This and That

It's the end of February! Can you believe that?!?! Somehow, time just keeps flying right by me. We have been doing well and staying busy...just like everyone else :) I have a few high points to hit...

Last week, we visited Springfield, IL (the capital of this grand state with high taxes). Oops. Did I just say that? We thought it would be appropriate and educational to visit the Lincoln Home Historical Site that resides in Springfield, on Presidents Day! I have discovered something about myself: I really enjoy history when someone lays the facts and details out for me, I just don't want to have to pour through lots of books to find the facts myself. Is that lazy? Anyways, our little tour of the home and the history we learned about Lincoln was quite fascinating to me. Even the kids were enjoying themselves :)

I am pretty sure that Jamison needed to go to the bathroom in this shot, seems like he's always doing the potty dance!

This is the home that Lincoln lived it. It's been restored and of course, it "looks" like it would have back in his day.

This little desk is the one piece in the house that did indeed belong to him.

Jannah and Jordan in the main parlor...where children were NOT allowed to be back in the day :) Such little rule-breakers!

After visiting Lincoln's home, we took a short ride down Rt. 66 and ate at Cozy Dogs. They say it's the birthplace of the corn dog, it was nice and greasy :) The old memorabilia was fun to admire and the kids thought the bottled soda was delish.

There were a lot of old license plates around the place, these were cool...all with the word cozy or dog :)

Jannah and Greg all dressed up for the Daddy Daughter Dance. I already know what you are thinking...she is so grown up. And yes, she really is!

Jannah and Jordan were both baptized a few weeks ago. Really, this is so exciting and life changing. We are so proud of them and for making it known to the world that they love Christ! Pastor Mike, one of our associate pastors baptized them...proud mama and daddy we were :)

That's all for now! I might just add that we are down to only 6 (S-I-X)) days until we find out our next assignment. I am only a little excited about it!

What's in Collinsville, IL???

We woke up this morning to MORE snow on the ground. I'm kinda ready for warm weather and flip-flops, but I'm not going to complain! I want to tell you about our adventurous day. The day started with yours truly (me) shoveling the 4 or so inches of snow off the driveway. After that, we headed to Jordan's basketball game. I promise to have pictures of that soon;Greg is the coach and they are both having so much fun! We came home after the game, with plans to do nothing. That soon changed; we have been in the house so much this past week, I decided we had to get outta there! So, after some quick planning, we headed out to see a few things and do some really good eating :)

Do you see what I see?

It's a big ole' catsup bottle! They claim it's the world's largest one! It's in Collinsville, a small town that's only a few minutes away from O'Fallon. We told the kids that's what we were going to see; Jannah wasn't too thrilled. On the other hand, Jordan was super thrilled when he was the first one to spot it! It marks the spot where this brand of catsup used to be manufactured, but it's no longer an operating plant. Nonetheless, it was something to look at from inside our warm car!

We headed on through Maryville, then to Glen Carbon; that's where I took this picture~I just love the snow-covered evergreens!

We saw a historical sign for a covered bridge, we figured we should go take a look, why not? We were in no big hurry and we were hoping to show the kids a bit of an adventurous day! I had something else in mind (like the covered bridges you see in pictures), but it was something to look at and talk about...

We wound up in Edwardsville. There were two places we wanted to try. And neither one disappointed!

We had a Jerk Chicken Pizza at the Peel...check it out Peel Pizza

We then headed over to The Cup Oh my...I just love this place! The cupcakes are delicious and there's such a selection! My Italian Cream cupcake was to die for!!!

After our tummies were full, we came home and played in the snow, until dark! It was a fun-filled day!

What's in Alton, Illinois??

Hey there cutie...whatcha lookin' at?!?!

**BALD EAGLES**

We took a short road trip to Alton, Illinois today. The area is the home to nearly 2000 bald eagles that migrate to the Middle Mississippi River Valley during the winter. We had fun as we spotted eagles and pulled off the road to observe them!

I love this shot...they're all into the eagle!

Yep, that's a frozen Mississippi River behind my girl...she looks like an Eskimo :)

This is an eagle's nest that some locals told us about. Apparently, it's been there for a number of years and a pair of eagles return to it yearly.

After some eagle viewing, we traveled a little farther to Grafton, Illinois to eat the Fin Inn; it was a recommendation by a friend who grew up in the area, thanks Mark! It was a neat place: aquariums at each table, good ole' fried catfish, and an unexpected surprise! Greg had spoken very briefly with an older gentleman sitting near us. He was wearing an AF hat which initiated small talk; he told us he has a grandson in the AF and that he, himself had been in the military. As we were eating, our waitress told us that the man behind us had paid for our bill. Greg did get a chance to thank him and in return the man told Greg "thanks for your service to our country." How touching and so very unexpected!

After lunch, we went back through Alton and had dessert at a small cafe that was recommended. It was cozy and yummy...the kids had a blondie with ice cream, Greg had a slice of warm chocolate pie with coconuts and pecans on top and I had apple praline pie :)

A little lighthouse on the river's edge in Grafton.

-this was one of the many barges pushing through the icy river-

We had a nice outing; I always enjoy doing things that are local to the area. I suppose that's one of the perks of being in the military... traveling and sightseeing in so many different places!