Number of Miles Driven: 292

Drive Time: 8:45 - 12:30 pm

States Driven through: IA, IL (2)


July 25


The Microtel in Des Moines, IA had a standard breakfast (waffles, bagels, yogurt), so we all ate a little something before hitting the road. We stopped at a gas station and allowed the kids to get several treats because they had been good and earned a treat each day for the past few days but had not cashed in on those. They’ve thoroughly enjoyed scouring the aisles of convenience stores looking for the “perfect” treat or a combination of treats that are within their allowance. I’ve learned you really can’t get anything for less than a dollar (even small candy bars) unless it’s a small sucker. Even candy bars are almost $2. Carolyn got a small bag of white cheddar popcorn, Dani got sour gummy worms, Matthew got a couple of lollipops, and Andrew a large lollipop. They all got a sugar treat (exactly what they need while they’re captive in a car) called a Baby Bottle Pop. 


The landscape didn’t change much from the Nebraska trip - lots of cornfields and crop-dusters. There were rolling hills and some beautiful green farms with HUGE windmills on them. The windmills were similar to what we’ve seen in Southern California near Indian Wells, but they were spread out through most of our time in Iowa. In fact, we passed a rest area that had the arm of a windmill as a decoration - it was very tall. 


IA farm with rolling green hills

We crossed the Mississippi River (the border between IA and IL), which the kids thought was interesting,  and it prompted a google search for facts about the Mississippi river (what are the largest rivers? where’s the widest part of the Mississippi River, etc.). 




Crossing the Mississippi River and entering Illinois

We arrived in Peoria right at 12:30 (shaved 10 minutes off our original GPS estimate) and warmly welcomed by Michael’s Aunt Rosie. The kids immediately found the basement and that became their “fun-house” the entire time we were there. There is a pinball arcade game in the basement and Matthew came upstairs and asked for money so he could play it - ha! Rosie showed him how to play it without money and then showed Carolyn how to work the jukebox. She then found an old ballet recital costume of her youngest daughter and let Dani wear it. Dani was over the moon with excitement and danced around in that dress with so much glee. She thought she was Elsa. She constantly asked to wear the outfit and basically wore it the whole time we were at the house. 


Dani wearing Maria's first dance recital outfit


The kids (mostly Carolyn and Matthew) were infatuated with Winston, the maltipoo dog that Rosie and Tom are keeping for their son, Anthony. Winston was a little shy and didn’t want them petting him initially but he warmed up to them (eventually!). Carolyn was constantly asking to take Winston on walks and Rosie and Tom kindly let her do it many times. At one point, she came home and said Winston “wore her out” - this 12 lb dog wore her out after a 15 minute walk. And she wonders why we don’t let her get a dog… (I’ll admit it was hot though…)




Whereas Carolyn and Matthew were infatuated with Winston, Dani was infatuated with Aunt Rosie - almost as soon as we got there! She was her mini-me for the time we were there and always wanted to be with Aunt Rosie. She was fine being alone or hanging out with the kids, but she gravitated to Aunt Rosie when given the option. She’d jump up on the couch with her, wanted to eat with her, or just be held by her. Of course, Aunt Rosie dotingly obliged. It was very sweet. 


Watching the Olympics with Aunt Rosie (in the ballet costume)

Hanging out with Aunt Rosie


Rosie had bought Gondola sandwiches (sub sandwiches) from Avanti’s and they were delicious - the bread was amazing! Even the kids enjoyed the ham and cheese sandwiches - usually, if it’s not PBJ, they don’t love it. Matthew then not so subtly asked for Rosie’s famous popcorn (Dani had also already asked for popcorn too!). Rosie made a huge batch and it was quickly devoured. 



He LOVED the popcorn! Thanks, Aunt Rosie!



We loved catching up with Rosie and sharing all the latest family updates. Dale and Karen (Michael’s Uncle and Aunt) drove down from Chicago - on last minute notice! - to visit us, and they arrived around 3 pm. We told them about our trip - specifically our time at the Redwoods - because they are leaving on Tuesday to move their son and daughter-in-law to San Francisco. They plan to travel north along the coast of California - hitting Napa and the Redwoods - on their way to see their daughter in Eugene Oregon. 

Aunt Karen playing with Dani and Matthew


We headed to Dan and Mel’s (Michael’s uncle and aunt) around 5:00/5:30 - they graciously hosted the whole Roberts’ family for a pizza party. Historically, the Roberts’ side of the family celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve with a huge family gathering. As the families have spread further apart and there have been more grandkids born, it’s not been as easy to get everyone together. Mel realized we were all meeting on July 25, so she pulled out a few Christmas decorations and we celebrated Christmas in July since so many of us were together (still missing a lot of people though!). Dan and Mel’s kids, Chris and Megan, each came with their families and of course Rosie, Tom, Dale, and Karen. 


Me and Michael with Megan and Chris


It was a fun night seeing everyone and just reconnecting with each other. We hadn’t seen any of the Roberts’ family since Maria’s (Rosie and Tom’s daughter) wedding in 2018. Chris and Megan’s kids, Quinn and Nate (almost 12), had grown so much and were both taller than me. Nate and Andrew had fun playing soccer. Carolyn led Matthew and Dani in an “olympics” show that consisted of her “juggling” corn hole bean bags, Matthew tossing the bean under his leg before dunking it in hole, and Dani doing “stick” gymnastics. 




Dani's "stick gymnastics"


Megan and Dale brought growlers of a blueberry cream ale and a kolsch from a local brewery - Rhodell brewery. I was a fan of the blueberry beer and it actually reminded me of the Blueberry Muffin beer from Great Notion - it had a lactose/cream base that resembled the “bread/crumbly” taste.


Dan and Mel accomplished the huge feat of getting all of us together for a big family picture - it actually went quite smoothly and it we got it in less than 5 takes! We even had the chance to throw in a silly pic before the kids bolted! 



The goofy photo - in case you couldn't tell...


We headed back home around 9 and gave all the kids quick showers. Andrew and Matthew slept in Anthony’s old room and Carolyn and Dani slept in Alyssa’s old room. The girls loved the “girliness” of Alyssa’s room. The kids must have been exhausted because they didn’t come out of their room once. 


We hung out with Tom and Rosie until about midnight - mostly just chatting and having a relaxing end to the evening (and Michael fixing Rosie’s YouTube TV). It was a great day and so nice to see everyone!


July 26


We woke up around 7:30 to the smell of bacon and eggs. The kids had already been awake and Rosie was in the kitchen making breakfast for them. Michael and I had the basement bedroom, so it was dark and quiet - perfect for sleeping in! The kids were excited to help make breakfast and they were in awe of the “Grands” cinnamon rolls - they’ve insisted that’s what we have to buy in the future because they are so much bigger than ours at home. 


After breakfast, we watched Olympic gymnastics and then got ready for a short day excursion to Wildlife Prairie Park. Megan had given me lots of suggestions for places to take kids in Peoria and we settled on the wildlife park. They had a “Prairie” section that was recreated to mimic prairie/farm life during the pioneering days. On the open plains, they had bison, a black bear, elk. They also had lots of owls and a couple of bald eagles. I don’t think I had seen any bald eagles that closely before. 






Watching the bear

Watching the bear



There was a log cabin set up to resemble “pioneer” days with lots of original furniture and toys in it. The kids liked seeing the old toys. Dani found a babydoll in a wooden cradle - it was likely meant to resemble how a baby would have been taken care of - but Dani thought it was a toy and picked it up and started cradling it in her arms. 







Getting hot and tired!

We took a train ride through the park and then ended up at a section of the park (Gollywhopper) that had a long slide. The kids - except Andrew - loved going down it and went down several times. They tried to find ways to go as fast as they could go down the slide. There was also a fireman’s pole the kids enjoyed going down. Carolyn even tried to make it “artistic” by flying around the pole with her legs out and Michael quietly commented that our daughter is pole dancer…






Pole Dancing...


Gollywhopper slide - 52 feet long



It was a hot day so we took a break in the “Reptile/Amphibian Center” where we saw snakes, turtles, fish and a random selection of other animals (e.g., rabbits?). 


The park was a good way to spend a couple of hours and to expend some energy outside. We were all starving by the time we were done and we chose to go to Portillo’s for lunch. At dinner the night before, Mel served a chopped salad that was delicious and it was from Portillo’s. She had said they had hot dogs and Rosie said her kids enjoyed going there when they came home to visit, so we decided to check it out. While there, it dawned on Michael that this was the place that his friend Chris Garrett told him had great Italian Beef sandwiches and that we should check out. We had completely forgotten about that so it was a happy coincidence that it was the same place. Michael was bummed that he didn’t make the connection before he ordered his food. He almost got the Italian Beef but he decided on a “Portillo’s Favorite” - the Maxwell Street Polish Hot Dog. After his realization, he wished he had gotten the Italian Beef. 




I got the chili cheese dog and enjoyed it. Andrew loved his bacon cheeseburger and Carolyn ate her plain hot dog without complaint. Matthew and Dani didn’t know what to make of the black seeds on their buns - haha - so they ate everything but the bun. We DID make the connection in time to order their famous chocolate cake. It was definitely yummy! We all shared one slice since there were so many desserts at Rosie’s house. Overall, the Portillo experience was definitely two thumbs up! The staff were also really nice and welcoming! I hope they expand to North Carolina soon…


We had a quiet afternoon until Tom got home from work. We were all a little tired from the Wildlife park, so the kids spent time unwinding in the basement - playing the jukebox, building legos, and playing the pinball machine. We facetimed with Alyssa and got to see Max and Halle a bit more. 


Facetiming with Halle and Max


Rosie put together a nice dinner and we even ate in the formal dining room. She ordered fried chicken from the Lariat and made party potatoes (getting the recipe for that one!), corn, and rolls. It was all delicious and very filling. Matthew and Dani were most appreciative of the watermelon. At one point, Tom fed Winston some chicken when Rosie had walked out of the room and Matthew asked loudly “Why are you feeding him your food?” Ooops..I guess he got Uncle Tom in trouble - haha!


After dinner, Carolyn announced that there would be a “show” in the basement and she gave everyone peppermints as their “entry” tickets. She and Andrew had been practicing their routines before dinner and were excited to show them off. They asked for a volunteer for a “very special job” and Tom was a good sport and volunteered to do it. Turns out they wanted a judge to score their routines - it’s always a competition. 


Carolyn was the first to do her “routine” and she had Andrew play “Little Jeannie” by Elton John on the jukebox. With all seriousness, she performed an artistic routine using a spinning chair (now she’s a chair dancer). Her routine had lots of attempts at splits, twirls, and chair-spinning. I have a video but I don’t think it will play successfully on this blog. There were a few times she stood up in the chair that we thought she might fall and break an arm, but luckily that never happened (Matthew can be heard in the video saying “don’t break an arm”). Tom gave her a 9.9 and she was super excited!!  Next up was Andrew and I don’t know why, but his routine was hilarious. He also performed his with seriousness and was trying to do some of the same artistic leg balances/spins on the chair that Carolyn did and it just came across as very funny. Again, only a video will do it justice. But you could tell he and Carolyn had both been practicing and were proud of their routines. Tom scored his a 9.85 because he had a slip on the dismount and Carolyn had an extra “flip” at some point that made her routine a bit more difficult. Andrew was a good sport about the loss. 


A score of 9.9 from Uncle Tom

Doing his thing....look at those pointed toes!

Score of 9.85 (we were cracking up at their routines!)

Next, they did a synchronized routine with the chairs and I was actually impressed with how well they did - it was clearly practiced/planned. They used each others’ legs to push against one another to spin around and they had clapping movements that were well synched. Tom gave it a 10.0 and they were both ecstatic!


Their doubles routine

A perfect 10 for their doubles routine! 

 It was a fun/funny end to the evening and then we all headed upstairs for dessert - ice cream with homemade fudge/brownies (drooling as I type!!). Matthew got really upset that he didn’t get a chance to do his “tricks” but no one knew he wanted to do anything before we headed upstairs. Uncle Tom tried to console him and say he wanted to see his tricks but by this time Matthew didn’t want to do it anymore. 


The ice cream was fantastic - the fudge was made by one of Rosie’s friend’s daughters just for our visit. We even got to take a jar with us - it was SO good!! 


Enjoying dessert

We got the kids to bed and then had another evening of just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company. Before we knew it was midnight and we had to get to bed for our drive the next morning. It’s always sad when we know our visit is almost over, but we truly had such a great time spending quality time with Michael’s family in Peoria. We were welcomed with open arms by everyone, and we are so grateful for all the time everyone took out of their schedule to see us. A big thanks to Tom and Rosie for hosting us and letting us leave with a few treasured items - the ballet recital dress, the jewelry, the hot fudge (and letting us leave without Winston - haha!). 


Next stop - Ark Encounter in Kentucky and then HOME!!