Since we aren't planning a big vacation this summer, we decided to make the trip to Colorado to visit my brother and his family. Months ago, I thought we were crazy thinking about driving 10 hours with two 8 month olds and a 3.5 year old, but the trip couldn't have been smoother!
We left on a Tuesday evening after work and drove 5 hours to Grand Island, NE, where my Uncle Roger and Aunt Lynnette live. Alena rode with my parents and arrived there about an hour before us. The next morning we completed the trip without any complications. We became pros at stopping and feeding the babies their bottles while they were in their car seats and we used the back of the van to change them. We usually fed their solids while we were driving (I think they enjoyed having Justin or I sit between them during the drive). We arrived in Loveland, CO in the afternoon and the kids all enjoyed playing outside. Jason and Jessica live in a great neighborhood and on a cul-de-sac. It's fun watching all the neighbor kids play together.
The next day, we took the older kids (Alena, Addie, and Kelsey) to an indoor jumping place. I think mom, Jason and I had just as much fun as the kids! Mom even took out a couple kids when she fell down the stairs that led to one of the slides. Everyone took a good nap that afternoon.
The next day, we decided to head to the Denver Zoo. It was a warm day (mid 80's) and it was so crowded because many schools were having field trips there. It is a large, beautiful zoo-I'm not even sure we saw everything during the 5 hours we were there. We enjoyed watching the elephant show with Groucho who "went in the water," and "opened his mouth," according to Kelsey. I think Alena and Addie particularly liked the bears and gorillas. Everyone had a great time, but we were all tired by the end of the day. The trip back to Loveland was a little testing as uncle Jason took us on a couple wrong turns and there was a lot of traffic and a few accidents on the road.
On Saturday, Jason and Justin took the big kids swimming, while mom, Jessica and I took Caleb shopping. Lauren got a little one on one time with Papa :). I had my first falafel which was delicious, (I'm already looking for a place in Urbandale where I can get another one!).
Sunday, we all headed to Fort Morgan to a large park and outdoor waterplay area. The traveling Vietnam War Memorial was also on display. The kids enjoyed playing on the playground, splashing in the water and even got a special treat when the ice cream truck came by. We started the trip back to Iowa on Sunday evening and were home Monday around 2:00 pm (after stopping at Roger and Lynn's to sleep). Again, the babies did great during the drive.
All, in all, it was a very fun trip, and that 10 hour drive is really not so bad. We may have to do that again in the near future...
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