Road Trip!

We did some marathon traveling in the past few weeks...so this will be a marathon post.

Jonah and I teamed up with Grandma Strutt the last week in May for Jonah's first big trip out of state.  Our destination: St. Louis!  Jonah's cousin Peyton was born exactly 8 weeks after he was, and we couldn't wait to meet her!!  It's a four-hour trip from Iowa City, and Jonah did pretty well being in the car for so long.


Two weeks old, and such a doll!  Of my parents' five grandbabies (Joshua, Daniel, Jonah, Petyon and Patrick), she is the only girl.  But I'm sure she'll have no problem keeping up with all the boys.  One of the great things about visiting parents of newborns is all the baby stuff...that no one is using yet :)  While we were in St. Louis, Jonah got to sleep in Peyton's crib, be spied on with her high-tech video monitor, and kick around on her sweet play mat.  And of course, the two of them got in lots of play time.

Okay, so maybe Peyton slept most of the time.  But I'm sure these two will have lots of fun together as they get older.  

It was a pretty quick trip, but we enjoyed spending time with Jon and Jaclyn, and of course, Kinnick.  We had some great conversation, took in a bit of NBA action, and visited a great little deli in downtown St. Louis called Pickles.  Thanks to the St. Louis Strutts for all your hospitality!  And welcome Baby Peyton  :)

Grandma Strutt with a baby in each arm...a good place to be:

Jonah enjoyed all the extra attention from Grandma:

Brother and sister with their babies:

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After a few days to rest, repack and enjoy some time with Daddy - we were back on the road again with Grandma Strutt.  This time we were headed west to Denver.  Baby Patrick was born just 12 days after Peyton, and we had to meet him, too!!  The Weldons now have three boys, and it is a busy household.  I have been fortunate to visit Denver after each of my sister's babies was born.  In addition, they make the trip to Iowa quite often.  I hope we are able to continue frequent visits so that these cousins can grow up together.  I have fond memories of time spent with my cousins growing up...but it sure made things a little easier when almost all of the cousins lived in two neighboring states.

The longer car ride was a bit rougher on Jonah, but he took it like a champ.  We made it almost all the way to Denver before he had a meltdown :)  Twelve hours in the car is a long time for such a little guy.  Shout out to my mom for driving the whole way!

Our first day in Denver consisted of: snuggling Patrick, playing cars with Josh and Daniel, snuggling Patrick, and a (very windy!) walk to the park.  Highlands Ranch is a very family friendly city - seems like every neighborhood has a great park within walking distance!                                       Josh tested out his new wheels (sans training wheels - I can't believe how grown up he is!), and Daniel got down and dirty in the sandbox.  Seriously, whose idea was it to put a water table in the sandbox??  Jonah and Patrick mostly slept...what a bunch of babies.

The newest cousins, hanging out together in the basement:

Jonah and Patrick...check out those chicken legs!  I think he wore the whale on purpose, just to taunt Jonah.

I think our second day in Denver was the highlight for the older boys.  Katie had to return some things to the library, and it just so happens that the park next to the library is a favorite spot.  It is a massive park with tons of green space, two fountain areas perfect for cooling off, and a man-made stream for wading, splashing and general small-child mayhem.  And all for free!  We dressed the boys in their swim trunks, loaded up the minivan and made our way over to the park.  The new mamas parked it under an umbrella while Joe and Grandma took Josh and Daniel to the stream to burn off some energy.

It always amazes me how much little kids LOVE playing in water.  Daniel's teeth were chattering, his lips were blue, and his whole body was shivering...but he insisted he was not cold, that he wanted to keep playing.  After lunch at Qdoba (yum!), it was back to the ranch to recover from our morning activities.

Our last full day in Denver was a little more laid back.  Joe took advantage of the extra hands around the house to fit in a game of golf with his cousin.  We also squeezed in a photo shoot - because who knows when all four boys will be together again.  Patrick certainly won't be this tiny by then :)

Grandma Strutt with all the Weldon boys.  See what I mean ---> When did Josh get so old??

Grandma and all her boys:  Daniel, Jonah, Patrick, and Joshua

All the boys!!

Thanks for having us, Weldons!  Hopefully we'll see you in Iowa sometime this summer :)