After months of talking about it, Andrew (my co-worker) and I finally got together to go canoeing.
We met at Harold's Landing in Moline, and quickly realized how high and fast the river was. Katie was so excited that she already had her life jacket on. She just didn't understand why she had to take it off so quickly.
Not knowing if we would be able to paddle up river, we decided to drive down to the Back Water Gamblers site and leave a vehicle. After dropping off the van, asking Katie to take her life jacket off again, and climbing into Andrew's truck we headed back to Harold's Landing.
On the drive back to the start, Andrew was talking to me, I was listening in on Katie and Collins conversation, it went something like this;
Collin, "What if your van gets broken into?"
Katie, "It wont, its locked."
"They can break in the windows."
"No, the windows are strong."
"Well, they can break in the doors."
Some how this transitioned into "gluing the metal doors back together."
Ah, here we are!! "Katie, got your life jacket? Oh, you already have it on . . . never mind."
I snapped this one photo just before launch, and decided to leave the camera behind (just in case). We hit the river and decided to try going up river to see if it were possible.
After paddling hard for a minute, focused on the river ahead, Andrew told me to stop. We looked to the side and realized we were moving backwards and gaining speed.
After turning around we had a nice lazy time on the Rock River.
It was a beautiful day and we all enjoyed out ride on the river. Andrew and I are already talking of the next time we can push off.
BTW, the kids were thrilled to see that our van had not been broken into while we were gone.
An interesting side note from Mt Carroll - "The Grand Bell Tower" was located on a campus in the middle of town. It was the former campus of Shimer College, which is where Matt's brother John went to college in Waukegan, IL. While at this box, we went to retrieve the box and ended up stirring a bee's nest. Needless to say, the kids and I high-tailed it to the van while Matt logged in. It wasn't a fun way to start our boxing, but things got better as we went.
We had a fun time visiting "Apple River Fort" in Elizabeth, IL. We got some pictures of the fort and tried to educate the kids of times long gone. They enjoyed climbing the ladder (except Maddie!) and standing at the lookout post.
We walked around town a bit. Of course, we had to stop for coffee & chocolate! Matt was happy to find a few new letterboxes in town (3 for 4 on the day...we ran out of time to find the new one at Grant's home) and also replace some of the old missing boxes of his.
To the Wilsons & Welshs, thank you for being such wonderful friends. Thanks for agreeing to the Alpine Slide! We love you guys and pray that you continue to be a part of our lives for years to come. 
Of course, when I went downstairs, I left Maddie & Will playing happily in the front room with all of their Little People toys. The bathroom door was shut...which usually is a 
