Ok, in all honesty, it's picture overload. But, that's what a blog is for, right?? At the end of July we took a little vacation to see some friends and my sister. It was a ton of fun and very sad to come home (aren't vacations always that way?). At any rate, we had a blast and I'm so glad we went. We started our journey out driving.....
and driving.....
and driving some more.
So much driving that by the time we were about an hour outside of Des Moines Brooklyn felt a little like this:
because Julianne felt a little like this:
Granted, by this point, we'd been in the car for about 16 hrs (over two days), so I can't really say I blame her for feeling this way. Of course, she stopped her hysterical crying fit
right as we passed the "Rest Stop 1 Mile" sign. Of course. Oh well. We survived and made it safely to our old stomping grounds.
We played and played and played with our dear friends and couldn't have spent our time there any better. Swimming, parks, swimming, food , swimming...it was lovely.
Julianne found her newest love at the malls there. They have these great play areas for the kids. She was in heaven. Up, down, up down....she was VERY upset when it was time to go.
Brooklyn and Mason enjoyed it, too but they were a little more willing to leave when it came time... It was hard to say good-bye to our dear friends, but it was time to drive again....
And drive and drive. This time for 12 hours while we went to Colorado Springs where my sister lives. There our vacation continued to go well.
We ate good food with excellent company. Brooklyn was freezing at the restaurant so Uncle Chris kindly warmed her up....
Nothing warms Jon's heart like good Mexican food....
Besides playing for hours on end, we got to go see Elmo live. It was fun!
Everyone was excited for their little "welcome to the show gift"...
Julianne was all cheezers this day.
See Mom? It lights up!
Aunt Sara was almost as excited as the kids.
And then the show started and we were all entranced.
From 6 to 1, we were loving it!
Julianne enjoyed it the most, I think. We definitely need to start watching Sesame Street again.
Then, we went to the zoo and oh boy was it FUN!
We fed the giraffes....
Rode the Merry-go-Round
Mason was all smiles if you caught his eye, but otherwise he was holding on for dear life!
Brooklyn was just in heaven. Merry-go-rounds are her favorite, always.
Then we climbed up the spider web... and enjoyed all the animals and fun it had to offer. We spent lots of time hanging out with my sister and her family, shopping, and eating good food. It was very hard to leave when the moment came, but home called. So, leave we did. And promptly met this storm in the middle of Wyoming:
And boy, was it a doozy! We had to slow down because it was raining so hard. Luckily, the kids had mastered the endless driving by this 10 hr trip and we spent it like this:
and this:
and this. Luckily. We had a grand time and were very glad for the opportunity to get away.
Now, we're back into the same old grind of regular life. Still looking for a job and hoping one will come soon. Brooklyn's looking forward to school but we're not sure about it starting so early. Her school starts on the 18th! Crazy! She'll love it, though. No question about that!
On other topics, Thank You all for the votes on my coif. I like the poll on the side of my blog, but I don't think I'll do it again. I'm just too dang nosy for such and anonymous game! I want to know who voted what and why and their how's and becauses! I think I am going to cut my hair, but the time frame is still a little up in the air. My hair is to my mid-back, I'd say; but I'm tired of doing it. It never pulls up the way I want it too and I'm just too dang lazy to spend a 1/2 hour blowing it dry. Not to mention it's freaking HOT under a blow dryer for that long! But I must admit, I'm still a little torn. With a short style comes much upkeep and as it is, I rarely have to get it cut! We shall see. Only time will tell. I promise before and after pictures when the event finally happens, though. So stay tuned for that.
I hope everyone's summer is wrapping up well and that the season has treated you well!
Here we are...all ready for school! Brooklyn didn't so much love getting woken up at 7:20, but by the time we left, she was ready to go! She went right into her classroom and had a great time. We had some confusion about where to pick her up but it all worked out in the end. I can't believe she's so big.
Before...
before... and
after. I had a pic of the back, but it didn't make it for some reason. You'll just have to use your imagination :). Happy School year, everyone!
