The first Thursday of November we packed up and headed out to travel to Illinois and Indianapolis for the weekend!
If you have been here for awhile, YOU could probably write this post, ha, ha!!
We do the SAME things every single time we make this trip!!
Eliza and Tate were the only two that joined us this time – but they are fun travelers!!
And that meant we only needed one hotel room at each stop we made!
The sunset as we left Wisconsin was BEAUTIFUL!!
Our first stop was Peoria, Illinois where we headed right to bed very late on Thursday night!
The next morning I fed everyone breakfast from our cooler.
After getting ready we headed to see Ross and Lilli.
It was such a wonderful visit!!
Eliza was the activity director’s new favorite visitor because she played song after song on the piano for all the residents!
It made my heart SO FULL to watch Eliza enjoy that!
When she started playing Christmas songs, everyone started singing along!
We took Lilli out to lunch that day and tried a “new to us” place called CoreLife Eatery.
I wish we had that restaurant here!
It was fantastic and so allergy friendly!
Pretty soon it was time to say our goodbyes.
My least favorite thing EVER.
I miss Ross and Lilli SO much!
We headed to Morton to meet up with Blake’s Mom at our favorite little coffee spot – Four30 Scones.
You already knew that though, didn’t you??
But wait…first we headed to buy Blake’s Mom a TV because hers had been broken for quite awhile.
It was fun picking out a TV for her!!
Ok, back to Four30 Scones – We LOVE that place!
They have gluten and dairy free scones, you guys!!
I also love what they write on your drink lid.
We headed to Blake’s Mom’s house after our coffee treats to install her new TV.
Unfortunately we could not get it to work, because her cable box was broken.
We did talk to the cable company and got a new box sent to her that she would need to make it work.
She has since then received it and had help to get everything working!
YAY!!
Then it was time for yet another goodbye.
We headed to Indianapolis WAY TOO LATE that night!
When we arrived at our hotel, we were so hungry – so we let the kiddos eat and watch a show before finally heading to bed.
Our small room with only one bed and a pull out couch gave me the opportunity to have my morning quiet time and coffee standing in the bathroom, of all places, ha, ha!
But we made it work.
Some can sleep through anything – take a look at the photos and try to guess who!
I was SO excited to head to see my Mom and brother!!
My brother had a GREAT idea for the morning – there was an apple orchard that was open not too far from them that he had stopped at earlier that week and knew it was worth going back to with the kids!
My Mom’s caretaker said that she would come along and bring my Mom too!
We had THE BEST time!
It was chilly, but we had proper coats so it was not bad.
The kids loved running all over the playground and playing!
We also got some great photos with my Mom!!
Such a treasure!!
I love the one of my Mom and my brother looking at each other.
He has the sweetest way with her and it is so special to watch.
Right as it started to rain we decided to head to the shops and also to get some apple cider.
You guys.
I have never in my life heard of apple cider slushies – but I am here to tell you they are THE BEST THING EVER!!
The only ingredient is apple cider!
But it’s a slushie!
We all got one and enjoyed every single drop!
I almost asked Blake to drive back there the next day to get another one!!
We went back to my Mom’s to hang out the rest of the day – besides one trip to the grocery store.
It was a fun day!!!
The next morning came quick, even with the time change.
We spent some time at my Mom’s and then headed out around lunch to make the nine hour trip back home.
At least it was a beautiful day!!
We always stop back in Morton to run around a parking lot and get our wiggles out, and to get some coffee.
These weekends are FAST.
But we get to do them often!
And I would rather be there often, than be there a whole week only once a year!
Now that winter is upon us, we do not have a plan yet for our next trip.
If the weather stays like it is now, maybe we will go again very soon!!!
If I could choose, all of these precious people would live on our road, and I would walk to their front door everyday.
Since I cannot have that, I will take all of these quick weekend trips we can get!
I cannot wait until next time!!
Ross, Lilli, Barb, Mom and Mike – WE LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!
