One of my very best friends was getting married in Minnesota, so of course I had to go! I convinced Dallan it was a good idea for both of us to go, because we could make a trip out of it and tour the Midwest and church history sites!
When we landed in Minnesota, we had to stop at Zupas. It's been my craving my whole pregnancy, and poor Alaska doesn't have one.
Billie's Market! Our restroom stop right before meeting the wedding party for dinner. These small towns in Minnesota were something else.
First selfie of the trip! Heading to try out Culver's. (I rate it A+!! They have the best custard)
Delicious Strawberry Lemon Custard
Josie and Nolan took some of the wedding party to a near by Uncle's house to see these gigantic horses! I'm spacing the name of them, but they are not Clydesdales. Just another huge horse. Dallan was in heaven.
My true feelings of being near this huge animal.. haha
We also got to pet baby mini horses! I want one so bad now. They're adorable.
The area where my friend's were getting married has a high concentration of family. There is even a road with their last name and some of the family lives on the road! SO COOL!
I've always wanted to see a Sunflower field and when we drove by, I made Dallan turn around to get a photo with in it!
Alie and I =) She was on our flight to MN and was great company on the 2.5 hour drive from the airport (aka, she slept the whole time! HAHA!)
WEDDING DAY!!!! Woke up bright and early to meet the bride and her sister at the bed and breakfast to get ready.
Dallan was a great Chauffer the whole weekend! Even drove the bride to her first look photoshoot.
GORGEOUS BRIDE!
Baby is going to LOVE Auntie Josie
Doing Alie's hair =)
The day after the wedding, Dallan and I had a long day of driving ahead of us to get to Nauvoo. We left bright and early and our first stop was Jamba Juice! (BIGGEST pregnancy craving, but of course, we don't have one in Alaska)
If you know me, I love HGTV and DIY network. Nicole Curtis from Rehab Addict is my hero!! We drove by one of the houses she saved in Minneapolis.
We drove across the river to eat in Hudson, Wisconsin for some lunch and walk along the St. Croix river walk. Checked off another state =)
After lunch, we had another 6ish hour drive to get to Nauvoo, Illinois. We drove all the way through Iowa and saw corn for days. The closer we got to Nauvoo the more stormy it got. By the time we had to take this TINY two lane bridge, with a train next to us over the Mississippi, it was POURING. I literally can't describe it besides that it seemed our windshield wipers were about to fly off the car. We could barely see 10 feet ahead of us. When I looked over the bridge, white knuckling the "oh S***) bar, the river had 4 foot waves, and we were SO HIGH up. We were literally 5 miles away from Nauvoo but it felt like an eternity to get there. I don't think I've been that scared in a rain storm ever... You can see more in the video!
Grandpa John's Cafe "Good Food" haha! This is one of the only places to eat in Nauvoo.
Nauvoo Temple
On my 4X Great Grandpa's land
Nauvoo House, a hotel Joseph Smith started to build.
Joseph Smith's House
Downtown Nauvoo
Jonathan Browning Gunsmith shop/house! One of the coolest tours in my opinion.
This picture will always be really neat to me. Jonathan Browning's little baby girl died and he buried her in the backyard so that she could always have a view of the temple.
Carthage Jail makes top 5 most spiritual experiences of my life.
Original door with the bullet hole.
Ads in Nauvoo
Wagon ride!
Brigham Young's Wife's bonnet! Crazy old.
Never have seen real Lilies on a Lilypad before!
On the banks of the Mississippi River where the Saints left to go West.
Stone Quarry where the Saints got the stone to build the Temple.
Gorgeous Willow Tree on my 4X Great Grandfather's land made for a good photo op!
Sunsets are unreal here!
Red Brick Store where the 1st Endowments took place
Fullmer Street! The dingbats who made the sign spelt it wrong, but if you look at old maps of Nauvoo it has the correct spelling. I had family members who owned land on this street.
John Taylor's kid's rocking horse. When they were going west, his son was really distraught that they had to leave the horse behind. So John Taylor rode all the way back to grab the horse for his son. So sweet!
After 2.5 days in Nauvoo, we headed south to Kansas City, Missouri. This is some of the small, old towns we drove through.
A quick stop to Adam-Ondi-Ahman
Hay for days!!!
IN LOVE with the brick everywhere!!!!!
We went to a Kansas City Royals game. It was so fun, and hot and sticky. A ball flew up in our section literally just to the left of us! I was sketched out.. why do we always forget to bring a mitt?!
Kansas City Museum of Art.
Amazing Headdress!
Kansas City eats! If you're in the mood for New York Style pizza.. GO HERE!!! We are always craving a good New York pizza.
Joe's Barbecue Kansas City (technically in Kansas). It's in a gas station, but the food is SO good.
BBQ Sauce Aisle. We took a bottle home with us. 
Liberty Jail
We ended up changing hotels after one night in Missouri... It was NASTY! So we splurged and stayed at a small Marriott. Nearby was a Carter's... We went a little crazy but we are SO Excited to have a baby girl! We couldn't resist.
We had a layover in Portland on the way home and my mom had the funniest request, "Will you take a picture of the carpet for me?" What is up with Oregon and the airport carpet? I don't get it..
Here is a little video highlight! I didn't film as much as I thought. I wasn't really feeling it this trip, probably because I was just so hot and sticky the whole time! But enjoy!
