mississippi meandering

With our bellies full of sausages and beer, we all decided to enjoy a walk down by the river. We'd been enjoying the view from the patio at Bier Stube, but it's nice to get out and see the river up close. Thanks to Uncle Robert, Elara even got to touch the water, and of course throw a bunch of rocks in too. After our walk, the boys took off to run some errands, and the girls went to do some fun shopping in LeClaire--they have some really cute little shops, very reminiscent of Downtown Mystic, or Thames Street in Newport--so right up my alley! Even Elara was enjoying going in and out of the stores--she is so my little shopping buddy.  

Distilled

With the arrival of Big Daddy Paul in Iowa, the real "staycation" had started. On the big boys list, was a trip to LeClaire to visit the Mississippi River Distilling Company, and a stop at Bier Stube. Uncle John and Aunt Christine were in town from Colorado, and decided to join us in LeClaire. I'm not sure that I was necessarily invited, but it was my staycation too. :) Luckily Nonna was there to keep Elara entertained at the distillery, because the Peach Liqueur and the River Rose Gin were both delicious! We also ended up with a bottle of the Cody Road Bourbon and a flask. Then we made our way to Bier Stube for german sausages, and beer, of course. Elara was treated to her first french braid, and full access to Aunt Christine's makeup kit.  

Playdough. Anywhere. Anytime.

Zachary was very insistent that we cross off every item from his To-Do list. One of those items was to play play dough with grandpa. Since we weren't sure when he was going to be able to bust himself out of the hospital, we brought the play dough to him there. We snatched up a family room, put down a table cloth, and had a blast. Even Uncle John got in on the play dough action. Then the kids escorted Grandpa around the hall for a little walk. They didn't care that we were at the hospital, they just wanted to see Grandpa, and have a good time--and so they did.

light on light

There are always fun little toys to play with at Nonna and Poppa's. This time it was a pair of Christmas flashlights from who knows how long ago. Maybe it was this past Christmas, or maybe it was years ago, you never know. They played with them as flashlights, then moved on to use them as pretend telephones. Then Zachary joined in, and it became a ticklefest.