Reagan's 1st Road Trip!

Uncle Chad and Reagan at the Aquarium
Alisa, Owen, & Chad

Cheese!!

Sweet little Owen!!

Taking a break after a long car ride, swim, and jumping on the bed

On May 27 Reagan and I spent the night at my parents in anticipation for our trip the next day. We got up at 2:30am, loaded what was left into the van, changed diapers, and took off on our 10+ hour trip! My dad drove, my mom rode shotgun, Michael and Reagan sat in the middle, and Shanon and I were in the back of my parents mini van. Michael and Reagan made the transition well. We were hoping they would just go back to sleep and stay that way for a while.. they did not. They stayed awake until about 4:30am, then they went to sleep, which meant we could go to sleep!

They slept until Omaha, then the fun began. We packed little things for them to play with. The best purchase for the trip was the $.99 pop open brush from Walmart. Michael brushed my hair a lot! We made a short pit stop at a rest area, we let them run around for about 15 minutes, then back in the car we went. Our next stop was at Fort Cody in Nebraska. I remember stopping here a few times as a kid. It was nice because it is tourist place with lots of things to see and a fence!! We were there about an hour. While we were there Michael and Reagan:

• Got their picture taken with an Indian, a bear, in jail, in a tee-pee
• Michael got a rubber band gun
• Reagan got a purse
• Ran, Ran, and Ran some more
• Watch a little train go around

It was not easy getting Reagan back into her car seat (this became a theme over the trip). We loaded back up and hit the drive through at Wendy's. Ate lunch and then it was nap time... Reagan took a 3 hour nap and slept most of the way into Colorado. Michael took a 30 minute nap and kept say "Mona, hey Mona!" trying to get my mom's attention. We finally made it to the hotel at 2:30pm!! We let them get out and run free. My brother and sister in law weren't home from work yet, so we decided to take the kids swimming. They had fun, but it was more work for us as the pool was not kid friendly. Then we showered and got ready and headed to Chad and Alisa's. Here are some of the things that happened while we were there:

• Seeing Owen and giving him lots of hugs (he learned to pull Reagan's hair quickly)
• Seeing Chad and Alisa
• Teaching Chad and Alisa all the things two 2 year olds could get into at their house
• Reagan never sitting still
• Michael calling Merlin Mer and always trying to find him
• Going to the Denver Zoo on the busiest day of the year, so then we went to the Denver Aquarium instead
• Reagan crying from the zoo to the aquarium because she wanted out of her car seat
• Playing with Owen's toys
• Taking walks and looking at all the Million dollar home about 3 blocks away from my brothers house
• Visiting with Alisa's family
• Taking the kids swimming
• Reagan sleeping in bed with me at night
• Michael trying to climb out of the pack-n-play
• Playing Rummicub
• Going to Pratt Park and Wash Park
• Me falling on my a$$ as Pratt park because I slipped on sand while trying to catch Reagan at the end of the slide. It was quite humorous and my mom was video taping (I don't think she got it though because she was laughing too hard!)
• Tired babies and adults
• Alisa and Chad's yummy cooking
• Reagan always wanting me and screaming for me
• "Mooonnna, Hey Mona!"(this is what Michael calls my mom)

It was a fun trip with lots of memories. I always get excited to see my siblings and nephews. I get equally as sad when it is time to say good-bye. We headed back to Iowa on June 1. The drive home was pretty good, we did have to break out the DVD player and suckers for the kids. We got home at 7pm. Jon was excited for us to be home... ok, for Reagan to be home :). I am sure my dad had fun cleaning the van windows from where the kids were sitting.

All in all it was a great trip and the kids did great all things considered!!

(there will be more pictures posted from this trip!)