Springfield, Part 1

In June I surprise Dan and took him to Springfield, Illinois to spend time exploring the Lincoln sites. I had never been and Dan had been to see them a while ago when he was a kid. He was very excited :) Our first stop was his home. It was free but we had to get a ticket to take a tour since they only allow so many in each tour group. So we hung out in the info/gift shop for a little bit.

Lincoln's Home

They still have some of the Lincoln's furniture and have everything set up based on pictures they have. It was cool and strange to imagine the family being there.

Front Parlor

Back parlor

Dining Room

Writing Desk

Kitchen

 They have done a good job of preserving everything and even have the street closed off and restored some of the homes which would have also been part of the neighborhood. A few of the other houses you could tour as well and had other information inside.

Campaign sign on wagon

It was a great first stop on our tour and we continued into the city and stopped next at the old Court House were Lincoln would have practiced law.

Old Courthouse

Statue outside the Court House

 Amazing Stair case in the center...and got to peek into all the rooms and see where he would have fought cases and the room they used for his funeral.

His old Law office

We grabbed a quick bite to eat before continuing our tour :)

Fourth of July

This year we went camping with my cousin and sister and their families. We camped in the same spot we go for Memorial Weekend. It was strange not having the full family for the weekend but it was also fun getting more time to spend with my cousin and sister's family. We brought up some fireworks which was fun. The first night we did our fireworks and on the 4th we found a local place and watched the Fireworks over a lake.

 Preparing for our fireworks show :)

 We really enjoyed the fireworks we brought :) It was fun picking them out.

Our line up from the evening show 

 We enjoyed relaxing and playing games on the 4th which was really nice and a good way to stay cool.

Titus and Abby

Dan, Joshua, and Pete

Ready for the 4th of July fireworks

Damaris building a sand castle

The lake

Picture of us

Sunset

We did church together on Sunday which is always a favorite part of the weekend for me. I love getting to worship together. We ate and played more games until my cousins had to leave and Stephen came to pick up Michelle and the kids.

Vacation, Part 5 Heading Home

On our last day we grabbed breakfast together and went to a few shops before heading out of town. We went to Flapjack's and had a great breakfast, we also posed with the bear :)

I had to get a picture of their Buckle up sign :) I loved hearing their southern accent and how polite everyone sounds...even in their signs.

One of our last stops was in Cincinnati to get some Graeters. The city is gearing up for the All Star Game.

Sign in their window

Count down Clock

Chocolate in my ice cream, largest piece I have found yet

Back in the state

We had a really good drive and were glad to get home.

Vacation, Part 4 Water falls, Horseback riding, Zip lining, and Titanic

On Saturday we decided to do some hiking to a water fall in the Park. We drove around and even got to check out some old cabins that people use to live in. It was fun driving through the park and ending with the hike out to the water fall.

 Checking out the first cabin

View along the road

We hiked out to Grotto Falls, it was so much fun.

Walking the path

 At the Falls :)

 Walking behind the falls and Dan climbing rocks :)

Sam excited he made it out :)

 We finished up the rest of our Adventure activities by going Horse back riding and Zip lining in the afternoon. Both were really fun! I don't have any pictures of Zip lining because I wasn't able to take my camera.

 Saddle Up :)

On the trail!

 Amazing views!!

We finished up the day with going to the Titanic Museum before dinner. We LOVED it, some of the exhibits were amazing. They had artifacts from the ship and things survivors took off the ship, they had an area with an iceberg and water that was 28 degrees to give people an idea of how cold the water was that night.  I wasn't allowed to take pictures in the museum so I took some from the outside.

The ship is HALF the size of the original ship. I would highly suggest going if you get the change. It is right on the main street through Pigeon Forge so you can't miss it. We ended the night with dinner at a BBQ place and watching Colonial house so Sam could see what happens to the Goat, he as been in suspense since Easter when we started watching the series.