Over Memorial Day weekend, we took a trip north to Minnesota for my cousin Dawn's wedding, and got to spend a few days with my brothers and their families (plus Grandma and Grandpa!). The kids and I broke up the trip over a few days, traveling to Des Moines on Thursday and spending a night at my parents'. Then my mom joined us for the next leg, up to Jon and Jaclyn's new house outside Minneapolis on Friday. Finally, we drove the last hour up to St. Cloud for the wedding on Saturday, then back down to Jon's house for the rest of the weekend.
The trip from Wichita to Des Moines was pretty miserable. Cora didn't eat much for breakfast that morning, then proceeded to whine about being hungry for the first two hours of the trip. We also drove through a hail storm near Kansas City - so loud!! And sort of terrifying! We were all glad to be out of the car when we got to Grandma and Grandpa's. After a rough night of sleep (Cora has always had a tough time sleeping away from home), the second leg went much more smoothly. It was nice to have an extra set of hands, with Grandma along.
Grandma and Grandpa were actually staying at a hotel the first few nights, closer to the wedding, instead of Jon and Jaclyn's. I have gotten pretty used to managing all three kids solo around home and our usual errands/outings, but I was feeling pretty overwhelmed traveling alone with three, especially thinking about dealing with Cora overnight again (without help from Grandma), while also getting up with Esther. Thankfully, my parents offered to take Cora with them to the hotel. Everyone slept much better that night.
On Saturday, we drove up for the early afternoon wedding ceremony. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see much of the ceremony because Esther decided she wanted to eat right as it started, then she filled her diaper (very loudly!) at a very inopportune (and very quiet!) moment in the ceremony, shortly after I slipped back in. Oops! But the reception was a ton of fun, and it was nice to see a bunch of family and celebrate Dawn and Hai. I didn't get many pictures myself (my hands were pretty full), but here are some pictures from the reception that I stole from my cousin Cheri and my Aunt Darci (mother of the bride).
There was a little patio just off the reception hall, and the kids had a blast running around, climbing on things and playing with cousins.
Everyone was exhausted by the end of the night, but it was fun!
We spent the rest of the weekend at Jon and Jaclyn's enjoying time with cousins, being outside, and enjoying the beautiful weather. Cora was terrified of Jon's dog, Kinnick, and was constantly on high-alert, making sure she knew where he was, and insisting on being carried everywhere. I think it was a stressful weekend for her.
I loved being able to spend some time with Autumn and Bennett - at 18 months they are really becoming little people with such personalities :) They change so quickly the first few years, it's hard to go so long between visits. Jonah and Peyton had a lot of fun together, too - 4 years old is a fun age!
Such a fun weekend! We had not seen Jon and Jaclyn since last July. Thanks for being such wonderful hosts, and hopefully it's not another year before we see you again!
The trip from Wichita to Des Moines was pretty miserable. Cora didn't eat much for breakfast that morning, then proceeded to whine about being hungry for the first two hours of the trip. We also drove through a hail storm near Kansas City - so loud!! And sort of terrifying! We were all glad to be out of the car when we got to Grandma and Grandpa's. After a rough night of sleep (Cora has always had a tough time sleeping away from home), the second leg went much more smoothly. It was nice to have an extra set of hands, with Grandma along.
Grandma and Grandpa were actually staying at a hotel the first few nights, closer to the wedding, instead of Jon and Jaclyn's. I have gotten pretty used to managing all three kids solo around home and our usual errands/outings, but I was feeling pretty overwhelmed traveling alone with three, especially thinking about dealing with Cora overnight again (without help from Grandma), while also getting up with Esther. Thankfully, my parents offered to take Cora with them to the hotel. Everyone slept much better that night.
On Saturday, we drove up for the early afternoon wedding ceremony. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see much of the ceremony because Esther decided she wanted to eat right as it started, then she filled her diaper (very loudly!) at a very inopportune (and very quiet!) moment in the ceremony, shortly after I slipped back in. Oops! But the reception was a ton of fun, and it was nice to see a bunch of family and celebrate Dawn and Hai. I didn't get many pictures myself (my hands were pretty full), but here are some pictures from the reception that I stole from my cousin Cheri and my Aunt Darci (mother of the bride).
Some of the cousins who were able to make it, plus my grandparents
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| Paul, Abby, Mike, Becky, Rob, Becca, Whitney, Dawn, Hai, Jon, Jaclyn, Nichole, Joel, Amy, Peter, Cheri, Jon Grandma Great, Grandpa Great |
My grandparents, with my dad and his brothers and sister, plus spouses
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| Dawson, Jackie, Janet, Chuck, Darci, Mike, Marci, David, Terri, Craig Grandma Great, Grandpa Great |
And Grandma and Grandpa Great with many of their 'greats'
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| Trace, Jonah, Lynnie, Peyton, Gretel, Taryn, Grandpa Great, Bennett, Cora, Mariah, Dalton, Autumn, Esther, Grandma Great, Ethan, Alex and Ryan |
There was a little patio just off the reception hall, and the kids had a blast running around, climbing on things and playing with cousins.
When I told Jonah the Mosers were going to be there, he said, "You mean Trace? I'm going to play with him, because we play together really well!" Haha - somebody must have said that to him last time we saw the Mosers.
Everyone was exhausted by the end of the night, but it was fun!
We spent the rest of the weekend at Jon and Jaclyn's enjoying time with cousins, being outside, and enjoying the beautiful weather. Cora was terrified of Jon's dog, Kinnick, and was constantly on high-alert, making sure she knew where he was, and insisting on being carried everywhere. I think it was a stressful weekend for her.
I loved being able to spend some time with Autumn and Bennett - at 18 months they are really becoming little people with such personalities :) They change so quickly the first few years, it's hard to go so long between visits. Jonah and Peyton had a lot of fun together, too - 4 years old is a fun age!
With Grandma and Grandpa :)
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| Peyton (4 yrs), Esther (4 months), Jonah (4 yrs), Autumn (1.5 yrs) Bennett (1.5 yrs) , Cora (2.5 yrs) |
Such a fun weekend! We had not seen Jon and Jaclyn since last July. Thanks for being such wonderful hosts, and hopefully it's not another year before we see you again!
On Monday, we had a pretty uneventful drive back to Des Moines. The kids enjoyed "swimming" in Grandma and Grandpa's hot tub and some games with Grandpa before bed to round out the day.
On Tuesday, the girls and I made the final leg of the trip back to Wichita. But Jonah stayed behind in Des Moines. Brandon was heading to Michigan for a guy's weekend (the infamous, "Man Challenge" weekend) with some college friends. He was planning to leave after work Wednesday, and drive to Des Moines. Then he and Jonah would travel together to Michigan on Thursday, and Jonah would get to spend the weekend with Bibi and Babu while Brandon met up with his friends.
It was strange to leave Jonah....this was the first time I've been away from Jonah and just at home without him - not leaving him with someone while we travel or attend an event. But he had a fun few days with Grandma, and I got enjoy some one-on-one time with Cora, which is pretty rare.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch....
When we left Brandon in Kansas, he was in pretty rough shape. He had been fighting a bit of a cold, but the night before we left, it seemed to be turning into something more. He had fever and chills, congestion, sore throat and a headache. He even took a day off work! You know he was really suffering if he missed work. He had plans to moonlight over the weekend while we were gone. The last time he moonlighted, it was really laid back and slow, and we were hopeful he could rest up. But he ended up getting slammed all weekend, spending most of his time at the hospital :( By the time he got home late Monday night (Memorial Day), he was in worse shape than when he left. He kept thinking that surely he would start feeling better soon, but by Wednesday night, we knew he was in no condition to drive. So he made the tough decision to cancel his plans. There's never a convenient time to get sick, but when you're in residency, getting sick when you have a five-day weekend to recover is pretty much the best time to be sick. Although, it was certainly a bummer to have to miss his trip - and for Jonah to miss out on his big trip, too :(
Speaking of Jonah....he was still in Des Moines, and we had to figure out how to get him home! Grandma graciously offered to bring Jonah to Kansas City yesterday (Thursday), so I wouldn't have to drive all the way back to Des Moines. I dropped Cora off at my friend Joia's house, and Esther and I got on the road to get Jonah. ....But about 30 minutes into our trip, my mom called to let me know she had a leaky tire, and they were going to head back to Des Moines. She got new tires for her car yesterday afternoon, and Jonah spent one more night at Grandma and Grandpa's. Today, we were able to meet up with my mom in Kansas City, and Jonah finally made it home, after more than a week away. Whew!
On Tuesday, the girls and I made the final leg of the trip back to Wichita. But Jonah stayed behind in Des Moines. Brandon was heading to Michigan for a guy's weekend (the infamous, "Man Challenge" weekend) with some college friends. He was planning to leave after work Wednesday, and drive to Des Moines. Then he and Jonah would travel together to Michigan on Thursday, and Jonah would get to spend the weekend with Bibi and Babu while Brandon met up with his friends.
It was strange to leave Jonah....this was the first time I've been away from Jonah and just at home without him - not leaving him with someone while we travel or attend an event. But he had a fun few days with Grandma, and I got enjoy some one-on-one time with Cora, which is pretty rare.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch....
When we left Brandon in Kansas, he was in pretty rough shape. He had been fighting a bit of a cold, but the night before we left, it seemed to be turning into something more. He had fever and chills, congestion, sore throat and a headache. He even took a day off work! You know he was really suffering if he missed work. He had plans to moonlight over the weekend while we were gone. The last time he moonlighted, it was really laid back and slow, and we were hopeful he could rest up. But he ended up getting slammed all weekend, spending most of his time at the hospital :( By the time he got home late Monday night (Memorial Day), he was in worse shape than when he left. He kept thinking that surely he would start feeling better soon, but by Wednesday night, we knew he was in no condition to drive. So he made the tough decision to cancel his plans. There's never a convenient time to get sick, but when you're in residency, getting sick when you have a five-day weekend to recover is pretty much the best time to be sick. Although, it was certainly a bummer to have to miss his trip - and for Jonah to miss out on his big trip, too :(
Speaking of Jonah....he was still in Des Moines, and we had to figure out how to get him home! Grandma graciously offered to bring Jonah to Kansas City yesterday (Thursday), so I wouldn't have to drive all the way back to Des Moines. I dropped Cora off at my friend Joia's house, and Esther and I got on the road to get Jonah. ....But about 30 minutes into our trip, my mom called to let me know she had a leaky tire, and they were going to head back to Des Moines. She got new tires for her car yesterday afternoon, and Jonah spent one more night at Grandma and Grandpa's. Today, we were able to meet up with my mom in Kansas City, and Jonah finally made it home, after more than a week away. Whew!
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