I still haven't finished telling you all about our vacation! And since the babies are down for their morning naps and technically I should be cleaning the house, this seems like the perfect opportunity to waste some time talking about our vacation! ;)
Saturday morning Avery was up bright and early again, right around 7am. Again, like the morning before, she woke up happy, smiling, talking, and playing. And while, no, I didn't want to get up and around quite yet, when she was so happy, it made it easier to get up. We have been soooo blessed by Avery's sleeping habits!! Not only does she wake up happy and a complete delight to be around, but she sleeps through the night and has been doing so since she was a month old!! She is sooooo amazing!!
Like Friday we went down and had breakfast in the lobby of the hotel. Nothing super special, but waffles and coffee made my morning pretty good, and we cut up some toast and put orange juice in Avery's sippy cup, so she was self-sufficient through breakfast, which she loved. We met a couple of really nice guys down at breakfast. They were in town to see the American Pickers, and just happened to come to LeClaire on the weekend of Tugfest! We advised them to go down and see the tug, as well as the distillery and the winery.
After breakfast and showers we were off to Grandma Jean's house again. The kids played, the adults sat around, talked, ate, and watched country music video. It was very relaxing. The weather was beautiful and we spent a lot of time out on the back porch talking and enjoying the sunshine and weather. The porch is entirely fenced in, so Avery could crawl around and play and still be safe. She enjoyed that very much!!
In the middle of the day we took Avery with us downtown to do some shopping. The stores in LeClaire are mostly novelty shops and it makes me wonder how they stay in business the rest of the year. We stopped by the canning store and got some salsa, we stopped in a novelty store and got a Christmas present for Sis, we stopped at the quilting store and got fabric for the back of Avery's quilt, and we stopped in the popcorn store for some homemade popcorn and truffles. On our way back we stopped to watch a bit of the Tug.
Last year we went inside and sat on the benches to watch the Tug. This year they had built up the pit, so we could see it from up on the sidewalk. So, since we had Avery with us, we just stopped up top and watched for a few minutes. When we got there they were waiting for the results from the 4th tug (the winner is the team that wins the best out of 11, 6 tugs wins). Finally, we heard the train whistle blow and knew that LeClaire had won that round! We were excited and clapped! Avery was happily eating popcorn, observing all the chaos around her. The announcer told us that that tug tied everything up. We asked the lady next to us the score and she said that it was tied 2-2. We watched 2 more tugs, both of which LeClaire won!! We felt pretty good heading back to Grandma Jean's with Iowa up 4-2. We went back to the house and were about to put Avery down for a nap when we realized the rest of the family was getting ready to leave for Kris and Dave's. So we packed our stuff up and headed over there.
Glenn's brother, Dave, and his wife, Kris, live just outside of LeClaire in the country on a farm surrounded by corn. It's right next door to where Dave and Glenn grew up. The family farm is owned by those 2 brothers, and their brother and sister, Ronny and Kathy. I've never met either of them and it's been a long time since Michael's seen them. Their family isn't as close as Linda's. We went out to visit with Kris and Dave for a little bit. Last summer when we saw them, Chelsey and I had both been pregnant. It was fun to take the babies back this year and introduce them to the family. Unfortunately, we couldn't stay long. Avery was tired when we got home from the tug an hour before, so we needed to get her back for a nap. Fortunately, everyone brought their own cars to Iowa this year, so we could leave early while Glenn and Linda stayed to catch up with Kris and Dave.
Once back at Grandma Jean's, Avery was down for her nap and completely exhausted. We asked Nick and Maggie to keep an eye on her and we went to Sneaky Pete's for a late lunch. It was nice having an hour to ourselves to cuddle in a booth and talk. I love my husband so much. I used to take for granted those small moments when we were together and in our own little bubble, oblivious to the world around us. Now I try to soak them in and enjoy every second, because life is happening fast around us and when those opportunities come along to slow down and just enjoy being with one another I enjoy them! :)
Avery slept for 2.5 hours on Saturday!! When we got back from lunch she was still out for the count, and continued to be for another hour and a half!! It was nice that she finally got a good nap. It was basically her only really good nap while we were gone. I think there was just too much going on and she was just too excited to sleep.
Saturday evening came and we spent the last few hours of the day with Michael's family. We began packing things up towards the evening and getting things in the car to head back to our hotel for the night. After everything was in the car, Michael, Avery, and I took one last walk downtown. It was cool out after the sun went down. We walked past the carnival and stopped to listen to the band for a little bit. We kept walking until we were almost as close to our hotel as we were to Grandma Jean's. :P Then we turned around and went back to the car.
Back at the hotel Avery was happy and energized from our walk and her long nap. The 3 of us played together there in the hotel room for quite a while until Avery started rubbing her eyes. We put her to bed and she slept soundly again for our last night there in Iowa.
There! The story of one more day, told! Here are a few pictures too! Note that Avery and I are sitting just on the edge of the water, and how close Michael's grandma's house is! It's literally RIGHT on the river! :)
