Big Boy Train

Saturday, July 27. 

Nels planned an adventure for us!  We left the house around 9:15 a.m. and drove to West Chicago to see the Big Boy Train from 1941.  The transcontinental railroad was celebrating its 150th year.  We parked and then walked with large crowds of people.  We walked over a bridge to cross the railroad tracks.  Then we took pictures...

We waited in line to take a picture in front of the train or I guess it's the back of the train.

And here's the front.

Then we walked back to the car.  We were almost to the car, but we stopped for a little snack to decrease the whining.

We watched the trains for a bit.

Then we drove home.  It was very crowded.  The weather was nice and I enjoyed walking and talking with the kids.  Later, I went grocery shopping.  I bought 100 easy to fill water balloons.  When I got home we filled up the balloons and had a great time throwing them at each other.  :)

Then we took the kids to the Batavia Creamery.  We all got ice cream and enjoyed different flavors.  Birthday cake, mix madness, bear claw, oatmeal cookie and strawberry.

We got Portillo's for dinner and just relaxed the rest of the night.  Thanks for planning a fun adventure Nels!!

July 11 - Seaquist Orchard, Fish Boil and a Sunset

Poor Noah.  He had two huge bites on his leg and foot that were super swollen.  He could barely walk.  We were concerned.  We spent time trying to set up a dr. phone call with insurance.  He is fine - just used tylenol or we could have used benadryl.  I used oils too.  Lavender in cold water.  Then I put a cold cloth on him and purification.  It delayed the day, but we still did a lot and enjoyed the day.  

Here's the five kiddos ready for the day.  

We went to Seaquist Orchard.  Aren't those cute faces?!

There was a huge sandbox.  The kids (except Noah) played and played in the sand.  They buried a "treasure."  At the end, they dug it up.  Haha.

Noah spent his time playing on the playground.

Or relaxing with grandpa.

Isak worked super hard playing with this digger.

There was a rope maze too.  Nels and I took turns going into the store.  I bought some cookies, caramels and fudge.  Kierstin shared her apple cider donuts.  It was a nice time.  We went back to the cottage for a quick bite to eat and then we met everyone in Fish Creek for the fish boil.

We watched them cook the fish in a huge pot over an outdoor fire.

Selfie while we waited for the fish to cook.

Nels and I shared a plate of whitefish, potatoes, onions, coleslaw, bread and cherry pie.  Isak and Sofie shared a hot dog.  Kira and Noah ate the sandwiches we brought for them.  Look at Sofie's face!!  She is looking at Nels to see how to make her facial expression.  💜

Cool ice cream cone that I had to have a picture of!

Then we went to Wilson's and the kids played on the playground.  We got ice cream.  But I didn't get any because my tummy was not well.  Kira got this fun ice cream.

Then we watched the end of the sunset.

We said good bye to everyone and drove home.  On the way home I asked Nels to pull over and I threw up.  Yuck!!  We got the kids to bed.  I threw up three or four more times during the night.  Around 2 a.m. Kira started throwing up too. So Nels ad I were up with her too.  Then Sofie started throwing up around 6 a.m.  One time Sofie threw up, then Kira, then me, just one after the other!  Noah started throwing up at 9 a.m.  Not the best way to end our trip.  But I'm glad it happened at the end instead of the beginning or middle!

July 12, Friday.  We focused on packing, cleaning and taking care of throw up kids all morning.  Nels cleaned a lot.  Thankfully, him and Isak were healthy.  I did most of the packing.  We left around 12 p.m. after some quick good byes.  I sat between Sofie and Noah.  We napped the first 1-2 hours.  Then Noah threw up every 15 minutes or so for at least 2 hours.  Sofie threw up 1-2 times (I can't remember) and Kira threw up once.  We drove straight through and only pulled over to dump the accumulated throw up bowl.  Gross!  We got home around 5:30 p.m.  Thankfully our home was ok and we didn't see any problems.  Yay!  We just relaxed and put oils on the kids.  Nels got Portillo's for him and Isak.  Bedtime at 9 p.m. and thankfully no throw up in the night!!

So that was our trip to Door County, WI.  A few things that I forgot.

• The weather was in the 70's almost everyday.  Once or twice it got in the 80's.  It cooled down and was even a little chilly in the cottage at night.  So nice, since there is no AC at the cottage.
• Kira wrote notes to grandma, me and Sofie all week.  So sweet. 

Overall, I loved our trip and just enjoyed being with our family doing fun things and eating lots of ice cream.  😀

July 10 - Hike and Al Johnson's

Poor Annica got sick in the night.  So we had a slow start in the morning as we tried to decide what to do.  The boys quietly colored and did sudoku.  😊

We finally decided to go to Bailey Bay Harbor - The Ridges.  While Nels went into the visitor center to get information, I took pictures - of course!

We went on a family discovery hike.  We saw fossils, forts, lots of butterflies and did some leaf rubbings.

It was a bit longer of a hike than I thought it would be.  The hard parts were the taller grass, mosquitos and mud.  But we didn't get lost this time!!

Nels and I had to carry Sofie and Noah for the last third of the hike.

Then we me up with the Draper's and ate at Al Johnson's about 2 p.m. for lunch.

Noah found a friend! 😂

So did Sofie.

My boys. 💙

Annica making friends with her cousins.

We ordered hot chocolate.  Yum!

💙

Our little family of six ALL ate and enjoyed Swedish pancakes!!  Nels and I also got Swedish meatballs and eggs.  I was so happy that all the kids ate the pancakes!

We played on the playground across the street for a while.

The water was so high it covered the dock 4-5 inches.  It was so fun to wade through the water and cool down a bit.

We ate sandwiches at the cottage for dinner.

Sad Sofie.  She reached her limit!  Poor girl.

We played the Camp game.

Then we enjoyed an early bedtime - 8:30 p.m.!!