Towerline Speedway, camping fun, and the State Fair

If you read this post from a while ago (5 years!), you will read about a place called Towerline Speedway.  We thought we'd go there more often, but it actually closed for a few years and just reopened this summer.  Since our kids have never been there, Dad, Katy, and us went for an evening of fun!


Max and Daddy rode together for the first round of Go Karts.

Love my handsome boys! :)

Nora got to ride with Grandpa...don't let her face fool you...she loved it!  Tirzah and I watched from behind the fence, much to her dismay.  She thought it looked pretty fun. :)

After the Go Karts we played a round of mini golf.  Nora's favorite part was the castle, of course, where she could pretend to be a princess.  Here is princess Nora and her knight in shining armor.

After the golfing, Dad, Greg, and Katy all took a turn on the 'slick track' while the kids waited very patiently.  I took some pictures, but it was getting dark and none turned out great.  We had just enough tickets left for Greg and Katy to take Max and Nora on the Go Karts one more time.  This time Max got to ride with Aunt Katy!  (Side note....look back at the post from 5 years ago...Katy wasn't hardly big enough to drive one by herself!!!) :)

Nora got to ride with Daddy in the McD's car.  The kids definitely loved it!

Tirzah was pretty good the whole time since all she could do was walk around and play on the mini golf course.  As we waited for the last round of Go Karts to finish, the light was reflecting in her eyes so gorgeously...I tried to capture it, but this was the best I could do.

 

Towerline Speedway was a hit with our kids...what I might do next time, though, is leave Tirzy with a babysitter and just have the four of us go so I can take someone on the Go Karts, too! :)

 

The weekend after Towerline Speedway, Greg and I wanted to take the kids to the State Fair.  We didn't want to get there too late on Saturday, but knew that we'd have to wake the kids up to leave when we wanted to and that would probably sabotage our day with them.  We decided to camp at the Springfield KOA so we could get there in good time.

We're here!

It was so nice that the campground was only an hour away...the kids did pretty well in the truck.  It helped that we left after lunch, so everyone took a little nap. :)

We knew the campsite had a pool, so we took swimming stuff even though we weren't sure how warm the water would be.  It was definitely chilly at first, but the big kids loved it!

Tirzah, well, she was a different story. :)  I kept her in as long as I could, but to be honest, an hour long nap is not even close to what she needs to be happy.  She was tired, cold, and a little grouchy!

Maybe a lot grouchy. :)  This picture makes me laugh!

I was trying to copy her grouchy face, and of course she had to smile for this picture!

After swimming, it was supper time!  I had made some herb butter earlier in the week, and when Greg couldn't get the grill pan to heat up enough over the fire, we ended up pan frying the steaks on the stove with some of that butter....oh, my, was it ever delicious!!!!

After supper, we decided to use the rest of the campsite's fun stuff.  They have a giant bouncy 'pillow,' kind of like a big trampoline.  Greg took the kids to jump for a while so I could clean up supper dishes.

Jump!

Three cuties.

And if you're wondering if the parents could use it, too....

The answer is yes. :)

After bouncing for a while, we did the very small mini golf course...it was a little rough, but the kids had fun.

Back at the campsite, Greg, Max, and Nora played a game of VeggieTales to wind down before bed.  Eventually, everyone went to sleep and the big kids didn't even wake up Tirzah!

It was so cute how his arm was around Nora.

 

Tirzah, as usual, had an interesting night in the camper. :)  She ended up being awake from like 3 something to 5 something...I don't remember the actual times.  She was not crying or screaming, just awake.  I tried to rock her and eventually just brought her to bed with us.  I think it was too cold for her in the pack n play.  She had on fleece pjs, but her nose and ears were cold.

Three happy campers in the morning!

Max's goofy morning face

We ate breakfast and the kids even helped do dishes. :)

What a great little dish dryer!

When we finally got to the State Fair, the first thing we walked by was the Kids' Safety Town, where you could ride trikes around their little track.  We were early, so there was no line!  I wish I had a picture of the kids doing it.

At the firehouse, Max went down the fire pole a couple of times and loved it.

They had a fire safety house where you go through and at the end there is a room that 'fills with smoke' and you have to go out the window.  I think the kids liked it even though they look pretty worried here. :)  I even went out the window and apparently impressed the guys working the house...I didn't know that going back out the front door was an option!

The kids got ice cream bars to eat while they waited to...

...milk the cow!

Nora actually did better than Max did...she caught on very quickly!

After doing it, they got a coupon for a free milk from the Prairie Farms truck.  Chocolate all around!

We met up with Dad, Mom, and Katy in the chicken barn (which was air conditioned!  Lovely!) and ended up eating lunch with them while we watched some of the harness racing.  The kids were all pretty ready to go at that point, so we headed back to the truck where all 3 tooks naps on the way home...

...even the gecko.