Nauvoo (by Evelyn)

Our trip to Nauvoo according to Evelyn:

We went to Nauvoo, and we went to the rope place.  Emily and Addi were doing something to hold that thing. I am doing um, rolling that thing to make the rope.

 Then, we were eating bread..it was so yummy.  The lady told us that...we know what to do, she told us to remember that question about bread.  And we were eating bread together. And then the lady taught us about the candles. And then we went to another house that had bunk beds.

 Is that Joseph Smith?  Addi is standing on the statue.  I think she did like it. 

 They're in that bunk bed! Oh it is so very fun too...and I love you Addi and Blake, let's send that to grandma!  

 She wants polka dot hair

 And Blake is taking my blanket, he's snuggling my blanket though.

 Hey, Aubrey and Blake!  Is he sad? Oh he's cold and he's sad, but I'll make him feel better don't worry. They're my best friends, and they love each other, that's nice.

 This is Addi and Emily.  We were riding on a...thing...that's called a horse thing that they can pull stuff in there.  

 She's snuggling to get warm.  And I love her, she's cute, and I love her...today, and she's my best friend. 

 The temple!  And I love horses--I know they're nice. So, when you come to our house again we'll buy candy for all of us, and for you, my friends.  

 These are nice horses and I love them. And best of all, they're Jerry and Joe.

 I'm smiling in that picture, and I love Nauvoo 'cause it has horse rides. And best of all when you come here I will give you candy.  When you visit here I will do something that you love--it's a surprise!  And I know that you're a sweetheart, and I love you today.  And best of all when it's sunday or friday, or saturday we're going to go to grandma's house.  

 This is Evelyn, Addi, and Mom, and Jerry and Joe sitting in the picture.  

I love to see this picture of the temple, and it's beautiful. And I will send you a beautiful picture of Evelyn and Emma and Addi.  I would love to go back to Nauvoo.  Good bye and I love you, E-V-E-L-Y-N.

Bloomsbury Farm

We went to Bloomsbury Farm last week.  It was fun driving out through the cornfields and on dirt roads to get there.  It made me feel like we were "really" in the country.  

 Addi loves horses, so when she saw this donkey she immediately labeled it a little horse or "wittle cutie horsey" and refused to feed any of the other animals. 

 Animals could climb up these platforms and be fed via conveyor belt.

 Brynna fell in love with this very weird looking llama.  Good thing someone fed it because the rest of us were a little creeped out.

 Addi was too scared to feed the ducks out of her hand, so she threw food at them from afar.  She is adorable, I think this trip was hard for her because she was "too cold" and "too scared" of a lot of things.  

 She and I also rode one of these cars together, which she loved. But when you would get going really fast, the wind would start making it really cold--which she did not like. So, whenever I went fast, she would say, "It's gonna be fun, huh mom? It's gonna be fun." trying to convince herself that it would be fun again when we slowed down. 

 Evelyn is such a sweetheart, and Blake is so chill, I love it

 Corn sandbox

 I thought Blake would get really into it, but it was a little bit overwhelming I think.  He just laid there looking around at the corn for a while.

 Addi's hands started getting too cold when we went into the corn maze so I stayed back with her and we made her hands warm.  Then we practiced putting a smile on our face, so we could go join up with everyone else. She loves to see pictures on the camera, so she would try and show me a smile and then she would see what it looked like.

 in this picture she tried to smile but upon seeing the picture she decided, nope that's not a smile yet

 we tried a couple more times and finally when she looked at this picture she said, "Look, I feel better!" Ha, I love two year old logic.

 Catching up...

 Ev showed me all the cut corn stalks she had found in the maze so far while I'd been talking to Addi

 Ev really honestly loves corn.  I did not ask her to pose like this or anything--she said, "Oh, I just love corn!" and started picking them up off the ground.

 Addi, is okay with corn too. :)

John Deere Pavillion

So what do you do while vacationing in Iowa?!  Visit the John Deere factory of course!  I was actually pleasantly surprised at how fun this place was.  Blake, however, could not get enough.  He loves to play with cars and trucks at home, but this was literally heaven to him--every time he got into a new tractor he had to press every button and then steer the steering wheel.  Grandma and Grandpa bought him a little tractor to play with, which he now calls his "kwuck."