JULY 23, 2013: NAUVOO COUNTY FAIR

NAUVOO COUNTY FAIR

JULY 23, 2013

Our assignment for the first week was to help run the County Fair Activities!  

Our station was the puppet show!  This became a hit amongst the visitors and our kids had so much fun!  In the end, we had Benjamin doing all the voices and adding comedy while other kids did the puppets, while other kids went out getting referrals and Dad worked the audience and met people there.  It was quite fun!!!

David uses the handcart to bring over the supplies for the Puppet Show!

Mason likes visiting the other nearby games!

 The Puppet Theater!

 Mason also often needed a drink!

 Bethany was the "MC" while Stephanie was the group leader.  Rebecca was incharge of puppets for the visiting children and the other kids ran the puppets.

 Mason helped with "Audience Participation" and setting the wagon on the stage!

If Mason got tired of doing the puppet show, he often wandered to other nearby games.  One of his favorite was the handcart pull.  He was often found in carts with other folks and making new friends!  One time, I found him in a cart with a family and was part of their family picture!  This time I found him in a cart and was part of a "race" with 2 teenage boys who were there with a Youth Conference group.  Mason was in heaven and loved this ride!!!  Can you tell??

Joseph and Mom were part of the Country Fair Band.  Mom fiddled and Joseph played saxophone!  'Twas fun!

At the end of the Country Fair, there is a parade that is led by the bagpipes and colorful flags!   The last week, Benjamin, Rebecca and Rachel were able to carry flags in the parade!

JULY 23, 2013: REHEARSAL ON STAGE

REHEARSAL ON STAGE

JULY 23, 2013

We were excited to have our first rehearsal on stage!!!  Fun stuff!!

Rebecca with her friend new friend

Parley P. Pratt -- Robert Allen from Queen Creek, AZ

Building the City streets of Nauvoo

JULY 19, 2013: DISTRICT MEETINGS IN THE GROVE

DISTRICT MEETINGS IN THE GROVE

JULY 19, 2013

Our family made up the "Anna Fordham District" and our 

district leader was the amazing Kristen!

We love her and she taught us so much through your faith, love and testimony.

We loved meeting in  "The Grove" for district meeting, usually once a day.

We wore Mason out every day!!! I was warm, too!

Going to the Grove for District Meeting

 

 

JULY 22, 2013: LEARNING TO BUILD THE TEMPLE

LEARNING TO BUILD THE TEMPLE

JULY 22, 2013

The afternoon of our first day, the men were called down to the stage to learn to build the temple!  It is quite an impressive thing that they do to build a facade of the Nauvoo temple on the stage.  Dad, Joseph and Benjamin all went to learn to build the temple!

The Nauvoo Temple sits on the bluff as a 

beautiful backdrop to the pageant stage.

 

Mason waits patiently

Joseph and Benjamin at the end of the rope with Dad just in front

"Heave Ho!" to pull up the temple frame

The boys also learned to put up these houses for other scenes in the pageant

One of about 8 huge light towers!

Joseph finds a "wee bit" of shade to wait until his next assignment

JULY 22, 2013 -- LEARNING THE FINALE

LEARNING THE FINALE

JULY 22, 2013

We jumped right in and learned the finale on our first day!  We would join the yellow cast in the finale tonight on stage for their dress rehearsal!!!  Amazing!

The primary aged children went to their group and did activities and learned the finale, the youth ages 12-18 did the same in their group!  The adults did the same in our own group.  Then the kids came back into the gym to show us what they had learned then we put it all together!  Fantastic!

 We struggled a bit at first to get Mason to go to his group and participate but he gradually caught on and in the end he grew and changed and gained confidence as much as anybody!!!  I have never seen him sing with such gusto!!!  By the end of the 2 weeks my little boy, who had never yet been up on the stand in church to sing with a primary program or a special primary song, was sharing his testimony at the pulpit, singing on stage, and doing all sorts of great things!!!  When Mason bore his testimony at our green cast testimony meetings, he said, "I know the Son of God; Jesus Christ."

All the primary aged children

 

 By the end of the pageant, everytime we would get read for the finale, Mason would ask ,"Is this the end part?"  I would answer "yes" and then he would say, "I am good at this part!!!"  Mason was great at the finale.  Dad would usually hold him and he would "Oooo" and then sing the words of the hymn "The  Spirit of God" with everyone else -- always with "Gusto!!"  When it was time for our hands to go in the air, Dad would have put him down to stand on the stage and Mason raised his hands up with everyone else!!  It made me smile!!

See -- Mason is ready to raise his hands for the ending!