Living on the edge

Not really, but let me tell you, the 4th of July weekend was nothing like we expected it to be! We started off the weekend by going to this hot air balloon festival in Lisle, Illinois called Eyes to the Skies because I LOVE hot air balloons, so I dragged Michael there. And it was worth it!

We watched real lumberjacks log race. Apparently this guy is the world champ!

A real live transformer

It was windy, so the balloons were not coming up.  I was so sad, but we waited anyway.  About an hour and a half after it was supposed to start, one started to appear!

I was so excited!

So was Michael!

This guy was one of our favorites

The panda was neat too!

And once it was dark enough, they all started to light up!

They were so neat when they would light up!

And then there were fireworks!

So, we didn't get to ride in one because it was to windy, but I think it was overall a success!

Then my phone had been dead all day, so once we got in the car and turned it on, we found out that Shawna, Val, and Lauren (aunt and cousins) were going to be in Nauvoo that weekend!  So we decided that we would jump in the car the next morning and meet them!

We left bright and early (9 a.m.) and the started driving.  But then we saw the outlets, so we had to stop...

Saw the Mississippi for the first time

We found some great stuff for Michael, and then we were back on our way.  We were a little bummed when we found out that the pageant hadn't started yet... Then we realized Michael didn't have his temple clothes.  Luckily the Nauvoo temple rents clothes, and once we got there, we went straight to the temple.  It was so beautiful, I couldn't even describe it if I tried.  We were much happier once we were inside the temple...

Beautiful Nauvoo temple

The next day we went to Carthage Jail and got to see, and hear about, where the prophet Joseph Smith was and how he spent the last hours of his life. We then went back to Nauvoo and wandered around and saw the sights. 

Walking to the jail

The church always keeps their grounds so beautiful!

Carthage Jail

Little deer running around

Val was looking for turtles and getting eaten by bugs!

Then we found out the Shawna and the kids were going to spend the 4th in St. Louis, so we decided we might as well join them, so we jumped in the car and spent the night in St. Louis! First we went and saw the arch... off the freeway...

Then we saw Busch Stadium, so we stopped to take pictures, then we bought tickets.

We got really good seats... Right behind the Reds dugout. 

Big Mac Land... We thought we could win a Big Mac if we took a picture. No luck.

The Rainbow over the Arch

We bought shirts and were Cardinals fans for the day

We also went to the art museum

And the elevators were HUGE

Michael's rainbow picture is better...

Then we drove home.  We watched fireworks all through Illinois, and we would say it was a VERY successful 4th of July weekend. We love being married, and we love the Midwest! We also love when Michael has 4 day weekends :)