Road Trip

On Tuesday of this week Turner and I dropped Carter off at Mamie & PaPa's and hit the open road.  Our destination was Sioux Falls, SD to visit our friends, Jennifer & Merrill Friesen.  

Merrill stole Jennifer's heart about a year and a half ago and after exchanging vows took her to his home in Sioux Falls.  They have a beautiful story together!  I have missed Jen over the past year and was SO THANKFUL for the opportunity to go visit.  I considered taking both boys - but wasn't sure I could handle the chaos of that - so Turner got picked to come along.  Despite having a great time with Mamie & PaPa and Daddy (and the Ailes') while we were gone, Carter is still asking why he couldn't go road tripping too!

The drive was a little over 3.5 hours.  On the way there we stopped in Omaha to have lunch with Justin & Mitzi and nice little break-up in the drive.  I then hoped Turner would nap the rest of the way... but of course 30 minutes seemed like enough to him!  Despite the short nap, he was fairly pleasant to travel with and kept mommy entertained (which was necessary since I opted NOT to stop at Starbucks for caffeine on my way out of Omaha - big mistake!) while he played, snacked, sang, and read books!  

Our time in Sioux Falls was short, but fun!  We hung out with Merrill and Jen for the evening and then  Jen took us to the waterfalls that the town is named after the next morning.  We ventured out in the rain to the observation tower just so we could make sure and get the best view!!  Below are some pictures of the falls!  (I'm still kicking myself for not getting a picture of this adorable couple together - sheesh!!  Or their sweet house!)

The drive home went very fast - after a much needed stop at Starbucks on the way out of the town we drove 3 hours straight before stopping in Gretna for a bathroom/shopping break!  Once again Turner thought he only needed a catnap, so he spent most of the time entertaining me as we drove and watching a little Curious Buddies/Baby Praise on the DVD player.  It was actually a fun drive!

To spend two days back to back in the car for that long was a lot to ask of a fifteen month old, but Turner was such a trooper and I was so proud of how well he traveled (the only bad part was him screaming for about 45 min trying to go to sleep at Jen & Merrill's - come to find out he's getting his canine teeth which must be pretty painful because he did the same thing  at home last night!  phew!  now Jen & Merrill will be more likely to have us back!).

Special thanks to Jen & Merrill for having us and Mamie & PaPa for making it easier by keeping Carter!  

ps Mom, I was being really careful as I took these pictures of Turner while driving, I promise!

Top 10 signs SUMMER is here!!

10. The grass is green and the trees are blooming.

9.  Walks to the park are becoming more frequent.
8. Tan lines have begun.
7. More and more meals are being consumed outdoors.
6. Daddy & Carter planted the garden.
5. Momma is spending naptime on the patio.
4. Every night is bath night.

3. Both boys have skinned knees.
2. We had to turn on the A/C yesterday!
1. Daddy got the clippers out.

Reason to celebrate

You probably all thought we didn't celebrate Easter this year???   Not sure why I'm so slow getting this posted, probably because the weather is just getting better and better and we are starting to LIVE outside and I am loving it!

We did celebrate Easter and had a wonderful time remembering the Resurrection of our Lord.  I can't even imagine what it would have been like to live in that moment and to realize that the Lord I loved, who took the nails for me, was alive and had overcome death!! WOW! It was a great time of reflection for Todd and I and as always we had a wonderful time celebrating with family.

We started celebrating on Friday afternoon as Nana Pat made an early delivery from the Easter Bunny - showering the boys with lots of fun treats and of course hugs!



Sunday morning we attended the worship service at our church... thanks to both boys just getting over colds we were all able to worship together as a family along with my parents (well sort of, Mom was off fluting in the orchestra), my brother and his wife, Mitzi, and my grandparents. Following the service we all gathered at Mamie and Papa's for a lovely brunch and some egg-hunting! Carter really got into the searching however asked "where is another one?" after finding each egg! Turner just liked the snacks from his Easter basket and downed one after another!

Here are some snapshots from the day!

Time for a getaway!

This past Friday/Saturday Todd had meetings in Omaha, so we decided to pack up the troops for a little mini-vacation!  We stayed at a new hotel near the conference center that had it's own little indoor pool/waterpark.  Uncle Justin joined us for good times in the water Friday night.

Todd had meetings Saturday morning, so the boys I kept busy playing in the hotel room, touring the Old Market area by car and visiting cousin Amanda .

For lunch we met up with Uncle Justin, Mamie & Papa and practiced our chopstick skills at one of our favorites, PF Changs.



Following lunch, the boys tagged along with Todd and I to the mall and did pretty well staying happy in their stroller.  Carter's highlight of the shopping trip was riding the ferris wheel inside the Scheel's store (sorry, I was too busy keeping TW entertained while they rode to get a picture).   They were both tuckered out and took good naps as we drove home.  All in all it was a quick trip, but filled with lots of fun memories.

Carterisms #5

Moments ago this conversation took place.

Me, sort of jokingly "I'm so busy, how can I have so much to do?"

Carter, very seriously replies "Just 'lax mom, go to the couch and 'lax for a minute."

Man I love this kid!