Road trip!

Last week, the kids and I and Grandma H packed our bags and drove to the Midwest. I had a two-day meeting in Des Moines so the rest of my traveling companions swam in the pool and played in the hotel room (true story - they liked just hanging out in the room, playing with toys and being somewhere new.  I love that they are still at that age).  After the meeting ended on Wednesday, we drove a few hours north to visit the Dunlap side of the family in Minnesota.  While I had been in my last meeting that afternoon - this happened: 

 

The First Lost Tooth! 

According to the witnesses, they were at a local swim park, splashing around and Will walked up to Grandma with his tooth in his hand.  He just pulled it out himself.  It's been disgustingly loose for a while but I'm so proud that he did it all by himself and with very little drama.  The tooth was one of the two that he was born with so it was tiny which made it difficult for the tooth fairy to find it under the hotel pillow later that night, but it's out! He looks like a real first grader.

 

The rest of the week was spent hanging out with family in Minnesota.  It was a really nice few days.  We spent a fair amount of time on Aunt Mary's porch, blowing bubbles, fighting swords in the backyard and paying close attention to Sammy the Cat (not pictured because all of the photos just show a brown/beige blur as he decides whether or not to stay in one place before the 4-yr finds him again.)



We spent one morning visiting the tiny town where the Dunlap girls grew up.  We stopped at a bakery and ate delicious cupcakes.  It was bizarrely cold.  Minnesota weather is almost weirder than Wyoming weather.  One minute I'm sweating through my shirt while jogging because it's so stinking hot and humid and then the next day I'm wishing that I'd packed jeans and an extra sweatshirt.  Good thing we had chocolate to keep us warm. 

 

One Friday night, the kids attended their first Major League Baseball game.  We watched the Twins play the Royals.  The game started off with a rain delay so we had to kill time taking baseball-like pictures. 

I just told him "Smile for the camera!" and this is what I got. 

Followed by this.  I love the serious baseball face.  "I'm just happy to be here, hope I can help the ball club...." 

And now the sad/serious, I'm-just-holding-a-hot-dog face. I really did say "smile"!!

Rain delay over - and now we are in our seats. 

We didn't last long enough at the game to sing "Take me out to the ballgame" but we sang that enough in the car and in a visit to my uncle who's in the hospital to make up for it. The kids know every word to the song which makes me happy. I think their Great Grandfather Dunlap would've been tickled that their first MLB experience was a Twins game. The last conversation I ever had with him was about the Twins winning the World Series in 1991. I hope he can forgive our National League sympathies today. 

On Saturday night we bid farewell to Minnesota and headed back to Des Moines.  We spent the night and woke everyone up early to head to Omaha for breakfast with the Pauley side of the clan.  We had a nice (but too short) visit and headed home. 

 

There's always enough time to wrestle with cousins! 

The rest of the drive was looooooong and painful at times.  A 4-yr old running on pancakes and syrup, 6 hours of sleep and an 8 hour drive is a bit of challenge.  But we made it home in one piece and we already planning our trip back next summer. 

Who me cause trouble?  Never!