Campground, Wisconsin dells, and a quick stop to Chicago


The family vacation this year was a fun filled many stop adventure.  We started our trip to Fremont, Indiana at Jellystone Campground.  Aunt D, Uncle Edd, Addie, Lincoln, Maw Maw, and our family made the trip.  Grandma and Grandpa Grocho rode up with Maw Maw to join in the craziness.  

Since we last had been there, they added a new watermark with splash pad.  The kids had a great time playing in the water. One of our favorite things we do is get doughnuts on the weekend from the camp store.  There is always a huge line but it is worth the wait.  On our walk to the camp store, Paw Paw drove up to surprise us for the day.  The kids were so excited to see him.




We rented a cabin for us all to stay in and we were so lucky that it was close to the pond.  

We made foil packets…yum!  Grandpa was helping out cutting the carrots.

There was a dance party in the pavilion that we went and danced the night away!



The boys asked if we could rent a pedal car for a few hours.  The kids all had fun and the adults got quite a workout.  I was a little reckless and was scared for the lives of everyone who came along for the ride.


This was too cute…Addie tucked her babies into bed for a nap and would shush anyone who was loud in the cabin.

Grandma stealing as many hugs as Landon would let her



The family wagon ride was a huge hit.  
Check out these kids watching as Yogi and Cindy bear get ready to come on the wagon.


Hugs for Cindy from Landon and Addie!

One of my favorite photos






Thanks Jellystone for all the fun…On to Wisconsin Dells, WI!

We traveled about 5 hours and 45 minutes to Wisconsin Dells were we rented a beautiful home with a pond. 
The pond was full of frogs and turtles
Edd and Lincoln searching for wildlife
Gage was helping all the kids catch frogs at the pond

In the basement of the house we were surprised to see a stripper pole with a disco ball and spotlights.  Needless to say, it was quite a fun climbing tool for the kids.


Landon and Addie became quite the frog catching team.  They were grabbing them straight out of the water and putting them in buckets!





Carter and Landon spent a lot of time floating around on the tubes.

Our first tourist adventure was The Lost Canyon Tour.  This was a wagon pulled by 2 horses.  Our tour guide was hysterical.  The canyon views were beautiful and incredible to see how narrow some passways were.



After our tour, we traveled over to Devil's Lake State Park.  We all packed a picnic lunch and then began a hike.  The views were breath taking but the boys are so curious it freaks me out.  I could not go up to the top because I was so worried they were going to fall off the edge.

What started out as being a fun family hike quickly came to an end when bees started to attack, children started to melt down, and my anxiety was very high!









Mid-week we all went to Noah's Ark Water park.  It is called the World's Largest Waterpark.  Everyone had a great day. The two older boys ran with Bob to all the watersides they could ride all day long.  We arrived at 10am and left at 4pm! Nolan was a little scared at first but went down the slides like a big boy.  
One of the most wanted thing to do was: The Wisconsin Duck Tour.  This was a truck with wheels but then it becomes a boat when you go into the water.  Our tour guide was very silly and cheesy!  We saw some amazing rock formations and sites.
Yes, that is my hooded head 
This rock formation was called Hawk's Head


Downtown Dells was a Riverfront walk, we walked around and saw the river.

Bob took Carter and Landon to have some big boy fun!  They hit the arcade and laser tag.
Bob says this was one of his favorite childhood games. 


Back at the house Nolan and Lincoln were sharing Pringles on the steps!  Ha!  

Our final destination on our voyage home was Chicago, IL.  When we arrived we quickly walked to Grant Park where the kids had a great time splashing around in the fountain.





Next, over to the Bean



There is a brand spacing new huge playground downtown that the kids loved to play at.  I didn't grab any photos there because it was a parent's nightmare.  There were so many kids playing and so many places they could have gotten out of your sight that there were NO time for photos.  


On Saturday we stopped by the Children's Museum on Navy Pier.  We visited this place when we came to Chicago two years ago with our friends from Chelsea so we were excited to go again.  It is a great stop for kids.
The first exhibit was focused on boats.  The kids could climb through all different types of boats and catch stuffed fish.  I think they could have stayed there all day.



 Next the boys climbed through a rope tunnel to the second floor of the building.





 There was a place set up with Firefighter things to do also.  A uniform to wear, a pole to slide down, smoke detectors to check, phones to call for supplies, hoses to attach to hydrants, and much more.





 Upstairs there was a place to build with nuts, screws, and bolts.  Carter built a tent with Bob and Landon was working hard improving a piece another child left behind.

A whole floor for water play is just what the boys needed!

The idea of paint brushes, water, and slate to create is just stinking genius!  




This was another favorite: an industrial mat with PVC pipe cut in different sizes.  The boys made rooms for themselves for quite some time.

Nolan danced at the dance party with scarves

Climbing the wall

Bob, Maw Maw, Carter, and Landon were brave and wanted to go to the top of Sears Tower to walk on the SkyDeck.  To get there they got to ride on the subway which was super cool to them.










Our last family vacation dinner was at Rainforest Cafe.  The boys love to eat there because of all the moving animals and the thunderstorms in the restaurant.  Nolan was mesmerized by the moving gorillas close to our table.  We were lucky enough to see the Tree Frog by our table and snag a photo with him.




We spent 3 days and 2 nights there.  There was a whole light of sightseeing and the kids were exhausted each night.



What a wonderful adventure we had exploring so many new places and being together!  Now we need a vacation from our vacation!

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