Trip to Kansas City and Minnesota

Just when we got back in the groove here at home it was time for another round of trips. This time we DROVE (were we crazy) up to Kansas City to visit with my parents and brothers, then headed up to Owatonna to spend time with my dad and his family. Actually, the drives went fabulous and we all made it to our destinations with smiles on our faces. Whewwww!

Kansas City was great...although everyone else thought the weather was miserable, we found it to be quite a relief from our hot, wet, and humid Houston days. Matt and I took advantage by running every morning and playing outside quite a bit with Andrew and Grace. We were able to meet up with our friends Summer and Casey and their two boys Tevan and Luna, as well as my good friend Lisa and her little ones, Macy and Jacob.

Moreover, it was great to be able to spend time with my parents, who took time off to play with the kids and to plan a suprise family birthday party for Andrew. He was truly surprised and thought the skateboarding cake was the greatest!

My brother Kevin was also able to come over most nights and play with Andrew...definitely one of his highlights of our trip. Especially when Kevin would skateboard with him or take him up to the skatepark. He's still talking about it! My other brother Ryan was also able to join us the last weekend we were there (since he started school at KU the previous week) and Andrew enjoyed playing basketball and golf out back with him. Boy does Andrew look up to those two!

As for Grace, she loved playing with her uncles as well, although I think she probably enjoyed petting, teasing, and feeding Shelby and Racheal, (my parents two dogs) more than anything else. Racheal snapped at her fingers a couple of times, but that peristant little girl could have cared less and continued to practically maul her any chance she could. She just loves animals! And every night when we rock before bed, it's Shelby and Racheal Grace talks about.

Then it was back on the road headed north to Owatonna, Minnesota...my birthplace and home to my dad and his entire family. The kids loved playing in Pop's boat, pretending to be fishing for the "big ones". And of course, we can't forget about the infamous gumball machine, which was almost completely wiped out of gumballs by the first night...go figure. Another highlight was the bonfire we had one night. How fun is roasting marshmallows and devouring yummy smore's? Andrew and Grace definitely got a kick out of "adding" firewood to the fire. What is it with fires anyway? Lastly, we took the kids to the local Steele County fair for rides and fair food (my favorite). They really liked the pony rides and seeing the animal barns!

It was so fun to be able to see my Grandma Bev, my aunts, uncles and cousins. We all got together over at my dads house to catch up on our lives...and of course EAT! And my cousin Dale has two little girls, Dani and Abi, which are close in age to Andrew and Grace so the kids have such a hoot running around and playing together. I get such a "kick" out of seeing the little ones having such a fun time. That's what life's all about!

Last on our trip was having the opportunity to stop into Independence, Kansas on our way back to Houston to have lunch and visit with my Grandma and Grandpa Knuth, Aunt Becky and Uncle Kirk. We haven't been able to get together for quite some time so it was nice to catch up and take some much needed pictures. My grandparents new house was adorable and I'm so glad that they are enjoying their new "place".

Thanks to all my family for having us and all our friends for taking the time out of busy schedules to squeeze in some visits. We are truly lucky to have such great people in our lives.