First Family Vacation!

Last weekend Rick, Natalie and I went on our first vacation as a family of three!  Earlier this summer I had the urge to stay in a log cabin in northeast Iowa--I wanted to spend time outside but didn't want to camp with a toddler.  I'll spare you the terrible details of the bad property manager, but the cabin was exactly what I was hoping for.  The cabin was in a development with other cabins, but it was secluded enough that I forgot there were others around.  Most of the cabin was open but there was a separate side room which was perfect--we put Natalie in the room with the door so she could take naps and sleep while we still milled around the rest of the cabin.  I loved the decor too.  It was perfect!

There were two beds in the loft

It had a small but full kitchen

Great screened porch!

Hunters Hollow Cabin

 We arrived on Friday and after unpacking, eating some lunch, and Natalie's nap, we headed to the Effigy Mounds.  These mounds were built by Native Americans hundreds of years ago in the shapes of birds,bears, lines, and circles.  We stopped first at the very nice visitor's center and then headed out for a hike to see the mounds.  I took my backpack to carry Natalie and although she fought it initially ("Nanny walk!") she likes being in the pack and the first half mile of that trail was pretty steep.  We did let her get down and walk when the trail flattened out.  She probably walked over half a mile--girlfriend loves to walk and loves to be outside!

 Somehow I didn't get any pictures of the mounds themselves, but we did get a lot of shots of the Mississippi River.  Natalie loved the river.  "More water!  More water!"  Every day she asked to see more water.  Every time she saw it she would point and get so excited.  I love that she loves to be outdoors so much.  She is her mama's girl.

Mississippi River

Natalie loves riding with Mommy

 Friday after we finished hiking in the Effigy park, we drove around the area.  We were actually staying near Harper's Ferry so we drove through Marquette, McGregor, and Prairie du Chein to get the lay of the land.  Friday night we had hotdogs over the fire and turned in early when a storm chased us inside.

 Saturday morning we woke up relatively early and after a pancake breakfast headed to Pike's Peak State Park.  Natalie once again was ecstatic to see the Mississippi River, and also wanted to do all of the walking.  We got there fairly early so we had the park mostly to ourselves.

 We went hiking at Pike's as well, and saw a (pretty unimpressive) waterfall and another Effigy mound.  We also saw a deer or two and Natalie was very excited to see them as well.  She kept asking to see more of them as though I could control the woodland creatures.  Silly girl.

 We finished our hiking pretty early on Saturday and headed into Prairie du Chein to Cabela's.  Natalie had learned the word "waterfall" earlier in the day and got really excited to see a waterfall in the store and kept pointing and shouting about the waterfall (which was much more impressive than the one we saw in the park).  We hit a quick lunch in town and then headed back out to the cabin to relax Saturday afternoon.

 After Natalie's nap she had a great time running around the property.  She just loved playing on the deck and running around the house.  Saturday night we went to eat at a local supper club which was perhaps the most stressful part of our weekend.  Oh well.

 We finished Saturday evening by having s'mores around a campfire.  It was the perfect way to finish our perfect weekend!

Sunday morning we packed up and headed home.  It was a very successful first vacation together and it was exactly what I needed.  I read a bunch of magazines I was behind on and actually relaxed and spent some quality time with my family.  Natalie was in a pretty good mood all weekend (I think partially because she loved what we were doing so much) so she made for a good vacationer.  She didn't love being in the car, but she did sleep really well so I'll take it!  First family vacation in the books!