Wisconsin Day Trip

Last week Frank emailed my dad, my mom and me about his exciting discovery: a Civil War museum just over the border in Kenosha, Wisconsin! My dad is a serious Civil War buff but somehow we'd never heard of this place.

Not one to waste time when there's history to learn, Dad suggested a family day trip up there that very weekend. We decided to combine it with a visit to the nearby Jelly Belly factory and museum, which some friends had highly recommended.

The Jelly Belly museum is pretty great. You get to take a ride on this fun little train, wear a hat and eat samples at the end. All free!

We even got to witness some impressive jelly bean mosaics.

After the tour, we hit up the gift shop, which not only had all kinds of Jelly Belly-themed merchandise but also every flavor of jelly bean imaginable.

My favorite part was the "clearance section" where you can buy large amounts of misshapen jelly beans that didn't quite pass inspection.

I feel like I now have a new respect for jelly beans.

Next stop on our tour of adventure was the Civil War museum. It's dedicated to soldiers from the Midwest, especially Wisconsin and Illinois.

If you have a history buff in your family, I strongly recommend this place. My dad absolutely loved it, and we were all impressed with the thoughtfulness and level of detail that went into it. We especially enjoyed the video "Seeing the elephant" which vividly depicted the battle experience.

My favorite part was the gorgeous upstairs library, where the kids (I'm including Frank in that) got to play with Lincoln Logs and dress in period-appropriate costumes.

Their masterpiece

This series of photos cracks me up. We wanted Frank and the kids to pose by this cannon we found, but my brother was REALLY not into it, and my sister was having a little trouble getting ready...

"Wait guys! Wait!"

"Hang on a second!" vs. "Get me out of here."

Yay! They're all looking in the same direction!

"Ok, I'm done."

We had dinner at this great boathouse restaurant—the highlight was their Saturday dinner special of prime rib. Just what this meat-craving pregnant lady needs.

It was a simple little day trip but a lot of fun. We all agreed that we should do more of these. Looking forward to the next one!