Since coming to Nauvoo I have found extended family members that are also serving as full time missionaries and we have connected. 

From L to R

Elder & Sister Robison (I have already explained our connection in an earlier post on this blog) me, and Sister Bonnie and Elder Bruce Dalton from Panguitch, Utah. Sister Robison, Elder Dalton and I all share the same Great Great Grandfather - Charles Wakeman Dalton - who lived here in Nauvoo (along with his father, Simon Cooker Dalton) in the 1840s! I am related to Elder Robison through my Doyle line, and we had Robisons that lived here in Nauvoo. The Nauvoo connections are amazing among the missionaries serving here! I seem to find more each week!

These outdoor photos are taken at Inspiration Point. People are taken here on the Carriage Ride! It was a favorite spot of the prophet Joseph Smith when he lived here. I can see why - it is beautiful and it actually has a wonderful view of the Mississippi River even though my pictures don't show it very good! 

 This is one of the best kept secrets here in Nauvoo! It is a wonderful little museum with amazing early Mormon artifacts on display that are the collection of Don Black. It is located at the Nauvoo Log Cabins - family lodging location just down the street from where I live. If you are coming to Nauvoo it should be a "must see". This lodging site is also a wonderful place to stay. Check it out at www.nauvoologcabins.com.

"Sunset by the Mississippi"  is a fun variety show featuring the Senior Missionaries singing and dancing with the Young Performing Missionaries on an outdoor stage 6 nights a week! It is so much fun even though in this picture it doesn't look like it on my face!!!

A friend in the audience took this picture of me in Sunset by the Mississippi! 

For the next two weeks Brigham Young University's Living Legends group is in town and performs a

FABULOUS show after ours on the outdoor stage. The Living Legends group captures the essence of ancient and modern culture in a celebration of Latin American, Native American and Polynesian song and dance. I went tonight and saw it and wish I had taken more pictures. The costumes were AMAZING and their program was high energy and wonderful. 

 They have performed in Europe, the Pacific Islands, Australia, Canada, South America, China and Russia. They also performed at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City and continues to communicate its message of hope to people all over the world. This group used to be called :The Lamanite Generation" in my days at BYU!

Last night we came out of our Zone Conference meeting and these clouds were in the sky. I couldn't resist snapping a few pictures! Nauvoo is truly a beautiful place. When I got here the first week in April - it was still winter and everything looked so bare and dead. But now it is alive with green trees and grass and amazingly beautiful color everywhere!

My sister's birthday was this week......Happy Birthday to the best sister in the whole world - Marilyn Dalton Avarell! She looks as young today as she did in her High School Senior picture. I love you Marilyn!

Yesterday as I was going to serve in the Bakery (as I do twice a week now) this little squirrel was peeking over the fence as I approached! I wondered if he was just hanging there! 

He was just perched there for the longest time - watching me!

Then he and I had other things to do so we parted!

The Nauvoo Brass Band plays everyday at the Cultural Hall just next to us. Love it!
The man standing next to the horses in the black vest is my 3rd cousin, Elder Bruce Dalton, from Panguich, UT serving here with his wife for 18 months!

When I was done with my time in the bakery I attended the adorable play next door in the Cultural Hall called "Just Plain Anna Amanda". It was so good! My companion, Sister Brown, is the the accompanist for it. She did a great job!

Nauvoo is also known for their great winery! In fact the oldest vineyards in Illinois are here in Nauvoo at the State Park.

The vineyards at the State Park on Parley Street. The Rheinberger Museum is the building in the background. I haven't been there yet, but it is supposed to be really interesting.

This is the vineyard just behind our home looking west.

This is the vineyard just north of our home. They looked really bare and dead when we got here! But they are coming back to life!

The flowers are starting to bloom everywhere now and it is a sight to behold. One of my favorite sites is the Sarah Granger Kimball home which was one of the homes that was here before the Mormons came here and has been continuously lived in ever since the 1830s. The flower gardens around it are so beautiful!

Here are Sisters Barnum and Swapp outside the home at the end of their day!

Me and my friend Sister Barnum

They showed me a nest with these blue eggs in it in one of the bushes!

I forgot to mention that my nephew, Billy Ginos and his wife Erin and their sweet family were here in Nauvoo over the Memorial Day weekend. It was so good to see them, even though I didn't get to spend much time with them.