John's First Fishing Day

I didn't get any pictures as I was busy pulling trout out of the water myself. But, today was John's first fishing day. He had a blast and actually landed the first fish of the day. John was really excited to go fishing and even more excited when we went out last night to pick up a spiderman fishing pole for him. He spent most of the time casting into the water and reeling back in.

Though he got really excited when I started fishing and pulling out fish. I caught 3 rainbow trout and kept 1. John's trout didn't quite make it out of the pond, but he caught it none the less.

He's excited to go again. If anyone is interested in coming with us we have an extra rod you can use.

Seeing the sights with Grandma Sue

Next stop, Dunlap to see Grandma Sue. And boy did we do a lot of stuff! I think we ran everyone down to exhaustion because of what we wanted to see and do! Ah well...we had fun!

First stop, Nauvoo. It was the first time back since we'd started our adventure as the Colloton family, and we've increased our numbers. Does the following picture look familiar?

The last time we were here, we only had Mommy and Daddy touching the door to the temple. This time, we had three little hands with us! The kids loved being able to touch the temple and see where we started our Forever Family.

We toured a few of the sights in Nauvoo...not very many because the kids' attention span isn't much for the tours that aren't hands-on. At the ox wagon, the girls weren't much for touching the animals but they did join us for the ride in the wagon. John was a little leery of the big animals but at least he got closer than Kelsey did. Oh well. Maybe next time we'll get a horse carriage ride for Kelsey.

We stopped by the blacksmith shop for our Prairie Diamond rings. John claimed the horseshoe the senior missionary made for Grandma Sue. Silly John! Both he and Kelsey were very concerned if they lost track of their rings.

Next stop, Pioneer Activities for the kids. It has great activities for the kids to do...to show them some of the ways kids in the 1840s played. Bekah and Kelsey were great little moms as they made dinner, took care of the baby dolls, and even fed the sheep and horse.

John and Daddy played ring toss, climbing bear, tops, and stick pull...mostly boy games, of course. But John did want to ride the horse too...and show us all how he could spell his name on the chalkboard in the little schoolhouse.

We also saw the rope making, candle making, and bread making demonstrations in the Family Living Center...but the kids wanted to be up and doing rather than listening to what the missionaries had to say. They loved the cookies in the Scovil Bakery and the brick from the brickyard. All in all, Nauvoo was fun...and such nice weather too! Much better than the crowds and heat of summer.

We then took the kids (and Shawn) to Wildlife Prairie Park in Peoria! We saw bison, wolves, red tail hawks, great horned owls, bald eagles, foxes, bobcats, cougars, elk, cranes, cardinals...and several bus loads of grade schoolers...lots of native wildlife of Illinois.

We took the train around the loops and the kids had a blast on that! But I don't know who was more excited about all of the slides in the park: Shawn or John? Everyone had such a great time!

We had so much fun at Grandma Sue's house! We'll have to go back after Jack Jack arrives and gets big enough to enjoy some of the fun stuff in Peoria.

Visiting Great Grams

Grams was wonderful...is wonderful! Her food was amazing as ever and we loved just "hanging out" with her. The kids picked up some fun toys (Grams was well stocked with bubbles, sidewalk chalk, and crayons when we arrived!). I think the bubbles and the thunderstorm were the hit of her house with the kids...that and the unlimited supply of soda or apples.

The kids loved showing off their skills in the hotel's swimming pool. Grams was a great audience and kept thanking them for letting her come see them swim. They loved it!

I couldn't get many good pictures of John jumping off the side of the pool, but this was his favorite game. He's practicing kicking and doggy-paddling.

Bekah wouldn't have much to do with the pool. She get in at the top step and get back out again. She didn't want anyone to hold her or even sit in her floaty ring. She didn't get very wet but she did get lots of loves from Grams.

Kelsey is trying so hard to be big like John. She tried to do everything he did. She doesn't quite have the arm movements down but she's trying. We'll work on the swimming stuff in the clubhouse pool this summer. Maybe the next time we head for Illinois, the kids will be expert swimmers!

We were all sad to leave Sterling...but we're already thinking of when we can come back! We love you, Grams!

Travelin' the High Road

This is going to be a rather photo intense blog, so I'll break it up into two or three different posts. This first one will be about the traveling. The next one will be about Great Grams and the final one will be about Grandma Sue. Hope you all enjoy!

For those of you who didn't know...and those who knew...here are a few highlights from our trip to Illinois! We all had such a blast and we loved seeing the family. The kids did really well in the van and they didn’t even watch a ton of movies like we first thought they’d have to! They did get a little whiny by the end of the day (but even Mom and Dad were ready to get done driving by the time we were to the hotel).

We stayed the first night in North Platte, Nebraska at a Holiday Inn Express. May we recommend the KidSuite to anyone with small children. They have a separate bedroom with a bunkbed, small table, two kid chairs, and a t.v. for the kids. Mom and Dad get a king sized bed in another room. Very nice! Shawn was a little disappointed to find out (as we were leaving) that the kids' room also came with a PlayStation II. He wanted to play a few video games with John John Man.

A few tips for those of you thinking of taking I-80 across the country: Wyoming does not have very many rest stops. The ones they do have very little grass but little prairie dogs will help you eat your snack. The kids enjoyed feeding them! Little America is a great place to stop and refresh yourself while traveling through Wyoming. It has a small playground and picnic tables to use...even if you don't purchase anything from the store.

Nebraska rest stops are wonderful! They have structures for the kids to climb on, through or in. They are so helpful for cooped up children and adults. Iowa rest stops aren’t as great for play areas but most have Wi-Fi and are clean, big, and informative...and shady for those looking for a picnic lunch.

We stopped every two hours or so to let everyone get out and stretch. Thank goodness for that! The little kids needed about 30 minutes to get out and stretch before they even considered it a good idea to get back in the van. Driving time to Illinois was about 20 hours...for those who wanted to know.