Every rest area in Illinois has a playground. Luckily the one we stopped at for lunch had a nice, new, playground that was perfect for Tyler. Tyler and daddy enjoyed racing each other down the slide.
The first playground we went to was in a neighborhood by my mom's house. They had this nice area that was supposed to be for Tyler's age (seen below). He tried it but decided he like the other side better (see next picture) 
He thought he'd try this slide instead. The biggest slide at the playground! He only went down it once. I think that was enough for him. (He is in front of Dan climbing up the steps)
Playground #2 wasn't as exciting for Tyler. So he decided to swing with Grandma.
Then he got to meet his cousins for the first time. So did I! These are my step-sisters boys. Alex is on the left in the red and Matthew is in the middle. Aren't they adorable? The boys had a lot of fun playing together. It was nice to finally meet them and my step-sisters husband. Of course it was nice to see her again too. =)
Then we went to the zoo in Lafayette. This is the petting zoo part. I thought Tyler would really like it but he didn't seem too interested in petting any animals, just looking.
The day before we left we went to visit my friend from high school, Lissa, and her family. Here is Tyler and her daughter Emma playing. Don't they look really interested in each other?
Well, the car ride home was insanely long. We had to take a detour because of flooding and Tyler became a sobbing/screaming mess. We decided we needed a break from the car and then we realized we were coming up to Dyersville, IA which is the town where the movie Field of Dreams was filmed. We thought it would be fun to stop there and maybe Tyler would tire himself out and fall asleep (it didn't work).
Here they are with the field behind them. It wasn't quite the same effect without the tall corn. You can bring bats and balls and play on the field which is what a family was doing when we got there.
Making a run for first base. You can see the bleachers and the house from the movie in the background.
Running home! Look at that beautiful blue sky we had.
