SLO Brood

Springfield, IL is a place near and dear to Abraham lincoln’s heart, and he holds a special place in the heart of Springfield. We chose to spend our day at the Lincoln museum. It was amazing! My kids were a little on fire today, which made it more…complicated. But the exhibits were interactive and the 2 shows were indescribable in their special effects. Cannons with smoke rings, disappearing narrators, holographic smoke scenes. Absolutely captivating. We also toured two exhibits, one…

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Our very gracious hosts started our day off right with a breakfast of cheesy scrambled eggs and bacon. Like I said, a more gracious woman I have never met. My kids were so happy and welcomed, it filled my heart. So this town, Hannibal, MO, was a must-see on my list. I do love mark Twain, and wanted to see the town that shaped him and his stories. We pulled the van and trailer into the parking lot of the…

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It’s always an adventure, right? All in all a good day though. Deon and Aunica started off the day at the temple doing baptisms for the dead. Aunica’s choice to have her father accompany her this time, which I thought was sweet.  Then the carriage ride we missed yesterday. I do love horses, especially draft horses. And history. It was a good combination. Then we hooked up and pulled out. Deon said he felt a sense of foreboding, like he…

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We are loving it here! It feels so safe and relaxing. My kids have made friends with the 5 kids in the neighboring camper. We scrapped other plans to let the kids play this morning, and the boys caught frogs for hours with their younger kids, while my girls played with their older daughter. After lunch we headed to old Nauvoo again. I really wanted to walk the Trail of Hope. This is the road heading down to the Mississippi…

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Day one in Nauvoo. I had no idea how cool this place is! We scored a great campsite right next to old Nauvoo for the next three nights, and met a nice family from BC with 5 kids for my kids to play with. They have a little girl who is exactly like Dimitri, and a 13 year old daughter that Aunica really took to. We started off our day at the visitor’s center, but after a quick run down…

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We spent a lovely Sunday at church. It is true that not all wards are created equal. This was a special treat. The sacrament talks and the relief society lessons were both about self reliance and how it is tied to choice. The nursery leader is a mother of 6, 3 of which are adopted 2 year old triplets. She was amazing, and Jedi stayed in nursery without me, which is a relief.  The after church Deon instituted some much…

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Deon will say it was 4 because we came in and out of Iowa, but there were 3 different states. We made another stop at effigy mounds to finish off the kids junior ranger programs. We also bought Finn a junior ranger vest and he is SO EXCITED!! He wants to wear it all the time. Some things are worth the money, and his smile is one for them. 😉    Then we headed back into Wisconsin to see stone…

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Cheese! We spent a leisurely morning, then headed out. We were on our way to a new state today, but we couldn’t leave Wisconsin without sampling the goods. Cheese! Something like 62% of the cheese in the USA comes from Wisconsin.  We stopped at Arena Cheese Factory in Arena, WI. So many tasty varieties! We purchased a picnic lunch of squeaky cheese, string cheese whips, summer sausage, crackers, and pears from the rv. It was an amazing lunch.       …

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We had a jam-packed day today, but we all wished it could have been longer. We were up and moving pretty early this morning. Our first stop was the International Crane Foundation. This is an amazing place, a zoo just for cranes. They have all 15 species on site. I was very impressed with all the work this organization does throughout the world. We all loved the beautiful birds.                    Then (conveniently across the street) we…

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I couldn’t spend the day here without thinking about my sister, who spent her college years here at the university of Wisconsin. I never made it out here to visit her and always wished I had. Someday we will have to do it together. We spent a morning at home catching up.       Then we headed into the city. On the fly we found a place only a half mile from the Capitol to align our van. We walked…

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