Omaha for the Weekend

I had been working over Christmas break to get all of Avery’s baby stuff packed up and organized. Stef will be definitely be needing it with 2 of 3 babies on the way being boys. Adelyn and I packed up and headed to Omaha to take a load. And boy were we loaded down!

Before we got to Aunt Stef’s house we stopped to say ‘hi’ to Aunt Wendi at work. It was fun to see where she spends the majority of her day.

The kids had fun playing throughout the weekend while I helped Stef get the closet organized in the triplets’ nursery. We also did a few decorating projects and I cooked for them.

This girl sure loves her Aunt Stef! <3

It was a fun productive weekend! Since we aren’t close I wanted to spend some time helping Stef get ready for the triplets. Crazy to think they are going from 1 to 4 kids!

Meeting Baby Jordyn

Back in October Kyle and I…very sneaky…went down to KC to meet our wonderful friends’ new baby girl Jordyn when she was just a few days old! I could hardly handle the excitement when I heard the news that she had arrived…we sold our IA football tickets, got a babysitter, hopped in the car, and headed south!

She was everything I anticipated and more. Pure sweetness!!!

To say we are excited for these new parents is an understatement. Parenting is the hardest and at the same time, the best thing we’ve ever done! So excited for you guys to experience it!

Love these 2 girls SO much!! Jordyn is going to be girl-iest girl I know!! No pressure or anything…but I could see an arranged marriage in Avery’s future! Ha!

I made a fun little video of our surprise! Still makes me smile, laugh, and even cry today! Love you Mark, Jenna, and sweet baby Jordyn!

Visiting Aunt Stef

ICYMI I’ve been a bad blogger & I’m determined to get caught to have our family memories “journal-ed” on our blog!

May 15th (I was still on maternity leave) I packed up half the house & both kids and hit the road to see my sister in the Omaha area. I wanted to take advantage of my time off to spend some time with family. Stef is a SAHM so it was perfect to go in the middle of week!

The kids TOTALLY surprised me and were perfect little road trip-ers! Proud mama!

On our 3 hour trip we only had to stop one, Avery was hungry! And we were SO close too, but I wasn’t going to make the poor boy wait another 20 minutes.

We spent a lot of our time just hanging out with Stef & the kids at their place. Lily is so sweet with Avery! She’ll make a sweet big sister someday!

Adelyn had so much fun with her cousins! Sure wish they were 3 hours away!

Thursday we went to the Zoo. Stef has a family pass so we didn’t have to pay a dime to get in…score!

This was Adelyn’s first trip to the zoo (and of course, Avery’s too!). Hayden & Lily get to go all the time, lucky little ducks!

 

It was a warm May day so we started with the jungle because it was nice & cool!

It sure does warm my heart to see the cousins being so sweet! They had a blast together!

This was a fun little swing inside the jungle area…the kids had a hard time taking turns!

 

Aunt Stef packed a great lunch for us and the kiddos ate it right up!

“Mom get me out of here, this girl’s a crazy driver!” - Lily

I was determined to get a picture of all 4 cousins and this was about the best one, check out the attitude of the girl in the pink…lol! She gets it from her Dad! Avery wasn’t even 3 months old here!

Like always, we had a great time at Aunt Stef’s and can’t wait to go back again!

Chicago Trip

The last weekend in July Kyle, Adelyn, & I made the drive to Chicago to see Kyle’s sister, Mel,  & her husband, Steve. We also got to see Kyle’s younger sister Laura because she lives with Mel & Steve!

Adelyn was a wonderful traveler! This was the longest car ride she has been on in her life. We have done the less than 3 hour trip to my sister’s house multiple times & for the most part, she does really well. But Chicago is over 5 hours, but she did great! We actually didn’t even have to stop! We packed supper, ate on the road, and she was snoozing in her car seat before 6pm.

It was Thursday evening when we got there. We just spent the evening catching up and planning our weekend ahead. Friday was dedicated to shopping! We went to an outlet mall about 45 minutes from their house. Kyle’s favorite there is the Under Armour outlet!

That night we grilled out and stayed in. It also happened to be opening night for the Olympics so we spent lots of time over the weekend getting our fill on the Olympics!

Saturday was a chill day. We did a little shopping and then had lunch at Chik-fil-a {yum!}!

That afternoon we decided to get in a workout! Kyle ran, Mel roller bladed, & Steve and I biked. They have a great trail very close to their house, perfect spot to burn some calories! Laura stayed home with Adelyn.

Afterwards everyone fell asleep…except me! Check out their big couch…family nap time!

Before supper we got in some play time in the back yard. Uncle Steve was a pro at airplane rides!

Aunt Mel had a great idea to get the hose out for Adelyn to play with!

Daddy let her take over…

Can you see the pride in her face? Such a big girl!

This just cracks me up!

Silly girl!

Daddy thought it would be funny to try and spray Mommy! I love Adelyn’s expression here!

My favorite picture from the weekend!

Aunt Mel showing her how to run through the water! As I’m sure you can guess, her diaper was HEAVY by the end of her playing in the water!

Once we got her all cleaned up & a lighter diaper we all piled in the car and went out for supper.

We moved Adelyn’s car seat to their vehicle for the weekend. They have middle bucket seats and then the 3rd row bench seat, it actually worked out really well.

We decided on Sweet Baby Rays for supper! Can’t go wrong with BBQ!

Adelyn wasn’t too excited about sitting in the high chair, so thankfully Aunt Mel helped keep her entertained! Adelyn even brought me back a flower!

With full tummies we headed back to their house to get our little one in bed, catch some olympics, and then head out again to….MENCHIES!!! This is, by far, my FAVORITE self serve fro yo place! We first went while we were in Florida a few years ago.

The Chicago location recently opened so Mel & Steve hadn’t been yet.

As expected, they were fans of Menchies! They even been back multiple times and Mel got it for her birthday treats at work!

Funny boys!

Sunday we packed up and headed home to make it back at a good time. We always enjoy our trips to Chicago! Kyle will be headed back this fall to cheer on the Hawkeyes when they’re in town!

Last Minute Road Trip

Saturday I took an unexpected road trip to Kansas City!! I packed my bags quick...
Had some cereal in my favorite bowl...

And my sister, Mindi, and I hit the road!! She had a wedding to go to and I was going along for the ride & to surprise my friend, Jenna, who lives in KC!

We had a few snacks along the way...

Some healthy...

Some, not so much! ;) The 4+ hour trip flew by, I always enjoy sister time!!

Our first stop was the Legends at Village West Outlet mall!!

Mindi made friends with some "animals"!!

We couldn't shop on an empty stomachs though! We made a quick stop at Five Guys, a new try for me!

I got the "little" burger, but there wasn't much that was little about it! ;) But it was one good burger!

Mindi's got the little burger too...but went "all the way" with her toppings!

Word the wise, if you go to Five Guys, get the regular fries! Our little container was overflowing. We barely made a dent in them!

We shopped the afternoon away and I made a quick call to my friend, Jenna. She had NO idea I was in town and was TOTALLY surprised!! I love surprises!!!

We met up downtown at The Plaza for some more shopping. It was EXTRA fun to see her because she recently got ENGAGED!!!
For supper we hit up one of my favorites, Cheddars! We had their homemade onion rings...LOVE these!!
And I got the chicken tender wrapper! I think they changed something on it though 'cause it wasn't the same as past times. Why mess with a good thing?!?!

We enjoyed supper and met up with my sister from Omaha, Stef, who was also in town for a wedding. It was a fun girls night! Oh and Jenna asked me to be a bridesmaid!!! Can't wait for your big day Jenna, you're going to make a gorgeous bride!!!
Sunday involved sleeping in, more shopping, and Mindi & I made the drive home! We didn't get back till after midnight though! I was one tired girl!! It was worth it, such a fun weekend!