and thought, "Do Mormons believe in being on time?" ha! ha!

Eventually we filled the chapel and had an amazing testimony meeting.  The kids had a hard time sitting still for almost 2 1/2 hours.  Emma ended up finally falling asleep on Lennard's lap.

 We had just enough time afterwards to change and get the tickets to Alicia at the Visitors Center. Then, while Lennard was in line to get pageant seats for them, the kids and I walked down to the Scovil Bakery (just for the cookie!).  Then we went down to Pioneer Pastimes. The kids loved playing the games and Emma gathered a group of kids together to play 'house'.  They weren't very happy when we had to leave.

 We decided to have a bit of quiet time before things get crazy tonight. We are meeting Len Sr and the Harper's for dinner again.  This time they say there's brisket.  Yum! 

It's so hard to believe this is our final performance.  In some ways it feels like we've been here way longer than two weeks and in other ways the time has gone by way too fast!

Dinner was great and we left in enough time to get to HQ and get changed into our costumes before Company meeting. Our Cast meeting was full of tender moments.  Before it started, Lauren Mace, gave Emma a big pencil and Ben a key chain from London. 

 Then, during the meeting the director, assistant director, choreographer, etc all spoke and bore testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel. My emotions were very near the surface the whole night. It's amazing how fast you build relationships with people when you are in an intense situation like this. I've been quite frustrated with how much the kids have been fighting - which makes me angry and not as patient. I've been wanting this experience to pull us together and it doesn't feel like it sometimes. Then as one of the directors was talking they quoted the scripture about 'Be still and know that I am God." It spoke to my heart and made me realize that I get too caught up in the details and sometimes I need to just 'be still'.  I'm grateful that we've been able to serve as a family and meet so many wonderful people.

Nichols' family in Nauvoo

Bluff District - Bohman and Nichols families

Jed, Sara, Mary Lou, Joseph Weyland and Lennard

 The final performance was great. It was extremely humid and I was dripping with sweat!  As we did our costume changes, they'd take the costume pieces we took off as fast as we'd get them off. Emma ended up getting her fingers slammed in the dressing room door, but she was so brave and went on for the stick ball scene even though she was still hurting.

I sang my heart out as the temple walls went up.  What an experience!  As the finale finished we all looked around and realized it was done.  I got a few hugs and tears were shed.  We had a closing prayer on the stage and then everyone had to get off the stage so the temple could be put down.

The kids were able to get changed while we waited for Lennard and then we had to get to HQ to turn in our costumes. They have it down to a science and we got it done in no time. We got our CD of pictures and then headed to the trailer so Lennard could shave his beard off! He was SO excited and the kids loved watching it happen.  He looks at least ten years younger! I cut his hair outside afterwards and he kept rubbing his head! lol 

Weyland's got back to their trailer shortly afterwards and we popped over.  Their reaction to seeing Lennard without a beard was great.  Camilla even told Lennard to 'go away' because he didn't look like Santa anymore!  She did give him a big hug though. They have been such a wonderful family.  It was 12:45 before we finally got to bed. I'd thrown in three loads of laundry so that everything would be done before leaving in the morning!

Family Time

I had a hard time waking up this morning.  My ankles are huge and itchy from bug bites. We finally got going and had some cereal for breakfast before going to meet Grandpa Nichols and the Harper's at the Visitors Center. We walked through the Women's Garden with them and then headed down to listen to the bagpipers play on Mulholland Street.

 We left Grandpa and the Harper's there so we could go to our Cast Picnic at the State Park.  It's 30°C today and of course humid, so I was drenched in no time. We shared Smarties with the kids and brought Dill Pickle, Ketchup and All Dressed potato chips to share. We visited for a bit, but then had to go so we could get seats saved for the pageant tonight for Harper's/Nichols. Lennard dropped the kids and me off at the trailer and then went to get in line. I got the laundry folded and put away while the kids messed around.  The trailer is such a mess and I need to get things cleaned up so we're ready to leave on Sunday.  I want a nap though! I did manage to get the dished done and a few things tidied up before we met Grandpa and the Harper's at Hotel Nauvoo (again!).

This time they had shrimp and we all ate lots! Yum!

We headed off to company meeting while they went down to Sunset on the Mississippi.  After Cast meeting we raced back to the trailer, got costumes on and headed down for the final British pageant performance (already!).

Ben Bohman was a bit tired during Cast meeting!

It was hot tonight, but I enjoyed visiting with people.  There was a couple that I'd met last night that said they stayed an extra night so they could see the British Pageant just because of talking to me yesterday!  They've been visiting temples and had just been in Cardston last week so it was neat to connect with them.  They're from Texas. 

We took Alicia, Sarah and Rigel backstage and showed them around and then it was time to start.

Backstage gets busy!

I flubbed a few moved in the dances, but overall it went well. It was a powerful sight to see the missionaries flooding onto the stage as we sang "Called to Serve"!  I had a hard time singing. It's hard to believe the British Pageant is done.  We had to turn in our British costumes tonight. I have to say that the ladies who took our costumes tonight are saints - they were all completely soaked in sweat.  What a service!

Fun and Family

Lennard got up and got us tickets for the Carriage Ride at 11:00.  We had a nice relaxed morning. The kids got showers and we had a good breakfast.  The carriage ride was very interesting as we got to hear stories of different Saints in Nauvoo. Of course the ones that stood out were King Follett and Dan Jones.  

 We went to the Visitor's Center for a while and ended up visiting with a few cast members. We went out to the Women's Garden for a bit and then visited the Temple Quarry.

We stopped at the Baker and had some lunch and then went back to the trailer. I switched our laundry (costumes) and got Emma's hair done for tonight.  Lennard got a bit of a nap too.

We've been really lucky with the weather.  It's been extremely humid, but it hasn't got over 30°C (ish). We've soaked through everything every day, but at least it hasn't been hotter!

We went and saw "The Promise" done by the Young Performing Missionaries (YPMs).  Right as we were going in Lennard got a phone call to do his pre-op stuff for his wrist surgery.  By the time he finished they wouldn't let him in... grrr!  It was a cute show.

We got back to the trailer in time for me to do my Nauvoo hair and then head down to Hotel Nauvoo where we met Len Sr and Alicia, Don, Sarah and Rigel.  We all ate at the buffet, although knowing that we were going to be on stage limited how much we ate!  Emma made up for all of us!  She really chowed down!  Ben had a small plate of food and then three bowls of apple crisp!

They'll all be coming to the pageant tomorrow and Saturday.  We went straight from dinner to Company meeting and then had to race home afterwards to get into costume and get down to pageant grounds.  We talked to a few people and then found Toone's.  We took a picture together and then took Cody and Shannon backstage to show them around a bit. The pageant went well... a few mistakes, but it all worked out.  The guys had a hard time getting the pins in to build the temple and missed their cue, but they finally got it.  I couldn't get to my place in time on building the temple and ended up running across the front of the stage!  Oops!  Then a big breeze came up and took the temple panels.  They finally caught them and got them clipped into place.  No one fell or got hurt tonight so we're all good!

Never a Dull Moment

Since we had the day off we didn't set an alarm and no one even moved until 9:30!  Even after that we lazed around and just relaxed.  I finally got up, got showered and put in three loads of laundry.  We had a super late breakfast... at 11:30! Ha! Ha!  It's been so many late nights in a row that we all needed this!

The kids hung out and watched a few movies.

 We finally got going and went to the Red Brick Store and a few other stores. We stopped at Annie's and got some frozen custard.

 We also stopped and made reservations at the Hotel Nauvoo for tomorrow night so we can go out to dinner with Grandpa Nichols and the Harper's. We made BBQ chicken packets for dinner and then got dressed quickly and headed to headquarters for family pictures and Company Meeting.

Such cute friends! They were excited that they have matching costumes. (Emma with A. Gardner)

 We were a little later getting to pageant grounds, but we met up with Shauna's family and Henline's for a bit.  I saw Deb Cahoon and talked with her for quite a bit. 

We took a quick moment together and managed to get my mom to take a family picture on the stage for us.  This was our opening night for the British Pageant.  Mom gave the opening prayer for the pageant tonight. 

The show went pretty well until Ben fell down a ramp while exiting. It gets really dark and everyone runs off different exits.  I didn't see him fall, but someone from the audience (from Texas) helped him get backstage and then we had all kinds of medical help come running.  He only ended up scraping his knees up, but they sure took care of him. I carried him over to the First Aid Hut and once he was settled, I headed back to the stage. Our whole group missed the Market Transition scene... oops!  We made it through the rest without Ben and then as soon as we were done, I raced over to find him... only to discover that I'd run right past him at Family Support backstage.  He's sore, but he'll be fine.

We met Alicia's friends, the Gill's, and visited with them for a bit.  We are all soaked through with sweat and very tired.  Thankfully we have the day to recover tomorrow!