A Week in Davenport

On Tuesday, the 30th of June, we

flew to Moline where Trudi and the kids

picked us up at the airport.

George has 6 weeks of

advanced training in Arizona and is

about half done....

our trip was designed to gave Trudi 

a little break.

On Wednesday everyone spent

some time outside.

Cora and ....

Charlotte love helping grandpa

trim the bushes and 

collect bouquets of beautiful flowers.

Grandpa helped Charlotte with all her

biking gear then .....

walked/ran along side of her as she

practiced her bike riding skills.

On Thursday we decided to

have a birthday celebration for

Charlotte who is turning 5 years old on

July 11th.

first thing we did was give her a new hairdo .... 

she said

"I love it....I'm Fabulous"

Next .....

while mommy was shopping Charlotte

and Grandma mixed up a ....

Birthday Cake!

Then Charlotte got to decorate it with ....

a "forest" of Elsa picks ....

this was one happy little girl !

A number "5" necklace in a beautiful

jewel box from Grandma & Grandpa

The kids learned how to rub the

balloons on the wall to generate enough

static electricity for them to stick to the wall.

lots of "Frozen" decorations and

fun presents like

little pets

Birthday Barbie

Headphones

a kid-friendly tablet

and an Elsa dress & crown

Oh to be 5 years old !

After presents and games it was time to

light the candles ....

Oh my kingdom for a match

(inside joke)

and blow them out .... Make a Wish !

the cake and ice cream 

was delicious.

After Morgan and the girls were in bed

Wyatt went outside to .....

Catch Fireflies ....

We had fun watching them flit around the

yard, over the fields and

especially in Wyatt's "bug catcher"

On Friday the kids wanted to have a

Costume Party

So They all dressed up in last years

Halloween costumes

Wyatt .... the Ninja

Cora .... Minnie Mouse

and Charlotte, of course, as Elsa

The kids danced

and built a fort in the playroom

Very Cool !

While the big kids were doing their "thing"

Morgan was having fun in

his activity chair.

Later in the afternoon we all 

piled in the car and drove Across the

Mississippi River to Moline

where we visited the ....

John Deer Pavilion

All sorts of equipment

just waiting to be climbed on !

Charlotte, Cora & Grandpa

Charlotte & Grandpa

Wyatt

Trudi, Morgan & Cora

Wyatt, Cora & Charlotte

Wyatt trying his hand at the

Back Hoe simulator.

On the way home we stopped at

Sonic for some

yummy mini milkshakes.

Saturday was the 4th of July

and a day of

Rest .... Relaxation .....

and ....

Fireworks on the Mississippi River !!

Sunday

Church at 9 a.m.

Wyatt & Charlotte are ready !

and after church ...

baking cookies !

Debbi's special chocolate chip recipe

 made 4 1/2 dozen 

including 1 extra large cookie.

Monday

was another beautiful day so we

  spent some time outside with the kids

Trudi and Morgan

Charlotte loves to sing and dance

Cora is "on the move"

and Charlotte rescues her !

it's been an exhausting day ?

Wyatt has finally discovered how much

fun bikes can be

So he talks grandpa into going for

a bike ride with him

and they "race" around the block ....

the Winner !

Charlotte has a new bike

and is trying to learn the art

of pedaling

she is getting it !

Cora thought it was great fun to

 get on the "big girl bike" 

just like Charlotte

While Charlotte was playing 

on her new tablet ....

Cora sneakily slipped on

Charlotte's Elsa dress.

As the afternoon progressed

the sky began to cloud up and soon

it started raining .... and ....

thundering & lightening

Scary stuff !

It was a busy day and after dinner

we noticed Cora wasn't

running around like she usually does

This is where we found her ....

poor tired little girl.

Tuesday

was another beautiful day and

turned out to be a good day

for flying standby

So after a little golf practice in the morning

we got our bags packed and

by early afternoon we

were on our way home.

Our flight plans went just the way

we hoped they would

except for a couple of little glitches.

We were only able to get on the 

flight out of Moline 

because there were only 3 seats left and

the family of 5 just ahead of us

on the list didn't want to split up so

we got two of those seats and they had

to make other plans.

The flight from Minneapolis St. Paul

had plenty of seats, but was

delayed so instead of getting to Boise

just before midnight it was

about 1:30 a.m.

A GIANT thank you to Dave for

picking us up in the wee hours of the 

morning.  

We arrived home in Star about 2:30 a.m.

It was a good week !!