The Rolling Hills

Welcome to the Iowa rest stops. Complete with wireless internet, first class bathrooms, picnic tables and a corn field behind each one. This was probably one of the favorite driving days just because the rest stops were so fun. Oh, and of course because we sang "I owe I - O - A" all day long (from "State Fair").

The idea with the bubbles was that mom and dad would blow them and the girls would get a good stretch running to pop them - but it ended up that they got out of the car and sat down to blow bubbles. Still a fun break from the car seat though.

SOOO many corn fields! I think we drove by corn fields for about 6 hours this day.

This particular rest stop had some great climbing trees - easy going up, but couldn't figure out how to get down, so mom pitched in with a shoulder ride off the tree.

The rolling hills. I have to admit, I think this was my favorite spot to drive through. It was so green and well kept. Even the barriers between the freeway lanes were well mowed and trimmed, flowers along the side of the road and this picture does not do justice to the ups and downs of the hills. It was so pretty.

OK - Look beyond the cars, we snapped this as we drove by last minute - but after singing about the Iowa fair all day, we drove right past it. To top it off (if you've seen the movie you can appreciate this) we got stuck in traffic for about 1/2 hour driving past the fair, with the windows down next to a trailer with a HUGE pig in it, which we could hear very well. The kids and the pig would snort back and forth at eachother and they even noticed that the pig looked like Esmerelda!

At the end of the drive this day we stayed on the banks of the Mississippi river by Nauvoo. Here is a taste of the sunsets the Pioneers would have witnessed in Nauvoo.

Early in the morning we crossed the river. The guy in the lane next to me gave me a funny look as he saw us all excited and trying to photograph our crossing. He gave us the look of, "What, haven't you ever seen the Mississippi river before?".

As we crossed the bridge - which you cannot hold your breath all the way across.

And coming soon.... this next one will be some great pictures of the kids.


One last quick update. We were able to move into our townhome on Saturday and are pretty much unpacked. Check your emails for mailing address.