First Family Vacation

Silvis, IL

We visited my Grandma Betty for a couple days in the tiny town of Silvis, IL. She is just over 90 years old and we were grateful she was able to meet Lilly. All the old people that live in this retirement home fell in love with Lilly and she even learned to wave since everyone waved at her constantly. The best part was when one of the workers there took Lilly over to a very elderly blind woman. She asked the woman for her hand and placed it on Lilly's feet - this woman was so thrilled just to touch Lilly's little feet. It was precious to watch.

LeClaire, IA

After leaving my Grandma's, we were only about 30 minutes from the store Antique Archaeology, which is the homebase for the t.v. show, American Pickers. Unfortunately, the guys from the show weren't there, but it was totally awesome to go to their shop and walk around!

Keokuk, IA

Keokuk is on the border of IA and IL, so we stayed here a couple days and explored the surrounding areas during the day (like Nauvoo, IL). Lilly went swimming for the first time here, she loved it.

Here she is trying to get out of her pack'n'play crib!

The Keokuk National Cemetery is one of, I believe, 12 national cemeteries that were dedicated along with the more commonly known, Arlington Cemetery. This is the largest cemetery I had ever been to. Every time we drove over a hill, we thought the cemetery would end, but then there would be even more graves and more hills to drive over. It was such a humbling experience to think of all the men, women and children that had died so young. When now we have so many medicines to cure the ailments that afflicted these people. The saddest part was when we got to a point where they had made a large section just for the children. It made me want to hug Lilly tight and just made me think that I want her to always know how much we love her, you never know what tomorrow may bring.

Carthage, IL & Nauvoo, IL

We were able to make our way to the Carthage Jail and Nauvoo. It was really sad to be there and think of what the pioneers went through just for religious freedom. I think the most beautiful experience here, was when we went into one of the visitor's centers and there was a large statue of Jesus Christ. We let Lilly crawl around and then she flipped on her tummy and just stared up at him. She laid there for about 5 minutes with her arms stretched out, looking at him. It was a peaceful place to be.

The Mississippi River! Yup, we touched it.

Missouri

With all the flooding that was happening from some storm - what should have been a 20 minute drive, took us over 2 hours because most of the roads had been closed. But we were determined to at least drive in to Missouri. So the second we snapped the shot, we were out of there!

Indiana

We really only drove through Indiana, but we did spend the night in Indianapolis. The best part about Indiana? The Longhorn Steakhouse! It was practically the best steak we had ever had in our lives. Nothing more to say about it, just amazingly delicious.

At a cemetery in the middle of Nowhere, Indiana. We were looking for some relatives that had passed away in the late 1800's. We were lucky enough to find one of the headstones, it was a very interesting experience driving there. Apparently, this cemetery is haunted and we had planned to go there the night before, but after reading about the scary ghosts, it was unanimously decided to wait 'til morning!

Cincinnati, OH

After leaving the cemetery, we made our way to Cincinnati, OH. Our first stop - the Cincinnati Zoo. This is the coolest zoo we had ever been to. They had the most amazing exhibits and the animals were actually out of their little dens and caves and walking around. Lilly didn't really care about any of this, until we got to the gift shop - then we went crazy over this black bear. We kept handing her these bright colored animals and she wouldn't do anything. Then Brandon handed her this plain, boring black bear and she started laughing and screaming. Then we had to pay for the stuffed animal, and when we took it away from her, she actually started crying! This is our first experience with her having a fit when she doesn't have what she wants, but she's cute, so she gets away with it. ;) We only spent 3 hours here, but by the with left the zoo, she was zonked out in her stroller.

And of course, a trip to Cincinnati would not be complete without going to see the Cincinnati Reds play. This has been Brandon's favorite team ever since he was a kid. Before the game, we made our way to the Build-A-Bear store and found the Reds team mascot, Gapper, and got him for Lilly - she was of course, THRILLED! Even though the Reds lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, it was an amazing experience being in the park around all those dedicated fans. After the game there were fireworks and we thought Lilly might be scared, but when the big boom would go off and the fireworks would light up the sky, she would start laughing and smiling. It was the perfect way to end our vacation.

In the almost 9 years that we have been married, this was by far the best vacation we have ever taken. The people in the mid-west were the nicest and kindest. I lost track how many people came up to us to say how beautiful our daughter was and just talk with us. All the areas we went to were so green and lovely, it was hard to leave, but hopefully we can return again soon!