Adventures on The Great River Road (North) - 2015

As a family, we LOVE October!  We love the change in season from Summer to Fall.  The crisp air and beautiful fall colors.  We are so blessed to live along the Mississippi River where there is beauty to be found for miles and miles!  We love to drive The Great River Road, especially during the fall! 

We packed up the family early one Saturday morning and headed north.  Our first stop was in Dubuque, IA at the Julien Dubuque Monument, in the Mines of Spain Rec Area. It was a great way to start our day!  We walked the very short hike to the monument and enjoyed the view from atop the river. 

A little time of correction...every trip needs that, right?!

We continued north out of Dubuque, made a pit stop at the Wisconsin welcome center (and saw a dozen corvettes in the parking lot!) then headed into Dickeyville.  We drove through the Dickeyville Grotto, where the kids were amazed and confused by the whole thing!

We drove through Potosi, WI and went down to our secret riverside park for some pictures and exploring...

Continuing to head north, we drove into Cassville to take the ferry across to Iowa.  We did this a few years ago and it was the highlight of our day. 

Another favorite stop is just before heading into the valley town of Guttenberg, IA.  There is a small pull off to enjoy the view and buy some locally made honey. 

After grabbing lunch in Guttenburg, we headed north to MacGregor to visit Pike's Peak State Park.  This park is the highest point in Iowa.  We visited this park a few years ago, but the kids really thought it was neat to visit this year since we visited Pike's Peak in Colorado this summer.  We drove into the park and couldn't believe the crowds!  There was overflow parking, which is never a good thing!  We found a spot in the main lot and hit the trails.  We were in search of a letterbox (we had tried to find it last time we visited the park with no luck).  What a beautiful park!

Becki found 2 fuzzy caterpillars while hiking.  These guys kept the kids entertained...

No Maddie!  Don't eat Fuzzy Bear!!

Will's caterpillar is crawling up his arm!

We found the letterbox in Pike's Peak then explored a bit more.  We refueled the kids with snack and drink then decided to continue north to Lansing, IA to visit Mt Hosmer Park...in search of more letterboxes.  This city park was amazing!  To get to the park, you have to drive STRAIGHT up (at least it seemed like it!) the river cliff!  The view was worth it though!  The kids played in the park and had fun throwing leaves in the air...

We walked across the park - admiring the war memorials as we walked - and headed into the woods to find the letterbox.  We were successful again and headed back towards the van. 

Maddie & Alex stopped to build this rock formation...

We had a decision to make at this time as it was getting late in the afternoon.  We would've loved to drive another 30 minutes and cross over into Minnesota...however there is no bridge to cross over at that point so we would need to continue further north to cross over or come back to Lansing to cross.  We decided to start heading back south again so we headed into Lansing to cross over this bridge - Becki was VERY glad it was a metal, grated bridge!

 As we were driving to the bridge, we saw this fun photo op! 

We stopped in Prairie De Chen for dinner (enjoying a BEAUTIFUL drive along the river from Lansing to our stop!) The sun was setting, highlighting all the trees in their Fall glory.  After dinner, we hit the road for a quiet (rather boring since it was dark) drive home.  The kids enjoyed a movie while Matt and I enjoyed some peace and quiet. Another great day along the Great River Road!

Moline Halloween Parade - 2015

Alex had her first marching band experience in the Halloween parade this past month.  With only a few weeks of practice (music and marching), she was pretty nervous and excited.  She ended up doing great!

Alex is in the front row, 2nd from the right in the blue shirt and suspenders ("nerd")





We are blessed to have Zaney Janey's daughter in band so we are also blessed to have wonderful balloon creations to go with our band!

While Alex was marching with the band, our friend Stephanie asked if we would like to help throw candy with her HyVee crew.  I knew that the kids would love to do that so I told her we could all help.

We ended up being right behind the Wilson marching band which totally confused Matt (who was on call so decided to not walk the parade).  He was taking pictures of the band and then leaned over to grab a piece of candy that Kaitee had thrown at him.  He still didn't realize that it was us and only started taking pictures when I started yelling at him.  His response, "I didn't expect you so quickly after the band...and it was a Reese's PB cup...I couldn't pass that up!!".  He was able to snap a few quick pictures and promised to catch us on the back side of the parade.

The parade was a huge success.  The weather was beautiful...even a bit warm in the sun!  HyVee donated LOTS of candy and we loved handing them out to lots of kids!  We quickly learned that the kids all had different personalities when it came to handing out candy...Kaitee loved literally handing the candy to little kids.  She singled them out and went up to each with a smile, a piece of candy and a compliment.  Maddie probably went through the most candy - throwing out lots at a time.  Will zig-zagged back and forth trying to get candy to as many kids as possible.  He loved throwing the candy behind the back and under the leg. 

Fun was had by all!  Since we participated in the parade, the kids missed out on collecting candy this parade.  They seemed content with a stop at McDonald's for some ice cream!

Cross Country 2015

We discussed Cross Country with the girls throughout the summer.  Alex said that she wanted to run but Kaitee was undecided.  Soon after school started, Kaitee approached Coach Perkins about being a team manager.  He agreed that that would be a perfect position for her.

The season started in Geneseo - the HILLS course!  Alex finished in the middle of the 6th grade pack.  4th finisher for the Wilson 6th grade girls.

Kaitee & Coach Perkins updating times for each runner. 

A few weeks later, the kids raced in Hampton at Empire Park.  I loved this picture with all of the runners' shadows.

Alex continued to improve on her time throughout the season.  Overall, she said she really enjoyed running.

Finishing strong!  I asked her why she kept looking over to her right side.  She said that she kept seeing shadows and thought someone was coming up behind her.  She didn't want anyone to pass her!

On a very brisk Saturday morning, we traveled to Galesburg to watch the team run at Lake Story. Here they are ready to start.

You can imagine that the long races get a bit boring for younger siblings...

Coming out of the woods at Lake Story - 1/2 way done!

Finishing Strong!!

Grammy & Will at the finish line, waiting...

My favorite race to watch would be the one at Loud Thunder Forest Preserve (held at the boy scout camp).  The Middle Schools raced first followed by the area high schools.  It was well run and a great course!  Wilson girls ended up taking first place by ONE point!

Maddie & Will with their friend Rowan - off to explore the park!

This picture is one of my favorites of the whole season.  I love the motion and determination.  You will notice that Dylan (far right) and Alex are running together in many pictures.  They seemed to compliment each other well throughout the season.  They pushed each other and were great running partners.  Typically, Dylan had a stronger kick for the finish.  At this particular race I was at the finish line waiting for Alex and Dylan come around the corner.  When I saw them, I knew that Dylan would kick up her sprint so I squatted to focus on her for pictures.  After I snapped a few I looked for Alex to start taking her pictures...she wasn't there!!  She has already finished AHEAD of Dylan!  OY!

Kaitee - ready to take down times for the Wilson runners

Dylan and Alex refueling after the race.

Some fun chairs at the fire pit!

The last race of the season was held at Campbell's Complex in SW Rock Island.  The twins loved this venue as they had soccer fields for them to play on!

Grammy & Grandad were able to join us as well.

After the 2nd (and last) lap of the girls race, the skies opened up!  It was pouring!  The kids were laughing but most complained about not being able to see due to the rain hitting their eyes/faces.  A memory they will have for a long time, I am sure!

Dylan & Alex finishing their last race

During the boys race, Dylan & Alex hopped on the course to run alongside Dylan's older brother Brett.  Another reason I love cross country!!

Alex & Maddie watching the finishers

Will is done and ready to go home!!

Peek-a-Boo!

A few weeks later, Wilson held their Fall Sports Awards Night.  Here is Kaitee being recognized for her work as the team manager.

6th Grade Girls

Alex was recognized as the Most Improved 6th grade Girl...dropping almost 3 minutes from start of the season to end of the season! 

Coach Perkins with Alex & Kaitee

Another season has come to an end.  We look forward to many more years with Cross Country as both twins have also said that they would like to run.