The boys had one day off this semester so we decided to take advantage of their extra day. We finally made our way up to Northern Iowa to see the Grotto, take a drive to see the fall colors (which, in Northern Iowa, weren't too spectacular unfortunately) and of course stop for a hike at Ledges on our way home! Such a fantastic, memorable day for the five of us!
The boys playing with superheroes to pass the time on the way up to the Grotto.
"We're here! We're finally here!" said the two boys, followed by "wait? What IS the Grotto exactly?"
So pretty and amazing.
Elizabeth was a bit confused by this statue of "the boy Jesus." She kept walking up to it, saying "hi, hi, hi" and would walk away confused when it didn't respond.
The Grotto was very pretty and cool to see, but the kids didn't love it. We all really enjoyed the Grotto museum that explained how it was made, rocks and wood that were used to make it, and the history of Fr. Dobberstein who built the Grotto. Max even enjoyed a documentary about it.
Of course they had to play at the park afterwards.
She spent her summer mastering slides and loves them all.
We love this happy, go with the flow girl. She's always happy to tag along on our adventures and rarely complains (even when a nap is missed).
Nap time in the car on the way home. We also stopped at two Casey's on the way home, which resulted in some sugary treats for the minis.
Gorgeous views at Ledges State Park.
The kids were thrilled to hike a new trail. Max says on our next Summer of Fun To Do List, we MUST put to hike all of the trail at Ledges. Looks like we'll have an active summer.
Harrison tried to slide down the hill we ran up.
Harrison told us he didn't want to pose for a picture, so he sat on the ground and made this face.
A very nice gentleman picnicking with his wife came up to us and asked us if we wanted our picture taken. I, of course, jumped at the opportunity because we hardly ever get all of us in a shot. The man explained they had four kids themselves and never got any pictures of all of them together. I loved ending our day experiencing the kindness of strangers and sharing "raising kids" stories. Great day all around!