Illinois Hawaii Part 9: Final Chapter

This is how we spent the our last two days in Illinois:

We packed up the van, said goodbye to Paca and Teresa, and went to church with Gavin and Kristen in Decatur.

Then we drove to Bloomington-Normal to visit my parents. We went for a walk on the Constitution Trail by their house.

Later in the afternoon, some of us went to a faculty concert at Illinois Wesleyan University. That was where I went to cello camp before my undergrad years.

 Dinner, with aojiso from my parents' backyard:

Monday morning we went to Miller Park in Bloomington. It had a brand new playground and splash pad I had never seen before.

We also walked over by the pond to see the ducks.

Friendship bridge with Asahikawa, Japan:

Lunch:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on VHS:

Dinner:

A feverish Paula:

Mika peeking out of the window that used to be my bedroom:

Roasted corn in the backyard:

Black raspberry ice cream, to finish off our tastings of central Illinois flavors:

I loved black raspberry ice cream growing up. Thank you, Jii and Baachan!

Tuesday morning we hit the road back to Colorado. The kids did a decent amount of sleeping in the car:

And by the end of the trip, Wylie was unbelievably sticky. I think his fingers are literally stuck together in this picture:

Before arriving home, we also collected enough Incredibles toys from McDonalds Happy Meals to represent our family: Mr. Incredible, Mrs. Incredible, three Violets, and a Jack-Jack.

It was great to be back in Colorado after such a huge trip. But it's also so great that Forest and I made it to Kauai. Now that it's been a year, it feels even more like a dream. Dream or not, I don't think I will ever forget it.

Illinois Hawaii Part 8: Champaign-Urbana

The next day was Saturday. We spent it with Grandma in Champaign-Urbana to revisit some old stomping grounds.

First, we drove by the hospital where Ramona was born:

Then we caught a glimpse of our old apartment on Oregon Street--door #2. It looked about the same as it did when we lived there.

After passing The Bread Company, where I used to work . . .

 . . . we made it to the quad.

It hadn't changed too much, either.

I enjoyed watching our kids walk around the place where our story began.

Lunch was at Papa Dels, of course. But the restaurant had outgrown its previous location and was now in a completely new building, which was a bit unsettling.

Still the same delicious deep-dish pizza.

Car nap dominoes:

For dinner we were invited to Gavin and Kristen Stoddard's house back in Decatur. The kids all played together so well in their woodsy backyard.

Ramona pushing Wylie and Gemma on the swing:

Joni and Paula:

Gemma and Wylie sneaking ice cubes from a cooler:

Gemma, Joni, Paula, and Wylie throwing rice everywhere:

Thanks, Gavin and Kristen, for having us over! You are the best!