Vacation Post #6...Nebraska

So early on June 22nd we left Iowa and headed west to Nebraska for our last hotel stay before getting to Jodi's in Casper, Wyoming. At one of our pit stops I saw this sign, and I laughed out loud.....good one!
Along the road we stopped somewhere in Nebraska for a nice picnic lunch at a neighborhood playground. We arrived in North Platte mid afternoon which gave us time to swim in the indoor pool before dinner. We then went to Whiskey River for dinner where we enjoyed some indoor smores for dessert for free compliments of the nice ladies sitting behind us.

Inside the restaurant was a mechanical horse that each of the kids got to ride for 25 cents.

Carson taking his turn.

Jason really enjoying his turn.

And finally Madison making funny faces at me while having her turn.

Very close to the restaurant was a family fun park with go-carts, mini-train, etc. We were the only ones there and the kids enjoyed some little kiddie go-cart rides.

From there we headed back down the street to Fort Cody, a place with lots of trinkets and toys.

We took these pictures outside before going in. They also had a great sign on their door that I wish I had taken a picture of. It said "Unsupervised children will be given a puppy and some espresso."

Vacation Post #5....Time in Iowa with Friends

After a leisurely morning at our hotel we drove through Ames a bit to do a little sightseeing. It was in Ames that I got my first Taco Johns pit stop..YUM, YUM! Potatoe oles with nacho cheese and sour cream....it doesn't get much better than that! We then continued west to Boone for a little more sightseeing (and more Taco Johns....Matt really enjoyed the oles too). And then we headed a few more miles west to Ogden where we were able to spend the day at Michelle Kruse's house with her family and some friends. Here's the connection for how I knew these ladies pictured below (and no, we didn't color coordinate on purpose!) From left to right: Michelle Kruse, Jackie Blair, Michele Havlick, and Me.

I met Michelle Kruse (than Olson) in Bozeman, Montana during my freshman year of college...I think we met at a football game. We became good friends and roommates but then later had a falling out (like all girls do) and she moved back to Iowa (her home state). We then reconnected and I decided to leave University of Wyoming (my second college) and transfer to Iowa State University (my third college). It was while living in Boone, Iowa that I met Jackie Blair who was a former high school classmate of Michelle's. Jackie had a couple young girls and I became very close to their family. Then Michelle and I had another falling out (imagine that) and I moved to Ames, IA to live with Michele Havlick (then Miller) who Jackie knew from costmetology school.
No falling outs with anyone after that but I decided to move to Maryland (end of 1995) to become a nanny and then I went on to finish school at University of Maryland (my fourth college). Over the years we've stayed in touch and seen each other a few times. It was so good to spend time with all of them and laugh so hard!
A mom and kids picture:

Madison adored this puppy that Michele Havlick brought with her. She literally spent hours just holding it.....and then she cried for the first 20 minutes back to our hotel that night because she didn't want to leave the puppy. For the life of me I can't remember her name!

The boys enjoying some chocolate, banana, peanut butter milkshakes that Pat (Michelle's husband) whipped up.

Vacation Post #4....More of Illinois than West to Iowa

After the swimming and showers we drove to the river in Peoria where there are some restaurants right on the waterfront.
We were going to eat at Joe's but the wait was too long for my kids and considering it was already 7pm....we headed to Old Chicago next door and got a nice table outside where we could see all the boats coming and going.

After a nice dinner we headed back to our hotel (the least favorite one on our entire trip) to get some needed rest.

Another great shot of the boys sharing a queen size bed (the top of the bed is where Carson's feet are...go figure). It's funny...they sleep just fine in their toddler beds!

The next morning we had breakfast and then went to a very nice PCA church that was less than 5 minutes away. We sang one of my favorite songs by Keith and Kristin Getty and we really enjoyed the service. Then we headed back to the hotel to pack up and head out. Good-bye forever Sleep Inn Peoria!

And from there we were off to Iowa. We planned our trip so that there wouldn't be as many miles to drive this day since we went to church in the morning. With just a few short stops we arrived in Ames, Iowa at the Comfort Inn around 3pm. We unloaded, freshened up and then headed 20 minutes south to Ankeny to the Gade's house for dinner. I worked with Nicole while I lived in Iowa from 1994 to 1995 and we became good friends. I was later in her and John's wedding in 1998. They have two kids, Griffin (6) and Evee (3) and our kids had a blast with them. Nicole and John fed us a wonderful dinner filled with steak, corn on the cob, salad, and strawberry shortcake and we had a wonderful time just hanging out and getting caught up while the kids destroyed the playroom and bedrooms. Again, I can't believe that I forgot my camera in the van and forgot to take any pictures...so sad. But the memories will live on! We arrived back at our hotel rather late and went straight to bed.

Vacation Post #3....Ohio to Illinois

On June 19th we left Ohio and headed west. Our departure was a little later than desired (9:45am) but let's just say that I had not got this packing and unpacking and repacking thing down yet, plus our boys were using vacation time to sleep in after their late nights out. (Too bad they didn't keep up with that sleeping in thing once we got home!) Once on the road the kids took advantage of it and took great cat naps. Here's a picture of Madison and Jason snoozing...was it ever so quiet during that 15 minutes!
We drove through the state of Indiana (it's a skinny state so that didn't take long) and into Illinois. Once in Illinois we used our handy GPS to find a nice local park pretty close to the interstate and it didn't take us 40 minutes to find it. :) Once again the kids enjoyed the park while I prepared lunch.

Matt checking out the equipment.

Another nice playground.

Lunch and a show!

Despite our late departure from Ohio we still made it to our hotel in Peoria, Illinois by 3pm (thank goodness for time changes). We stopped by a Walmart for some flotation toys for the kids and were able to spend some time at the indoor pool before dinner. Since there wasn't a baby pool but only a few steps into the 3 foot water, it took some time to talk the boys into getting in and having fun. Before long they were jumping in to us so quickly we could barely keep up with them.

Jason in motion. Madison is behind him thinking that she needs to jump into an adult with that ring around her but she quickly learned that we weren't needed. Even without the ring she was able to jump in and touch the bottom and safely get to the steps.

Here's a short video that I was able to capture just how thrilled Jason was to jump in over and over again and I captured a bit of Carson's attitude....I guess he didn't want to be videotaped!

Vacation Post #2....Time in Dayton, Ohio

I rolled out of bed at 6:30am and was able to sneak out of the room and down to breakfast by myself. I returned to find everyone still sleeping. Here's a nice picture of the boys sharing a queen size bed.
After a nice buffet breakfast we headed across the street to the Air Force Museum...a free museum that is filled with hundreds of aircraft and lots of history. Our hotel was literally across the street. Here is a picture of our hotel taken from the AF museum.

The 3 kids pose for a quick picture in front of one of the many aircraft.

There were a few fighter jets that you could actually climb in....so we all took a try.

Carson is loving every minute of it.

And Madison.

A view from the outside....the 3 large hangers that house all the aircraft.

Spending a few minutes in the heat at the outdoor playground.

A family pose taken by a nice passerby.

After a few hours at the museum we drove to Huber Heights, the neighborhood I grew up in from 1st thru 5th grade. We took a drive down Pepper Drive to drive by our old house.

Later that afternoon we met up with my long time friend Jen whom I've known since I was six. We spent a little time at her place before heading to her husband's new restaurant (not yet open) and then we went to their neighborhood pool where the kids really enjoyed their time and the adults had some time to talk. Much to my shame I never got a picture of Jen and her family while we were there.

Madison spending time in the big pool.

Jason and Carson playing in the baby pool.

But the "baby" pool didn't stop Carson from having lots of good "dives." This video may not work...I'm working on the problem.

Vacation Post #1....And We're Off!

Finally, June 17th arrived...our vacation departure date! Matt had to go to meetings in the morning so I spent the morning finishing packing and cleaning the house. My friend Jeanne graciously watched our 3 kiddos at her place for a few hours so I could accomplish much. Matt was able to get out of work a little earlier than expected so we completed the loading process and headed to Jeanne's to pick up the kids and be on our way. Here we are....ready to go! We left Montgomery County, MD at 1pm.
Our plan was to have picnic lunches (and in this case, dinner) at a park along the way so that the kids could expend some energy. Just past Wheeling, WV we made our first stop to get gas and then proceeded to find a park/playground where the kids could play. Well some 40 minutes later we finally arrived at a very nice park in Bethesda, Ohio! The kids enjoyed the playtime while Mom made dinner. Daddy captured the play time with the camera.
The Park:

Madison and Jason:

Carson giving us a "I'm so happy to be out of the car" smile!

A great shot of all three before sliding down the slides.

Enjoying the picnic.

Within the hour we were back in the car utilizing our GPS to get us back to the interstate. We were able to make up a little time and we didn't stop again until we arrived at our destination in Montgomery County, Ohio at 9:40pm....Comfort Suites, Wright Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio.

We checked in, gave the kids baths, and got them into bed around 11pm. I think they were finally asleep around 11:30pm!

I'm Back!

Hello followers of the Pier blog....I'm sure some of you have completely given up on any new postings any time soon! Well, I'm back and ready to do some heavy duty blogging! We just got back from a 3 week vacation so I've got lots of stories to tell and lots of pictures to show you! Plus I have plenty other things that need to be blogged about. So sit back and hopefully within the week I'll get a few posts up!

But before any of that I must share (with those of you that don't know)....I'm pregnant with baby #4....due January 9th. I'm now almost 15 weeks and in 4 weeks we'll hopefully find out if it's a girl or boy. Other than being tired alot and struggling to get a full night's rest the pregnancy is going well...no sickness or anything. So I'll keep you posted!