Second Tooth

John, Jr. lost his SECOND tooth today! Okay, don't worry. We'll stop posting the tooth losses from this time forth and forevermore. But I thought he looked so cute with such a gaping hole in his mouth. I am so glad it finally came out because it was literally grossing me out, the things he could do with that thing dangling in his mouth. Seriously, it was beginning to nauseate me. Anyway, these are fun moments in a child's life. He did remind me that we need to put something under his pillow tonight, in exchange for the tooth. I'd rather he keep the tooth, and we keep the money ... :-)

Oops!

In the post below you will see that the pictures are not in order. I uploaded them in the order I wanted them, and lo and behold, they are not in order. Obviously the issue must be with the blogger, not the blogspot. You can probably figure out the order of things, but I will add a couple more pictures for your viewing pleasure, and to probably add to the confusion of things. Sorry about that! This order of pictures turned out weird too. Maybe I need to read some directions somewhere ...

Lock & Dam #19 on the Mississippi River

This week we are in Keokuk, Iowa - where Iowa, Illinois and Missouri meet. We are staying just about 5 miles from the Mississippi River where there is a lock and dam. This is the widest part of the Mississippi River, we read in some literature here. So today we were able to see a barge being pushed through the lock! It was so exciting to see. First they make sure most of the water is drained from the lock. Then they open one side of the gate so the barge can come through. Then the tug pushes the barge through, the gate closes behind them, and the water fills up, which means the barge and tug are raised to the upper level of the river. Then the gate on other side of the lock is opened, and the barge is pushed out of the lock. This may seem like a quick process. It's not. We were there for over 90 minutes watching all this take place. And it was cold. And windy. But that's ok! It was worth it! We got pizza afterwards, so that warmed us up really quick! Here are some pictures of the progression.

Our house in the Fall - Amazing!

As some of you know, we are not home right now. And this is our home. But we have wonderful neighbors who get to enjoy our property more than we do. :-) She took these pictures of the progression of this maple tree (and her sweet daughter) in front of our house. Enjoy!