Vacation, Sunday, July 15, Day Three

 Day three of our vacation started with a lemonade stand manned by Tizita.  Uncle Chedda helped her make some lemonade with real lemons and she had the idea to sell it.  I believe sales are somewhere in her future.  She also sold some of the hamburger cookies.  Tiz was trying to earn enough money to buy a T shirt to color at the Lodge here at our resort. 

 Here is our little entrepreneur with her first customer, Gigi.  We all found the lemonade to be very refreshing.

 We spent some of the morning sitting around, relaxing, computing, and playing.

 Gigi was able to spend some more time bonding with Soli.  It would appear that Soli and her great grandma have a special bond between them already.

 Tizita decided that a photo shoot was in order next, so she and grandpa took a number of photos of one another.

 Another picture from the photo shoot.

 Tizitz decided to take up residence in an empty kitchen cupboard.  She put a pillow, towel, pictures, and some of her favorite toys in her little fort.  Here she is eating lunch in her little house.

 She invited Alissa and Nathan to come visit her in her fort.

 Tizita, did indeed earn enough money from her lemonade sales to purchase a shirt to color.  Here we are at the Sweet Shop in the Lodge working on the T-shirt.  She wore it proudly for the rest of the vacation.

 More time to relax and play.  Chedda and Alissa were leaving later on Day three, so we had to spend some time just enjoying their company before they left.  Notice John in the background, more on that later.

 Sweet picture of two very sweet sisters.

 John is taking a nap here with his Diet Coke can still in his hand.  These vacations can tire a person out.

 After Alissa and Chedda headed back home to Bloomington, we took a bike ride down a very, very bumpy road to hike into St. Louis Canyon which is part of Starved Rock State Park.  Here are the girls in their trailer as we arrived at the trail.

 The hike to the canyon was very nice. 

 The Van Auken family enjoying the coolness of the canyon.

 Soli enjoyed the hike from her vantage point in the Ergo carrier safe on her papa's back.

 The canyon floor was covered with soft white sand which reminded us of the beach sand in St. George.  Soli seemed to like the feel of that soft sand on her little toes.

 Tizita liked climbing the rocks and exploring the area at the bottom of the canyon.

We got back to the condo, very tired and hot from a ride up the very, very bumpy road.  Time for all of us to relax.  Papa enjoyed some time with his girls.
The vacation days were busy and fun filled.  Good thing was that the time would move pretty slowly which is always nice.

After a good night's sleep, we were on to Day Four.

Vacation Day 2, July 14, Nathan's Birthday

 Our second day of vacation started with a trip to the waterpark.  There is a train that takes the guests around the resort which is very nice considering the temps were in the high 90's while we were there.  Here we are taking the train to the waterpark.

 Marge came along to watch us swim and Lis and John were swimming with us.  Nathan came, too, but he missed the train.

 I like to call this picture, sisters with sisters.  Tizita loved the waterpark especially the whirlpool.  We all liked the lazy river even Soli enjoyed her ride on the river.

 Soli had lots of fun in the baby pool area.  Here she is clapping for herself.

 This is the train that takes one around the resort.  The condos in the background are similiar to the one we stayed in.

 After swimming, it was time for some TV watching.  Tizita enjoyed her time with Lissa and Nathan.

John and I took a little trip into Utica.  We stopped at the museum and walked up and down the cute Main St.  Utica is a little town of just 1000, but it has much to offer. 

 This is me with Abe Lincoln at the museum.

 When we returned from our trip, Tizita helped me make hamburger cookies for Nathan's birthday which we were celebrating that night.

 Just look at these yummy hamburger cookies.

 Happy Birthday to Nathan.  We opened the goodie box and enjoyed the hamburgers.

 Uncle Chedda got a beef stick which he shared with Tizita, who in turn shared it with Soli.  That beef stick was enjoyed by many!

 John and I took Tiz over to the amusement park for a while after the birthday party.  She jumped in Sponge Bob, but it was a bit on the hot side for outside jumping.

 Tizita took this photo of Grandpa and I in front of the enchanted forest monster which is in the entrance to the amusement park.

 Tizita was very lucky with the arcade games, especially this one where she won 100 tickets in one spin of the wheel.  We used the tickets to purchase some little trinkets.

 We took a family picture.  After that we headed to Duffy's Tavern in Utica Nathan's birthday dinner.

 We all toasted Nathan and our vacation.  The beer went down easily, the girls were perfect, the conversation was flowing, and the food was exceptional.  John enjoyed...

Snapper Turtle!

After dinner, we went back to our condo and sat outside to watch fireworks.  The temps had gone down and we were so comfortable on our balcony.

It was a great second day and we all slept well that night.

Stay tuned for a Day three recap.

Vacation, Day one, Friday, July 13

 On Friday, July 13, we left for five days at the Grand Bear Lodge in Utica, Illinois.  We chose this spot because of its close proximity to Alissa and Nathan.  Bloomington is just an hour south of Utica.  This made it possible for them to join us for the weekend.  I found a condo in this resort while searching for rentals by owner on the internet.  I did not know what to expect.  We had cased it out in early May on a visit to Alissa's and we thought it would serve our needs nicely.  There are also three state parks within a few miles of the resort which made it inviting for Courtney and Paul's outdoorsy, less commercial side.

 We started our vacation with a lunch at Mullen's before hitting the road.  One of the best parts of this vacation was the opportunity to spend time getting to know our new granddaughter, Soliana.  She is the sweetest, happiest baby ever.  She became very familiar with all of us over the course of the week, but she still liked her mama best, which is as it should be, of course.

 On Friday, we checked into our condo at 4:00 in the midst of a huge thunderstorm.  The condo is very nice, big enough to sleep 18, so we can all have our space.  We celebrated Soli's first birthday after we arrived.  She enjoyed her new presents and we all enjoyed watching her play with them.

 Of course, it was wonderful to be able to spend all this time with Tizita, too.  She and I had many special memory making moments together as usual.

 It was fun to watch Tizita teaching her sister how to use the new toys.  They play together nicely.

 Soli became fast friends with Great Grandma, Gigi.  They had lots of fun moments together.

 Soli loves to eat and she often reminded us of a little birdie just waiting with her mouth open for someone to give her some goodies.  I figure she thinks this place called America is pretty nice with all the different foods it has to offer.

 John and I took Tizita over to the indoor waterpark in the evening.  There is a free train that runs all the time and takes you from one place to another.  Here Grandpa and Tiz are onboard riding to the waterpark.

 Tizita really enjoyed the waterpark.  It is a rather small park compared to the ones at the Dells, but just the right size for children her age.  She loved the whirlpool area that just swept you around and around in the current, the lazy river, and the wave pool.

Here she is trying the little slide for the first time.  After doing it once, she enjoyed it over and over again.  We took the train back after our first swimming adventure.

Tizita spent lots of time with Aunt Alissa and Uncle Chedda.  She always has so much fun hanging out with them.  There is always some kind of foolishness going on when they are around.

So, ended day one.  We knew it was going to be a very fun week indeed.

Tomorrow, Day two.