Mother's Day Vacation

Over Mother's Day weekend we decided to take a little mini vacation to Nauvoo. Kendall and I were wanting to go to the temple and we thought it would be fun to stay in one of the Inns at Nauvoo and swim in the pool with the kids. So that's what we did. Friday night we checked into the Inn. My parents also came and they stayed with the kids, taking them swimming and putting them to bed while Kendall and I had the opportunity to volunteer to clean the temple. What a cool experience that was. There were a lot of volunteers on that particular night, and so the cleaning organizers decided to clean the tower. The only time they ever let anyone go into the tower is when it is being cleaned. So we got to climb all 5 flights of stairs that are in the tower, all the way to the top and see the amazing view from there. We cleaned from about 8 until 10 pm and then went back to the Inn. The following morning we were able to go through a session at the temple along with my parents. Some good friends of ours have quadruplets (3 boys and 1 girl) who are now 19 years old. One of the boys is already on his mission, and the other two boys went through the temple during the session that we attended. Their sister was kind enough to come to Nauvoo and watch all of the kids for us. That was very cool to be there with them. They have such a wonderful family. The kids have babysat for us on numerous occasions and Kendall helped all 3 of the boys get their Eagles, so they have a special place in our hearts and it was really neat to be there for this exciting time in their lives.
We took a few pictures on the temple grounds. I have such a good looking family!
Rigdon LOVES being on Kendall's shoulders, pulling on and drooling in his hair.
Stepping on shadows. ;)
The kids were really drawn to this statue of Joseph Smith for some reason.
We are so fortunate to live so close to my parents. They are such wonderful grandparents and we are so grateful that they spend so much time and effort getting to know the kids. Not all kids get to be so closer to grandparents.
We also took a little drive along the Mississippi River while we were there. We got to see LOTS of turtles sunning themselves on the logs.
And even some baby geese.
Before we headed home on Saturday we stopped at a very fun (and HUGE) park to play. Everyone got on the swings,
and they even had a merry-go-round.
On Sunday I woke to breakfast in bed. Talmage helped Kendall with my breakfast which was a big muffin, about half a gallon of orange juice and 1/2 pound of bacon. I shared. :)

Kendall made wrist corsages for me, my mom, and his mom. But since we couldn't give the one to his mom (who is 1300 miles away) we gave it to the neighbor lady who has 7 kids and no husband to help spoil her.
It was a really nice weekend. I got to take it easy on Mother's Day and the kids gave me a bunch of books that I have been wanting. I got a couple of Little Critter books, an Eric Carle book all about animals that I just love, and the Official Illustrated Guide for the Twilight Saga. I still haven't read much of it yet since it isn't an audiobook, but I am looking forward to getting through it, even slowly.

Even though Mother's Day was over a month ago, I want to say how much I love being a mother. When I was growing up I always knew that I wanted to be a mother. I wanted to get a degree to become a teacher, but it was always secondary to wanting to be a mom. My children teach me so much more than I teach them and I just love their spirits that are too big for their little bodies. There is such a bond that I could have never guessed at, and I would have never believed that one person could have so much love inside them. Before Talmage was born I worried that I wouldn't be able to love a second child as much as I loved the first one. But it is such an amazing and eye-opening experience to have a second, and then a third and fourth child and having the amazing experience of having the love in your heart multiply exponentially. I am so grateful to be fortunate enough to have 4 beautiful children and have the opportunity to be sealed together as a family for eternity. And it wouldn't be right to say all of this without saying thank you to my amazing husband who has made it possible to bring these children into the world. Kendall has taught me how to have fun with them and how to make the most of all of our time together. Without him I am sure that I would get caught up in the day-to-day tasks, and I would miss so many opportunities to have fun and make memories. Happy Mother's Day to all of your women out there, whether you are mothers or not. We are all important women and daughters of a loving Heavenly Father.