roadtrip part 4

The last leg of our trip was to Okoboji, IA where we had our annual family reunion. We spent a couple days at a lake house with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, brother, sister, and their families. Something special about this year's family reunion was I got to meet two new family members - my cousin's baby, and my other cousin's fiance. The weather was a bit chilly for beach and lake activities, but the kids had fun on the playgrounds with their cousins. After the family reunion, we stayed a few more days at my brother's mother-in-law's cabin on the same lake. Fortunately, the weather warmed up a bit. Turns out, Lydia loves roller coasters!

Seven cousins on a slide!

Brett had fun driving Uncle Dave's boat!

roadtrip part 3

From Grandpa's farm, we went back and spent a few days with my parents. We went to the children's museum and the zoo. At the museum, the kids liked the water play area, the hot air balloon, the large light-up floor piano, and the balls.At the zoo, the kids enjoyed the animal museum, feeding the goats, and the playground.
My favorite part was riding the camel with Brett!

roadtrip part 2

We arrived at Grandpa's farm on Sunday afternoon, which turned out to be the only nice-weather day while we were there. We had a nice visit, but there's just not much for toddlers to do on a farm in rural South Dakota when it's rainy. All the fun is outdoors at the farm! The kids were troopers and stayed busy with the few toys I had brought along.They also enjoyed Grandpa's dogs. Reggie, in particular, liked giving them kisses. By Monday afternoon, the dogs were ready for us to leave!

There was a break in the rain, so I pushed the kids around in a wheel barrel.During the 2 days we were there, it rained 7 inches. They had already had a lot of rain and flooding in the area. I took this picture in my car the day we left. It was taken on the road in front of Grandpa's house- you can see Grandpa's car driving through the water ahead of me.

roadtrip part 1

I'm going to break our trip up into multiple posts.

Our first day on the road, we traveled to my parent's. They manage an RV park and stay at the campground during the summer months. Along the way, we stopped at a rest area for a picnic. This ended up being a memorable stop because we had some uninvited guests. Lydia is now terrified of all bugs and Reggie is constantly saying, "My ouchie a bee-bug!", which means "I got bit by a bug."Once we arrived at the campground, Grandma gave the kids a ride in what they call the "tractor".A family staying at the campground heard we were coming and invited us to their 3-yr-old's birthday party. The kids had a lot of fun in the bounce houses and arcade. Lydia liked the bubbles the best, Brett loved the pizza and cake, and Reggie kept snatching balls from various games.

Grandpa gave the kids rides on the golf cart, too. He even let them "drive". That night, Reggie stayed in the camper with G'ma and G'pa and Brett and Lydia and I slept in a tent.The next day was Father's Day, so I got to take my Dad out to lunch. Then we loaded up the car and headed for Grandpa's farm...