Wildlife Prairie Park

Maybe you have forgotten your first adventure to Wildlife Prairie in the same way I no longer remember mine. But I have idealized what that trip was like as well as the subsequent 50 others that have since followed.

We were headed to Champaign to celebrate Caroline's birthday and decided to take the detour to Peoria to enjoy a bit of nature. The girls 'knew' of Wildlife from the countless stories I've told of my childhood adventures involving everything from eagles to chipmunks. They knew of the famed Gollywhopper slide that had provided countless hours of entertainment for the JABS. Now was their chance to enjoy this magical place...

So, my memory has failed me. It wasn't quite as huge or magnificent as I had remembered. It wasn't as incredible as recalled when the stories of donkeys or Pixie Dust were being retold. The up-keep seemed to have taken a backseat and some of the really awesome points no longer accepted visitors (log cabin & school house). But try to convince my kids it was anything but incredible and you're in for an un-winnable fight.

From bison to eagles, from foxes to wolves, our kids were in paradise. It didn't matter that the bear didn't come out or that the cougar was sleeping. They loved every minute. They fed and petted the sheep and donkeys (Gus even attempted to ride one), they got to watched the bison and caribou eat and they saw the baby squirrels.

But the highlight of the trip was the famed Gollywhopper! Fearlessly they rode, and rode, and rode some more...I made more that 8 trips up the 58 stairs to carry Gus back up to the top. Great Grandpa & Grandma Hoerr watched with the same enjoyment that I assume they watched us grandkids with all those years ago. Thankfully, we saved the train as our last event of the day or we may have never gotten them to leave. Great Grandpa got to co-conduct as we took the quick loop while munching on our rock candy.

A true trip success is when:
1. They beg to go back
2. They pass out in the car before getting to the interstate

Both happened within a matter of 2 minutes after leaving the front entrance!

Bike Riding

Last year Lily learned to ride a bike...sorta. She rode on the Stenger's magic bike. We call it magic because a club-footed elephant could learn to ride on this thing, its that easy!

As spring rolled around, Lily was determined to learn to ride her own bike this time around. It didn't take too long, maybe 3 or 4 days, and she was able to ride fearlessly up and down the block. A day or two later, she learned to turn and now the world is wide open for her. Around and around the block she goes with Maura and Miller girls with some amount of ridiculous, never ending, energy.

Flash forward to Kiki's birthday celebration in Champaign. Hap and Di got her a little 12" bike complete with training wheels and the whole shabazz. She loved it. She petaled as fast as those little tires would take her in her efforts to keep up with Lily and Maura. They graciously slowed down a bit, but Kiki still felt behind.

About a week after getting her bike she brought me some tools. I thought her seat was loose or something needed to be straightened. NOPE. She wanted her training wheels off. Caroline was convinced that she would be able to go faster if she wasn't slowed by her extra wheels and so I took them off.

2.5 days later, she was riding by herself. She could start, stop, and even turn around all by herself. My little girl just wanted to keep up with Lily, and so it begins.