Today Andrew and I will pick up Marci tomorrow Jackie and Eric fly in and then David and Kerstin, Lynda and Brett, Jackie and Eric, Mom and Dad, and Marci and me are all going to Wicked at the paramount In Seattle! I'm SO excited! I have heard great reviews!

Then it's General Conference on Sat and Sun!

Then Marci and I fly out Monday afternoon!

Last I report to the MTC on October 7 at 1:30!

I can hardly wait but there is still so much i have to do! Like Pack, finish getting my scriptures ready, finish last minute shopping, and pack up the stuff that will be mailed to me once I reach Dallas!

While I'm gone my family will post letters on my blog so if you wanted to stay updated just read my blog unless you want your own personal update write me at

Sister Stephanie Springgay

Texas Dallas Mission

Provo Missionary Training Center*

2005 N 900 E Provo, UT 84604

*I won't know my P.O box until I arrive so check back and hopefully it'll get posted

Sister Stephanie Springgay

Texas Dallas Mission

13747 Montfort Dr Ste 120

Dallas, TX 75240-4454

Since my address will change continually send letters and packages to the mission office (address above). If you send a package make sure you send it via USPS so they can forward it to me otherwise it will just sit in the mission office until some one can deliver it and if you want a package to get there by a certain time like Christmas send it 4 to 6 weeks in advance

I won't know my mission e-mail until I report so I'll have my mom or marci post it. You can e-mail me but I'll only be able to respond to immediate family members through e-mail. So you may be family (Marci, Lynda, and Brett) but I can't respond. I also only have a very little time to check e-mail so letters are the easiest .

If you would like to be on the e-mail list post your e-mail address in the comments and my mom will forward you my letters

I look forward to hearing from you! Just know that if you want a letter from me you'll have to send me one first :)

Love you all!

See you in 18 months!

Today i turned 21 at 12:21 am! How funny is that!
So today, I'm renewing my lincese and then going to Las Magaritas for dinner! Some time today my dad wants my help putting his ham radio in.

Today is also 8 years after the twin tower terrorist attack. Today is when i listen to "Where were you" by alan Jackson. He wrote the night after the attack.It's a very powerful song about the attack. If you have never heard it I suggest you loisten to it today!

I want to take some time to honor those men and women who died that day. The men and women who risked their lives to save others, and the men and women who lived!

My second favorite location of the trip was Carthage Jail, where President Joseph Smith and Patriarch Hyrum Smith were killed the the truth they would not deny.

Joseph and Hyrum headed to carthage

(This is the Statue in front of the Temple)

The first sight of Carthage

The window that Joseph Smith was shot out of

the Original door, the big bullet hole is where Hyrum had his cheekd pressed and a bullet shot through hitting his cheekbone almost instantly killing him, I say almost because before he hit the floor he cried out "I'm a dead man!"

The window that Joseph Smith ran to, the theroy being he was trying to draw the mob's attention to him.

The Stairs that the Mob - most likely only 3 members of the mob - ran up

The desk where Joseph Smith wrote his last letter.

Tis is the jail cell that John taylor was dragged to and hidden below the matress

Hyrum and Joseph Smith, Simple men but Great men.

Alexa and Me! Same pose, the older sibling behind the younger, supported them in their life

Dad and Alexa

Dad and his favorite Brown Eyed Daughter

Andy-drew and Aunt Stephanie

These placks had scriptures retelling the life of Joseph Smith

*Note make sure you see the blog "Typical Nauvoo" a draft was saved prior to my mission call post but it was posted after.

The Nauvoo temple was my favorite place from our trip! It was beautiful both architectchually and spiritually. Alexa and I had the opportunity to do baptisms while everyone else was able to do a session. Our temple day was the only day of touring that it rained. It rained during our drive to nauvoo. So awesome planning except for Alexa, Andrew, and I (read Typical Nauvoo for story). I felt bad for the 2 weddings that were happening that day.

The temple is probably what I have the most pictures of. Anywhere you went in Nauvoo you could see. We kept joking about if we had that angle or we still need to get that angle. We would also constantly yell "STOP THE CAR!" so we could take a picture of the beautiful building! I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I loved taking them.

The beautiful stars on the temple. My dad couldn't decide if the center of the star was red or blue. During the day it was dark could have been confused for blue.

Our first view of the Temple!

The shot everyone was telling me to take a picture at once!

Sunset after Rendezvous in Old Nauvoo

The temple reflected in the granite from the Hyrum and Joseph Statue

The backside of the temple at sunset

Joseph and Hyrum on their way to Carthage

The temple reflected in the water from the rainstorm the day before

I saw this shot and said "STOP I NEED A PICTURE!"

The sunset reflected in the Temple Window

Joseph and Hyrum on their Horses headed to Carthage

This was one of my zoomed shots from the other side of nauvoo. I wasn't kidding everywhere you were in nauvoo, you could see the temple, It was absolutely beautiful!

I got call my today!

And I've been called to the Texas Dallas Mission. I report to the MTC on October 7, 2009. I will be the fourth missionary from my ward serving in texas. It totally reminds me of when everyone was going to chile.

I am very excited and honored to serve the Lord!

Back to blogging about our trip.
Since I have a ton of pictures I figured I would just show a few photos of typical nauvoo. I'll still do some detailed posts about certain places I really loved or thought were interesting.
A 4 o'clock stove. They wouldn't burn in these stoves instead they would put coals from the fireplace, most likely downstairs, at 4 o'clock so it would keep the room warm for the night.

The wonderful Missionary Tour guides! hey had to know everything about everything becasue you would have to switch places almost everyday! Mom loved to stump them. A lot of the time they would tell her that she needed to come serve a mission in Nauvoo!

A typical kitchen. This particular one is from Heber C. Kimball's Home.

The top floor of the cultural hall floor is the original floor, Can you imagine Joesph and Emma dancing on the floor!

A old fashion toilet seat in Wilford Woodruff's house, it was next to one of his 8 fireplaces!

Blue signs explainging what everything was

Brick Buildings

Log Cabins, which are small. I couldn't imagine growing up there with our family of 6. In today's world it would house one person maybe a couple. TINY! And this is what people lived in most of the time they were in Nauvoo. Most people only lived in their brick home for about 6-8 months!

Me holding Andrew as he sucks water from my water pack, he prefered that instead of his sipping cup as you can see. You can also see that we were bundled up and wet. When everyone went to do sessions in the temple, after baptisims that morning, Alexa, Andrew, and I went to do a walking tour of Nauvoo. Well it happened that there was a thunder and lightening storm that day, so we got soaked but covered a lot of ground since we were practicially the only ones touring. Luckily the center of Nauvoo is close together, but we would still get soaked in between houses.

I loved this! It followed the trail out of nauvoo and had quotes from different people like the picture below. It reads " Unless the people are more united in spirit and cease to pray against counsel, it will bring me down to my grave. I am reduced in flesh so that my coat that would scarcely meet around me last winter now laps over twelve inches. It is with much ado that I can keep from lying down and sleeping to wait the resurrection." - Brigham Young

I loved that, sometimes I wish I could just sleep until the resurrection bt alas we have work to do.

See, Andrew sitting on my lap drinking from my water pack, ALL THE TIME!

So as some of you know, I have been working on my mission papers. They are now complete and can be submitted tomorrow! It really hit me today that I'm going on a mission!

So here comes the far part, where you get to guess where I'm going. You get one foreign and one Stateside. And if you're really ambitious like my SFF you can guess everyday. One rule, No copycats, so once someone guesses a place, it's no longer up for grabs. Have fun!