July 19, 2010

Our Mini-Vacation

Last week a wonderful thing happened. After not going on any trips for two years, we took a mini vacation. It was a whirlwind, to say the least, but it was well worth it.
We visited with family and friends in the Quad Cities (Moline, IL area). Yes, laugh it up. Hubby and I met in the Quad Cities and we now have quadruplets. Keep laughing... the area used to be called the Quint Cities, but apparently East Moline doesn't hold rank any more.
We made the decision to make the 12 hour drive there overnight. It worked out, to an extent. We avoided construction and truckers. We only had to make two stops... one for gas and potty, the other just for potty. Hubby was exhausted when we reached our destination. I was exhausted, too. I managed to sleep in the car... in 10 minute intervals. Every time I would fall asleep I would be awakened by "MOOOOOOM.... are we there, yet?!" Let's just say Wednesday night I fell into a coma very early in the evening and slept for a looooong time.
We only spent two full days in the Quad Cities, but it was nice to visit with family and friends who we don't see very often. We went to the local zoo where we rode the train, rode the carousel, rode the ponies and fed the lorikeets. Our zoo has a lorikeet feeding area, too, but apparently our birds are spoiled. The birds in the Quad Cities acted like they had never been fed, hence the pictures of Hubby covered in lorikeets.
We also had the chance to visit the local children's museum and the John Deere Pavilions, where there are tons of tractors, combines, etc. to climb on. (Moline is the home of John Deere). Oh, and Hubby's friend who is a firefighter gave us a fantastic tour of one of the fire stations, even letting the girls climb on the trucks.
Now it's back to reality...

7 comments:

MaryAnne said...

That lorikeet picture is amazing, and my kids would LOVE a firefighter station tour!

Stephanie Barr said...

Sounds like the best kind of vacation...except for all the driving.

Christina said...

Glad you guys got away. Its nice to get a little refresh!

Quadmama said...

Now I need a vacation to recover from my vacation!

Jacqueline Miller said...

Sounds like fun but makes me tired just reading about it. A 12-hour overnight car trip - wow, you're brave :) Glad you had a nice get-away.

Becky said...

Glad you had a great time. I LOVE the picture of Hubby....the other day when we were there the birds weren't that interested....you must have caught them at meal time. LOL!!!! You forgot to mention WHERE you and hubby were working when you met in the QUAD Cities....such an adorable, great story.... :)

reanbean said...

This post brought back so many wonderful memories for me. I lived in Davenport, Iowa from birth to 18 (except for my kindergarten year when we lived in Moline), and I fondly remember riding that train at the zoo and visiting all of the animals. Kathy Shaboom, the elephant, was one of my favorites, but I don't know if she's still there or not.

T and I took the kids to visit family in Davenport last summer, but they were too young to do any of the kid friendly activities. I'm looking forward to our visit next summer when they will be three and will enjoy doing all of the activities you mentioned.

Glad to hear you had a nice trip! Love the photo with all the birds! :o)

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