Davenport

Last week was spring break! Woohoo! Haha. I wish I was about to start a blog post about some awesomely exciting (and warm) trip we took, but I'm not. We were boring and mostly just hung out at home.  We had big hopes of going on a trip, but we just never came up with anything that sparked our interest enough to make it worth the money.  So our big trip was to Davenport on Tuesday. I know, I know, maybe a little too exciting, we should probably be careful. :) Brennan needed to go there over break to check out St. Ambrose University, so Tatum and I tagged along. We went to a nearby mall while Brennan met with a professor. I knew it would be too early for the stores to be open but at least it would be a warm place to walk around. I had no idea how packed it would be! It was swarming with the elderly! Hello mall walkers. And they were not friendly. I thought Tatum would get lots of smiles and hellos, but that definitely didn't happen. They mostly just acted like we were in their way. It was slightly uncomfortable. Luckily it didn't take Brennan too long to call and then we went and got him and headed to the John Deere Pavilion. Originally we hoped to make a day of it by taking Tatum to the zoo, but since Iowa refuses to recognize the fact that it is spring we went with a warmer option.

I wasn't sure Tatum would really care much for the John Deere Pavilion. A bunch of big tractors didn't seem like something that would entertain her for long but she loved it. She loved climbing into them, twisting the steering wheels, and playing with the little toy ones. It was a lot of fun to watch her. We took a disgusting amount of pictures and although I won't post them all, there will still be a lot. But we all know pictures are the best part of a blog post anyway.

 Playing at the little farm table.

 She makes this face in public a lot. Just taking it all in.

 She tried very hard to pick up those rocks. Couldn't quite understand that they were definitely not moving.

 Something was funny. :)

 I though this picture was funny because we are basically in the same position.

 Trying the simulator with dad. Between the two of us Brennan and I managed to get negative 100. We actually removed dirt from the area we were supposed to be moving it to. Oops.

 This picture is hilarious. You might have to enlarge it to truly appreciate it.

 Such a classic Tatum expression.

 The family in front of the giant combine.

After the John Deere Pavilion we stopped at a few stores and then went to get some food at The Machine Shed. I've been there a few times with my family but Brennan has never experienced it and since it's one of a kind we figured we better go. My favorite thing about this place is that in addition to the crayons and paper that just about every restaurant gives to kids, they also give them a tractor to play with. That tractor entertained Tatum for a lot longer than crayons.

After they brought my water Tatum begged and begged for my lemon. It didn't take her long to change her mind.

 What a cutie.

 On the tractor outside The Shed. It's a little bit older than the ones at the Pavilion.

 Just a couple of corn fed Iowa girls (eh, mom?) standing by a giant ear of corn. :)

So maybe Davenport isn't a super exciting spring break destination, but it was enough to be spending the day as a family doing something out of the ordinary. We had a lot of fun.

When we got home Tatum insisted on helping when Brennan started washing the dishes. So I didn't have to wash or entertain Tatum. Pretty relaxing way to end a good day. :)

 And lastly a picture of Tatum in her St. Patrick's Day dress from last week because it was just so stinkin' cute.