Dear Hazel (age 4)

My dear sweet Hazel – they say that the time flies and maybe it’s because you are our second…or maybe it’s because you are our last…whatever the case, I feel like another year has passed us in the blink of an eye and it’s all I can do to try and soak up every moment and remember as much as I can!  You’ve grown up and changed so much this year.  I feel like 3 is when you transition from being a little kid into becoming your own real person and when I look back over the last year I can say one thing for certain and it’s that you have a LOT of personality.

Favorite Toy: Baby dolls are still pretty high up on the list, but this year you’ve found new fascination with rocks!  You stinking love them.  You’ll pick up rocks just about anywhere you can and you’ll lug them around with you for days!  You have rocks in your bed and rocks in just about any nook and cranny you can hide them.  You pick up buckets of gravel at the house and for a LONG time there you wouldn’t even leave Brenda’s house for the day without grabbing a rock for her flower bed outside the door.  People know you love rocks SO much that they give them to you as gifts.  Auntie got you a bag of fancy rocks for Christmas, both Grandpa and Grandma/Papa brought you rocks back from their recent trips…when we gave you $20 to spend on vacation, you chose a bag of rocks!  It’s funniest, quirkiest thing!  Who knows, maybe you’ll turn out to be a geologist one day!

I am so thankful I was able to gather so many sweet photos of you for this post.  I can’t remember what age it was for Abby but you are certainly in the “I don’t want to look at the camera” phase these days.  It’s rare for me to get a real true smile out of you…either you refuse to look at the camera or you make a silly face.  I just have to love this moment for what it is…an expression of your personality and a moment in time that will surely pass.  I’ll cherish these crazy dazy photos of you just as much as the sweet smiling ones!

Some firsts this year:

• Big girl bed:  Yep!  You got a big upgrade earlier this year when we upgraded you into a real big girl bed!  And, we didn’t just get you a big bed, we got you a giant bunk bed situation with a full size bed on the bottom, a full set of stairs and a twin bed up top.  While I think that novelty of the whole things is finally starting to wear off I’d guess that you and Abby sleep together up in your room about half of the time.  I think it’s sweet that you two enjoy hanging out together and I also love that sleeping in the same space isn’t new anymore – it makes camping trips and traveling so much easier when sleeping in the same room is just sort of the norm!
• Big girl bike:  You got your very own big girl bike for your birthday from Grandma and Papa and you’ve taken to it like a fish to water.  You are really very good at it and you are not afraid to try it at all.  It came complete with handlebar streamers and a little baby doll holder in the back, but the cherry on top is definitely the Minnie Mouse helmet with ears!  You are adorable on your little bike and I honestly think that with just a tiny bit of coaxing you could be full on riding without training wheels by the end of the summer!
• Gymnastics and Ballet: This year we decided to try out some new activities in addition to the swim lessons we’ve been doing for over 2.5 years.  You were great at both Gymnastics and Ballet and while I think your preference (and personality) probably lend toward gymnastics I think you were also really good at ballet.  It was fun to watch you try new things, take direction and to see little peeks of those things show up in our everyday life.  I love your little plies and all of the dance moves you bust out when we have family dance parties. 
• Brushing your own teeth:  It seems like a little thing, but over this year as you’ve gone from 3 to almost 4, I’ve been trying not to mourn the end of the “firsts” and instead try to celebrate the independence (both for you and for me!).  You certainly aren’t a baby anymore and you grow more each day.  Sometimes that leaves me sad for what’s ended, but also happy for what’s ahead.  As silly as brushing your own teeth sounds, it means a few more minutes of time for me to do things in the more…one more thing I can say “go do…” to and then you and Abby both come back ready for the next thing.

Bears or Packers?  This is a funny one.  I’d have to admit that you’d likely pull a Bears t-shirt out of your drawer before you’d grab a Packers one but what makes me laugh the most is when you say “Me and Daddy like the Packers”.  I mean, I just can’t help but encourage that one!  So, for now I’ll just continue encouraging you and not correct you when you say you and Daddy like the Packers.  I just quickly say “me too baby, me too” and try to stifle my smile.  

Favorite TV show:  This is another hard one because I’d have to say that for the most part, you just don’t get to pick!  We don’t watch too much TV at home…just a few minutes in the morning when you wake up…and less than an hour at night before bedtime.  I refuse to record kids shows on the DVR because honey, ain’t nobody got time to be running the remote for you!  So for the most part you guys just get stuck with whatever is on Disney Junior.  But, that being said, when you do have iPad time in the car on long trips you will often pick Sophia the First or Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  I can’t tell if that’s because you like them….or because it’s what’s available.  HAHA!

Favorite Food: You will try many more things than Abby ever did!  And, you like just about everything.  You’ll willingly eat asparagus, green beans, spring rolls (you love them).  You like all fruits and you’ll even try things like sushi or fish and I’d say more often than not you’ll ask for more!  You’ve eaten morel mushrooms, shrimp, guacamole, grapes with seeds, and so many more things than I can list!  When it comes to favorites I think sometimes your favorites are clouded by Abby and what she says are HER favorite things.  Sometimes it’s you wanting to be just like her, others it’s that she’s louder, or that you give in more easily so while I’m having a hard time saying what you’d pick as a favorite all on your own, I can say that you love Daddy Mac and Cheese (Velveeta…yuck!), oatmeal (also, yuck!), chicken nuggets and corn dogs.  But, all that said, you are the best eater between you and Abby, you are almost always first to finish your plate and you rarely say you WON’T eat something.  And, you love a good sprinkle donut....I mean, who doesn't!?!

You can be the sweetest cutest little girl but you aren’t without a naughty side!  I have a bad feeling you’re going to be the one to test the rules, the one to push the boundaries and the one to see just what we’re made of as parents!  Three has been the age where you test me and the rules.  For example, I’ll see you screwing around on the couch and I’ll say “couches are for…” and you’ll finish my sentence “butts” but then you’ll go right along on your merry way bouncing on the cushions and jumping your way across the couch.  Or, you’ll ask for a snack (minutes before dinner) and when I say “no ma’am we’re eating diner in 10 minutes” you’ll calmly walk over to the fridge and start helping yourself.  For Abby rules were meant to help give her guide-rails through the day…for you, you think rules were meant to be broken!  But, that’s not to say that you aren’t the sweetest most loving kid.  You are much more of a snuggler than Abby ever was and I’d contest to this day that you give the very best hugs!  You grab hold tight with both your arms and squeeze has hard as your little muscles will let you – and in that moment I want to freeze time and just stay that way forever.  

Favorite Outfit:  Boy oh boy, do you have opinions about what you wear these days!  I’d say it was sometime later winter/early spring and you came downstairs for the morning fully dressed in a dress, tights, shorts, a skirt, dress shoes and a sweater (see picture above) and that’s basically become your uniform these days.  Even now, in the middle of summer you refuse to wear anything other than a dress with tights and a skirt underneath.  And these dress shoes!  Boy do you love dress shoes (with heels!).  Those princess Belle shoes looks like they’ve been through the war and no matter how hard I try to convince you to wear more seasonally appropriate footwear, this is most often your choice (about 80% of the time they are on the wrong feet too!).  In clothing choices you are nothing like your sister who at nearly age 7 still lets me pick out her clothes on most days and has literally zero opinions about the clothes I buy for her.  You make up with it for enough of your own opinions for two!

Nicknames:

• “My best cleaner” – You really are my best cleaner!  And, I’ve found that you are most motivated by praise.  I’m far better off praising you to try and change your actions than to threaten or punish.  You are notoriously a collector of things!  You love anything tiny, rocks, scraps of paper, Hatchimals, Shopkins…anything you can squirrel away in a tiny box or bag.  Well, when we switched you out of the crib earlier this year and into a big girl bed you stacked your bed high with all your favorite things.  There was so much stuff in your bed I don’t even know how you found room to sleep in there yourself.  And that’s when I found out what a great cleaner you where!  One day I was talking to you about how you were the best cleaner and how you cleaned better than anyone in the house.  You disappeared into your room for an hour and when I came up your bed was empty and your room was clean! ( I mean, there were a lot of piles of junk hidden under/inside of things…but for the most part, we’d had a breakthrough).  You love to help (more than Abby ever did at this age) and you really are a great sweeper.  You’ll push the Swiffer, wipe down baseboards and walls, run the little hand vacuum, and even clean the toilets.  A little encouragement goes a long way with you and mostly I think you just want to be included and to help!
• “Hiker Hazel” – you came up with this one yourself on our recent family camping trip.  After hiking two miles with a backpack full of rocks on your back you became the self-proclaimed Hiker Hazel and boy did you deserve it!  I hope you continue to like hiking as much as we do!  Now we just have to get Abby and her Disney Legs up to speed and we’ll be set!
• Franny – you will forever and ever be my Franny or my Fran.  It’s funny because I don’t even realize I call you that anymore and I have to be sure to explain when we have new people around (like teachers or coaches).  Hazel doesn’t translate into Franny without some explanation so I have to remember to clue others in!

A sweet story about you:  On our recent camping trip to Kentucky you decided that you LOVE dogs.  I mean, we have two of our very own dogs at home.  And, you and Copper had a hate/hate relationship for a long time.  He was just too big for you and a little too wild and you were the only one in the house he was bigger than, so he pushed you around a lot. I get it!  But, on this camping trip, you decided you were a dog lover and you'd bravely walk up to anyone and just start petting their dogs.  We quickly did some training and explained that not all dogs were friendly and that you needed to ask if you could pet a stranger's dog.  So you came up with this line: "Hi, I'm Hazel, can I pet your dog?"  Imagine it all squished together has you ran up with your hands out, barely waiting long enough for them to answer.  This little story tells so much about your personality.  You aren't shy, you are brave and you know what you want!  You'll go far baby girl, you'll go far!

Favorite Movie:  Last year your answer was Moana hands down, with Sing as very close second.  This year it’s a little harder – you’re very content to just let Abby pick the movie whenever we’re sitting down together to watch a movie as a family.  But, if you have your iPad it’s likely that you are watching Frozen.  Though, I’d have to say 101 Dalmatians and Secret Life of Pets might be pretty close up there!

Fears: Baby girl, you are fearless!  In fact, both your swim coach and Brenda told me that in exactly those words - “She has no fear!”  Whether it’s riding your bike, or picking up worms, you sure can roll with the punches.  You fall down and get right back up (usually without a tear).  You fell off the swings the other day and Daddy picked you right up, dusted you off and you were back to swinging in no time flat!  You’ll try just about anything, you’re always ready to go on an adventure…..you are strong, and tough and willing to just give it a shot.  I think that attitude will take you far in life, so I hope this is a trait that sticks around!  

Favorite Color: I think you’d say that your favorite color is purple though, lately, whenever I ask you you say something like “my first favorite color is purple by my other favorite is (insert color of the day).  HA!  I guess it’s hard to say?!  For now, I’ll go with purple!

Height/Weight:  33 lbs and 39 inches.

So my sweet girl.  Another year, another birthday, more milestones and so many hopes and dreams for you.  We love you to the end of the earth and back and we can't wait to see where you go and who you become.  Happy 4th birthday, Fran!

Kentucky Camping Part 3 - Red River Gorge

The Red River Gorge area (in the Danial Boone National Forest) was maybe my personal favorite of all our stops.  It's hard to say if that's because it was so beautiful there, or if it was because the weather finally turned for us when we got to Red River Gorge and we were finally past the rain!  It's hard to argue that sunny, blue skies and warm days don't sway your opinion of a place.  Either way, RRG was beautiful and it's a place I think we'll return some day for sure.

This area is known for it's natural bridges.  It's has that largest concentration of them in the US (and maybe even the world?) and it's also a huge rock climbing destination.  We stayed at Natural Bridge State Resort Park and while the name turned me off initially - I rarely go for campgrounds that have the word "resort" in them....they are usually a little too "Jellystoney" for our liking - we were actually really really happy with the campground and our sites.  Our campground was located right along a tiny off shoot of the Red River and our sites backed right up to a shallow creek that the kids had HOURS of fun playing in.

In fact, after talking with a few other campers it sounded like our three sites were the most sought after sites in the whole park.  Families that had stumbled on this campground had returned year after year because the kids always had so much fun in the creek.  Some of the older kids were even jumping off a huge rock right behind our camper.  The river was about 6 feet deep there, just deep enough to jump in feet first cannon ball style. 

Located right within the campground park was one of the largest Natural Bridges just a short half mile hike from the lodge.  What they didn't tell you, was that that short hike was .5 miles uphill!  Friday morning (our first full day) at RRG, we took the kids to paint snakes at the nature center...they decided to love snakes on this trip...!  After our snake painting adventure wee decided to hike up and see what that Natural Bridge was all about.  It was honestly so cool!!  The three pictures above give you a sense of what it looked like.  A huge stone bridge that was strong enough (and wide enough) for you to walk on top!  Getting up and around the back side wasn't easy though!  You had to squeeze yourself through (aptly named) Fat Man's Misery a natural crack in the rock.  It wasn't even wide enough for me to fit my shoulders in straight...you sort of had to shuffle along sideways to get through and it wasn't a short spot either! I bet the tunnel it created was maybe 150-200 feet long.  The kids loved it!

RRG was where Hazel nicknamed herself Hiker Hazel....a name she genuinely deserves!  She hiked straight up with us and straight back down covering probably about 2 miles that first day there and she didn't whine a bit!  It wasn't until we'd reached the last 5 minutes or so of the hike that she finally looked up at Ryan and said "Daddy, can you carry me, I'm tried".  Man did she sleep great that night though!!

It was honestly so pretty in this area of the world!  On Saturday we loaded up into two cars (Liz and Bobby joined us again on Friday evening) and drove the scenic byway through the Red River Gorge.  It was so cool!  There are tons of back country backpacking opportunities in the area and more hikes that you could do in a summer to be sure!  The roads getting around were a bit treacherous (to say the least).  Barely large enough to fit two cars, with no shoulder on either side and winding switch-backing turns I was glad that Ryan was driving and I was glad when we finally arrived at our lunch destination!  The roads made me so sick!  I'm going to have to start packing nausea meds for any trips I think!  It's getting worse the older I get...blah!  Guess Ryan will be the fun Dad that gets to take the kids to the water parks and amusement parks from now on...I'm just a hot mess in those places these days!

After exploring by car we grabbed lunch and well deserved beers at a local restaurant and went back to the campground to rest and regroup.  Since it was our very last day of vacation, we ditched the kids with my parents for a few hours and did a second round of hiking with Liz and Bobby.  We basically hiked the same hike we'd done the previous day with the kids and my parents but we extended the hike and saw some new areas we hadn't seen yet. 

Honestly, the hiking in this area was amazing!  I think we've all agreed that this is a spot we'd come again.  Between the beautiful scenery, the lack of bugs, the great weather and the hikes we had a great time in the RRG and in Kentucky in general.  I feel like I've asked lots of people if they'd ever vacationed in Kentucky before and it seems like it might be a bit of a hidden gem (at least from people in the Chicago area).  Most people look at me like "what is there to do in Kentucky" when I told them that's where we were going.  So, if you haven't considered it before, I'd highly recommend it.  At around an 8 hour drive it's totally doable for a long one day of driving (even with little kids) and we found that there was SO much to do and see there.

So, on that note I'll leave you with a few more pictures from our trip!  The views were amazing, but the people we were with made the trip!  Enjoy!

1 Family x 12 (June)

Our family photo for June!  It was hard to pick for this month.  Vacation brought lots of opportunities for us to get together and smile for the camera.  But, I picked this one because Hazel's face makes me laugh and I just can't help but loving this one!

Kentucky Camping Part 2 - Cumberland Gap

Monday we packed up camp and drove about 3 hours east to the Cumberland Gap.  The Cumberland Gap is the area pioneers crossed through the mountains as they moved westward.  While in the Cumberland Gap we camped right within the National Park at a campground called the Wilderness Road Campground.  It was by far the riskiest camping we've ever done because this campground did not accept reservations.  It's first come first serve for 44 electric sites and 90 some non-electric sites. 

Knowing we would be 10+ hours away from home without a for sure place to stop, I planned the trip so we'd arrive on a Monday figuring of all days, that would probably be the least busy for the week.  I was right and I had nothing to worry about!  There were probably less than 20 campers in the entire park when we arrived Monday afternoon.  We basically had the place to ourselves!  It was another great campground.  We spent Monday getting our bearing straight and figuring out where things were an what we'd want to do in the area.  And, we made a stop at the gift shop so we could stamp our National Park books and the kids could pester us about stuffed animals and other souvenirs they NEEDED!

Tuesday we hiked to the Cumberland Gap, went to Pinnacle Outlook, and a few other sites/hikes in the area.  One of the most interesting things about visiting the Cumberland Gap (at least for me) was how they presented information and kept people engaged at the visitors centers and signs.  At the Gap they poured concrete on the sidewalks and under a bridge.  While the concrete was still wet they used horse shoes, kids bare feet, adult shoes, dog foot prints and wagon wheel ruts to create the image of people passing through.  Then while you stood under the bridge reading signs that talked about the area, the people and how the Gap came to be formed and used they even piped in sounds of people and animals crossing around you.  If you closed your eyes you could imagine yourself picking up your family and all of your belongings and moving across the country through this very spot.  It was eerie and cool at the same time!

The Cumberland Gap is actually located in the very corner of Kentucky and from the Pinnacle Overlook you can see three states, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.  One bonus of the campground we picked is that it was actually located in Virginia meaning during this trip we got to knock off THREE stamps in our National Passport books and TWO states on the side of our camper.  See...I told you I was motivated by stickers.  We have a map of the US on the side of our camper and we fill in the states we've camped in.  Our rule is that in order to put a new sticker on we must sleep in the camper in the state.  So, that means we can't just drive through...and we can't count states we haven't camped in.  Living by those rules it sure will be hard for us to check off places like Hawaii and Alaska but it gives us something to dream about!

The Overlook (above) was really pretty cool.  There was a switchback road that weaved us back and forth up the side of the mountain to get to the top.  Once up there you could see all three states and a big tunnel we drove through.  The tunnel was constructed in the 90's to help preserve the Gap and to more efficiently move traffic through the area.  The tunnel was about a mile long and the kids really enjoyed the novelty of driving through it.

Tuesday, our final day in the Gap was rainy and cool in the morning.  We used the opportunity to go to Walmart and stock up on things we needed for the remainder of the trip.  Which, included Hazel's birthday present, a BIG GIRL BIKE!!!  Ryan decided that the summer of 2019 would be the summer Abby learned to ride her bike without training wheels.  Ever since the summer of her 4th birthday when Abby rolled down a slight incline for about 10 feet before bumping into a fence, Abby has been terrified of riding her bike.  Last summer we had a glimmer of hope when she'd at least TRY getting on and riding.  But 2019 is the year.  So, as most things go with Hazel, as soon as Abby's doing it, she wants to too.  So, enter a big kid bike for Fran.  And, boy let me tell you what!  I honestly thing she'll be riding without training wheels this summer too.  In fact, she might actually beat Abby to it, which, I can't tell if that will motivate Abby, or piss her off!  HAHAH!

I can't believe I don't have any pictures of Abby on her bike!  I have videos but those don't upload well her and they definitely don't print out on the blog.  So...I'll just tell you about it.  While in the Cumberland Gap I'd say that Abby had her first real breakthrough with riding.  After Ryan ran beside her for countless tries, and lots of shrieks and screams, along with the promise of $20 from both me AND my Dad, I think she might finally have broken through her fears.  She certainly isn't itching to ride, and every time we ask her to try there is lots of whining and concern, but just a few days ago she rode without Ryan holding her through the grass in the backyard.  I think I'll forever remember the Cumberland Gap as the place Abby learned to ride a bike.

Kentucky Camping Part 1 - Mammoth Cave Area

We're fresh off the heels of vacation and while I'm often SLOW to get pictures uploaded and then downloaded and stories written, I'm going to try to get these most recent posts out in a timely manner!  First up, Mammoth Cave.  Or, maybe I should back up...to how we landed on Kentucky in the first place.

It seems like we've gotten into a rhythm of sorts with vacations.  One year we do a big flying trip where we end up staying in a hotel or AirBnB and the next we haul the camper on a long road trip.  Last year was the Outer Banks with the Ritterbusch family (we drove....but we didn't camp) so this year camping was up!  We first started talking with our camper friends back in the fall of last year feeling out who would be up for a big road trip and where we'd want to try to go.  I decided that 8 hours was the general circumference around Chicago that we'd be willing to drive so I grabbed a map and did some research.  We had three options.  Back to the UP/Northern Wisconsin (we always love it there and can always find new places to explore), Missouri (to visit the Ozarks and some Little House on the Prairie sites, or Kentucky.  Liz and Bobby decided they were up for a big week long camping trip so we landed on Kentucky (closer to home for them) and I started planning.

There were three main areas we decided to stay.  After years of doing this long trips I've figured out a formula that works for us.  Schedule enough spots to keep things interesting and get a feel for the area but be sure to stay in one spot long enough to really get to explore and not feel like your days revolve around driving and setting up/tearing down.  So, for us, 9 days and 3 stops works out to be just about perfect.  The three areas we decided on were Mammoth Cave, the Cumberland Gap and Red River Gorge.  It would be a lie to say that the fact that Mammoth Cave and the Cumberland Gap being National Parks/Historic areas didn't fuel our travel plans.  Last year when we were in the Outer Banks we bought a National Parks stamp book and we've been on a stamp collecting mission ever since :)

Anyways...back to our trip.  Up first was Mammoth Cave.  Ryan, the kids and I all loaded up early on Friday  morning (about 6 am) and we made the 8 hour drive down to Mammoth Cave.  My parents joined us a few hours later (hot on the heels of their own 3 week camping trip out east), and Liz and Bobby joined that same night too.  For once the McGrath's were the first ones there and welcoming the rest of the group with cold beers and food (this never happens....we're always coming in HOT at the last minute).

We didn't stay right within the national park - all of the camp sites there are non-electric and we preferred to have all of our creature comforts.  We're camping but we're NOT roughing it!  We made a smoked ham and ribs for god's sake.  We were NOT roughing it!  I found a state campground about 20 minutes away (thanks to a ferry...more on that later)....called Nolin Lake that turned out to be perfect.  It was quiet, not crowded, close to the park and had electric sites.  Long story short...it fit the bill so I booked it for 3 nights.

Saturday morning we got up, ate a quick breakfast and figured we'd get on the road to find the park.  As with all our camping trips, directions, GPS and cell service always seem to be a trouble so at least at this point I know to plan that things will take longer than they should.  The night before Ryan and I read a sign in the park that said there was a ferry nearby but that cars over 16 feet wouldn't be allowed on.  All three of our vehicle are longer than that so we figured we'd need to avoid the ferry (wherever it was...).  Well, I wasn't the least bit surprised when the GPS pointed us STRAIGHT to the ferry.  This isn't the first time it's sent us on one!  (STUPID THING!)  Anyways, we figured we were committed by the time we figured that out so we continued on the route it gave us and we were so happy to find out that we didn't have a single issue with the ferry whatsoever.  It was an interesting setup...just a small flat boat of sorts, long enough to fit two cars that went across a relatively small river.  Why they just didn't build a bridge is beyond me...but who am I to say!  We didn't even have to wait in line!  Two trips back and forth and our three cars were across and ready to explore the park.

Luckily somewhere along the way I found out that you need to book your tour of the cave far in advance.  Most tours are fully booked day of so booking in advance is a must if you ever want to visit.  We picked a short enough and easy enough tour that the kids could come to.  It was called Domes and Drip stones (there are probably 30 tours to choose from) and lasted about 2.5 hours.  That was about as long as the kids attention lasted anyways and distance wise it was perfect.  Under 1.5 miles if I remember right.  If we didn't have the kids with us we might have tried some of the longer, more adventurous tours, but this one worked out perfect for us.

The cave was really interesting to explore and we all learned a lot.  Mammoth Cave is named that because it's the largest cave system in the world!  Over 500 miles of cave all within 7 square miles of space.  Inside (at least on our tour) it was really well lit so you could admire all of the cool formations of the cave and we learned that the railings and stairs within were built in the 80's!  I'll skip the rest of the history, I'm sure you can read about it on millions of websites but the McGrath's give the cave and tours 2 thumbs up (even for little kids).

Turns out Liz accepted a new job just a few weeks before our trip.  Our original plan was that they'd be with us for the full week but because Liz didn't have a lot of vacation time accrued yet they ended up leave on Sunday morning and we spent the next leg of the trip with my parents.  Liz and Bobby joined on the last leg the following weekend (so you'll see more of them in later posts!).

Sunday we took a small drive north to visit the birthplace of Abraham Lincoln.  Thankfully my Dad spotted the third and final stamp possibility in our National Park book and we were less than an hour away so we made a side trip (unplanned) to check another stamp off the list!  I love a good list!!  And a sticker...who doesn't love getting a sticker?!?!

This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip!  Man I love these people so dang much!!!

It's funny because if we weren't on this new found quest for stamps and stickers I can pretty much guarantee that we'd have never known this place existed and we'd likely have never made the journey...but I'm glad we did!  In the 90's (if I remember right) the state of Kentucky built this huge monument on the birth site of Abraham Lincoln.  Inside it stands a replica of the house he may (or may not) have grown up in.  HA!  They weren't totally definitive about that part.

The last thing we did while in the Mammoth Cave area was visit a brewery in Elizabeth's town called Flywheel.  I don't have any pictures of that, so I'll leave you with some cute pictures of Hazel instead!  Up next, our adventures in the Cumberland Gap!

OH!  The bugs!  So, probably the thing that surprised us the MOST about camping in Kentucky was the lack of bugs.  There wasn't a single mosquito the entire trip!  If you're from around here, you know that the mosquitoes basically eat you alive here from June through October...so it sure was nice to be bug free.  In fact, we got so used to it that we often just left the doors to the camper wide open while we were around.  Who needs screens if there are no bug!  But, you know what they did have?  Lightening bugs, inch worms, snakes, worms, minnows, crayfish and all sorts of crawlies that the kids surprisingly loved!