Minnie’s first trip to Pekin

 Can you believe that Minnie Marigold-- named for the MARIGOLD CAPITOL OF THE WORLD-- has never been to Pekin before?? The only time she has even been to Peoria is the weekend we moved Ben into his college apartment (will this ever not make me laugh? doubtful). Pandemic babies, amiright? No but really it’s terrible that we never go to there, and I am SO GLAD we had a quick visit last weekend and have 2 more scheduled for September.

We mostly drowned in junk food and cocktails, and I shared a few of those pics with no explanation in my last post. But did I show you the potato donut place?

We stayed at Embassy Suites because it was move in weekend at Bradley, and a student apartment seemed…not the best.

Minnie Very Seriously packed for her doll (a $9 Target doll who has supplanted Bitty Baby as her true love)

We went to BU where Dorothy enjoyed the weird campus art. (This is def a vagina, yes?)

LYDIA!!

I love hotels like this one where the room ring a huge lobby because the elevators are usually glass, and I am not claustrophobic in a glass elevator, so I don’t make my family lug everything up the sad interior stairwells.

Dorothy and Coop are old enough to go paddle boating by themselves on the Pekin park lagoon

Minnie and I watched

Spoiler: Coop did most of the peddling. After the ride, he said , “We could have done more teamwork.”

Mineral Springs Park has an excellent playground. It did when I was a kid, too, but it was one of those 1980s metal dangerous sharp hot playgrounds with peddles to cushion your inevitable fall. Now it’s safe but still fun!

Bradley move in day looked fun! And Ben got some great tips!  That I already got from Eau Claire parent FB groups but now he believes them because he saw them with his own eyes! Love that for us!

Dorothy left Ben ALL KINDS of note in his office

We visited my dad’s bench

Unfortunately the lovely river view is… obstructed. But I think there’s a new splash pad coming. My dad and I took the kids to the old splash pad here, so I think he’d approve.

(Not the best view behind the bench either…)

I got all manner of treasures from my mom’s house, including my wedding dress (!!!!!!!), tons of cringey writing from elementary-high school, and a quilt my grandma made for my room at her house that is pieces of all the clothes she made for me when I was a baby/toddler. Can’t wait to show you the murder mystery I wrote in 3rd grade about rival beauty queens that depicts an actual murder (kids could NOT draw/write that at school today w/o a visit from a school counselor and possibly a CPS home check up).

See you soon, Central Illinois!