New car = new miles to drive. It's July in Iowa, so of course it's hot and humid outdoors. We've been trying to get creative in our outings since we have Zeus with us too. He's not the biggest fan of lakes, so when we go we don't do long. However, we discovered he LOVES walking in creeks, as do the kids. We've been to Dolliver, he's been exploring with the boys in the creek by our house, so we were on the lookout for new, unique creek hikes. We chose to head to Burlington, Iowa for a creek walk....IN A CAVE!! It was all parts fun, the water was ice cold, plus we got to do some hiking down to the cave (and back up again). We definitely got the hiking dog we wanted!
Lately, by Friday nights, Hubs and I are exhausted. We usually reserve that night for take out, but since the kids have been doing more cooking, we've let them take over Friday night dinners. Max made chocolate chip pancakes for us and Harrison cooked bacon. I'm really digging this kids cooking thing.
Harrison didn't feel there was enough chocolate syrup on his pancakes.
Traveling with a puppy is interesting. We don't put him in a kennel because he prefers being with the kids plus he lays down the entire time he's in the car (except when he has to go to the bathroom, then he whines and sits up). Our drive was supposed to be 2 1/2 hours from Des Moines to Burlington, but Zeus had to stop a few times (he had to poop but doesn't like to go anywhere but his own yard; until he has to go bad enough that is), then we needed lunch, then a kid needed to pee. So our drive was double that. But once we arrived we had a wonderful time hiking to the creek in a cave!
Great views of the Mississippi from Crapo Park.
Zeus absolutely rocked this hike. We've learned he hates climbing stairs, but scales rocks and runs up steep trails with no problem. He was also great at leading the way on this narrow part of the trail that we had to walk (on the other side of the tree was a drop off).
Sure it was a hot and humid day (the feels like temp was over 100 degrees and the humidity high as well), but inside the cave was 10 degrees cooler plus we were wading through ice cold water.
Zeus liked the water, but wanted to keep on walking on the trail. He whined nearly the entire time we were in the cave. When we finally got back to hiking he ran the rest of the trail.
We're working on our poses. Especially remembering to keep looking at the camera and not at the dog when we call for him to look at the camera. That's super tough to remember apparently.
Harrison and Elizabeth required a picture with this old farm house (actually a closed-on-that-day Museum within the park) because it reminded them of Sarah Plain and Tall. I've spent the summer introducing them to classic books such as that and Little House on the Prairie.
I couldn't miss out on this sign. The park is pronounced Cray-po, but I kept calling it Crap-o. The kids thought it was hilarious.
Our next visit was to Snake Alley--one of the windiest roads in America! It was fun, so we drove it twice.
We stopped for coffee in their adorable downtown district before we started back home. It was a quick-ish day trip for us since I had my cousin's 30th birthday party to get to. The kids and I took a rest in the car on the way home. Zeus curled up with Max.
I finally let the kids spend their birthday money they got. As a result, boxes of Pokemon were waiting for us when we got home. They're obsessed.
I have seen very few people since March. I made an exception for my cousin's birthday and went to a small party. The highlights: catching up with cousins and family, chatting with people like I get to do it every day, and trying Peruvian rum. All wonderful!
Slow It Down Sunday included sleeping, cleaning, ice cream, and rock scrambling at Saylorville Dam. It's not how we usually end our Sunday's and it was excellent to do so!
Zeus is a huge helper with vacuuming.
When she asks me to take her picture, but her brother's photo bomb the mini shoot. I'd feel bad, but I find it hilarious.
