Sunday Mini-Road Trip

Sunday we went on a mini road trip to the original Freedom Rock in Adair County (just 40 minutes west of Des Moines on I-80). We've had this on our 'must see' list since last Memorial Day. With Veterans Day coming up, we felt it was the perfect time to take the minis to view it. We explained to them about Veterans Day, honoring soldiers, and named a few people we know who are in the military (or were in the military). It was a quick visit as the only thing to see is the painted rock, but the kids enjoyed seeing the paintings and asked some excellent questions.

This pole had numerous badges from people who have served in the military nailed into this pole next to the Freedom Rock.

There was a small shelter that had information about the Freedom Rock. The kids enjoyed reading some of the facts and looking at the photos.

After Freedom Rock, we went to Panther Creek in Adel, IA. Matt wanted to show the boys where his grandparents were buried and family members who had served in the World Wars.

Since the morning had a serious tone to it, we took the kids to their favorite park and a long walk on the Greenbelt bike trails in the afternoon.

The city had been repaving the bike path the last couple of months. Harrison somehow managed to pull a tree root up out of the loose dirt.....and he brought it home with us to show to the daycare kids.

Holding up their goodies they got along the trail: a tree root, sticks, leaves, a tumble weed type thing, and a thorn.

With winter and the holiday season approaching, I have a feeling this may be the end of our road trips for a few months. We've been busy thinking of new cold weather activities we can do on the weekends. The first thing on my list: spend quality time with each of my minis individually. I realized the other night that I've never had an outing just me and my youngest mini Elizabeth. I always have two or more kids with me. This prompted me to create "mommy and (insert child's name here)" time over the next couple of months. Other things on our weekend cold weather list: bowling, indoor mini golf, and going to a movie.

I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to all of our outdoor fun we've had the last several months, but a little bit of hibernating this winter seems to be sounding pretty good!