We've spent the last few days in Illinois and we are planning to drive back this evening.  Its been a great trip so far. 

I spent a lot of time with my kids and family.  I also had time to spend in the woods where I grew up, which always recharges and motivates me.  I learned a few things about my ancestors and had a good time overall.

My son purchased his first electric scooter with his birthday money, inspired by his uncle Troy who had purchased an electric scooter at a garage sale that didn't work.  He rebuilt it and my son had soo much fun on it that he wanted one for himself.  That was a bit of a relief for us as he previously wanted a remote control boat/plane that had terrible reviews.  We were afraide he'd buy the plane and it wouldn't work for more than 10 minutes and his birthday money would be wasted.

My father and I replaced the bearings on the back of my minivan which were definitely in need of being replaced, and we replaced all the brakes while we were at it.

This was good, because I finally learned how to do rear brakes and I'll be able to do them myself again in the future saving me hundreds of dollars.

All in all it was a great trip.  I didn't get to everything I meant to do, but I never do.  That's OK, we plan for a lot and do as much as possible and save some for next time.

Next time, I hope to do some more work on my ancestors.  I learned that one of my great great grandfathers actually heard Abraham Lincoln speak in Springfield Illinois.  That great great grandfather was very influential on my own grandfather and so I gained a new perspective of a connection with both of them.