Family Vacation Road Trip Overview

On our family vacation we took a road trip cross country with Kari, Nate & Elijah's house in North Carolina being the ultimate goal. Friday, June 12 we headed to Iowa to visit Bridgit, Chris, Caitlyn and Natalie for a few days. There we played games, went swimming and climbed the rock wall. Then on the road to St. Louis, MO where we went to the top of the Gateway Arch. The kids thought this was really neat looking at all the cars and boats from way up high. Next to Arrington, TN to Arrington Vineyards. I sampled 6 different wines and felt a little loopy. This was the first time I had had a drink since having Evan so I wasn't surprised. After purchasing 6 bottles of wine we were on our way to Atlanta, GA. We arrived at the hotel in Atlanta a little after midnight and it was 82 degrees!!! The next day was hot and humid and the sun was out in full force. Speaking with some locals they said this wasn't even a hot day!! Guess I could never last in the south!! First stop was Zoo Atlanta where we saw panda bears, reptiles, and lots of babies. A lot of the animals did not have the huge cages around the exhibits like they do here. The giraffes, zebras and ostrich's were roaming free. There was only a fence and a creek that separated us from the animals. It was very neat for the kids to get an opportunity to see the animals this close and to get some great pictures. Next stop was the World of Coca-Cola. The tour was neat with years and years of memorabilia and a neat movie on what happens inside a pop machine. The Coca-Cola panda bear was there taking pictures with guests. He was a hoot. He scared the pants off one lady, and Nick just about dies laughing. Then a girl about Sam's age had a stuffed penguin and he put it in his mouth and was refusing to give it back. Then he snuggled up to a cute gal and gently gave Evan a kiss on the head. The neatest thing was the 4-D movie complete with moving seats, wind and water effects. We got to try different kinds of Coke from all over the world. They have unique flavors from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. Some were pretty good like the sour apple and others were awful (Beverly). We got to take home our own commemorative bottle made only at the World of Coca-Cola factory. Due to the hot and humid weather, and advice from Bridgit, we took a walk over to the Olympic Centennial Park. They have the 5 Olympic rings that are fountains. The kids had a ton of fun and were soaked but cooled off a little. The next day we packed up and headed to North Carolina. We hung out at Nate & Kari's house most of the time and played games, and just chilled. One day we spent at the beach. The kids had tons of fun finding shells, jumping waves and trying to make sand castles. I could definitely live near a beach and spend most of my days there. Listening to the waves is so soothing and jumping waves and running on the sand is a great workout. Plus it provides hours and hours of entertainment for the kids. It was another hot & humid day but a nice breeze from the ocean provided some relief. The ocean water was the perfect temperature to cool off in. Evan slept most of the time but I did take him into the water once. He DID NOT like this water at all!! It was a little chilly and being the warm boy he is I figured it would not sit well. After a few days in North Carolina we headed to Louisville, KY. We ended up staying Lexington, KY. The drive from Lexington to Louisville was absolutely gorgeous!! There were rolling hills and horse ranches on both sides of the highway. Of course it had to be raining so I could not take pictures and the ones through the windows were not doing the beautiful area any justice. I was hoping to be able to take some back roads and enjoy the scenery but unfortunately we were short on time. We went to the Louisville Slugger Museum and toured the factory where they make bats. Unfortunately they do not make bats on Sundays but this was probably better since I am sure it would have been loud for Evan. At the end of the tour we each got our own little bat and being Father's Day, Nicholas got a special "Most Valuable Dad 2009" bat. Next we went to Churchill Downs were the Kentucky Derby is run. Sam, Katarina, Ian and I took a look around the museum and took a tour of the grounds. We were lucky enough to be at Churchill Downs on a race day so we got to see the "locker room" area where the horses are kept and walked around so people can decide which one to bet on. Then the horses were dressed and the jockey's took over. A jockey is around 5'3" tall and weighs between 108-115lbs (finally a job tailored just to me!!). Next the horses and jockeys go out to the track where they take a leisurely lap around the track. Something I didn't know was that usually the first time a jockey ever meets the horse is in the "locker room" area just before the race. Then we got to watch a race. The track was definitely a lot bigger than I thought it would be. Watching the horses come around the corner and listening to their hooves on the dirt was amazing!!! There was one horse that was being particularly stubborn before the race which is the one Sam would have bet on and that horse won!! After a long day in KY we decided the next destination would be Chicago, IL. We took in Navy Pier amusement park and went on a pirate ship ride into Lake Michigan. Next off to the Shedd Aquarium where we went through a "flood season" and how the wildlife changes throughout. Then onto more local aquatic life and finally into the ocean. In the lakes exhibit there was a fish that was about 3 times the size of Evan!! And snakes that were about 8 feet long. Ian really liked the sharks and Katarina loved the corals and colorful fish of the ocean. They had a huge sea turtle that I would guess was at least 5 feet around, just on the bottom of his shell!! Very neat experience, just wish we would have had more time to enjoy it. Then off for home. We decided to drive right through and arrived home around 12:30am on Tuesday, June 23. All in all it was a great trip and we could not have asked for better behaved children, especially in the car. Hopefully this is just the start of many new adventures!!!

Family Vacation - Iowa

Katarina, Nick and Sam climbing the wall.
Ian taking a turn at wall climbing.
Evan's first time in a swimming pool, at the Waukee, Iowa YMCA.

Caitlyn, Natalie, Bridgit and Katarina having fun at the YMCA pool.
We finally took a family vacation this summer. Our first stop was Waukee, IA to visit Bridgit, Chris, Caitlyn and Natalie. While in Iowa we had a great time hanging out, playing games, playing the Wii, trying wall climbing and swimming at the local YMCA. They sure have a nice pool and facility, wish Chippewa would get something like it. See our next posts for more of the stops and fun on our 11 day family vacation road trip!!

Katarina's Awards

On June 5th Jim Falls Elementary held their annual awards ceremony. Katarina received 2 awards. One was for reading at least 10 minutes a night at home throughout the school year and the second was for receiving an average of 94% or higher on all of her spelling tests throughout first grade!! We are very proud of her and hope she continues to be a great speller and reader.

Sam's Awards

On June 5th Jim Falls Elementary School held their annual awards ceremony. Samantha received numerous awards showing her hard work and dedication paid off. The one she is most proud of is the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. In order to receive this award a student must maintain an A- grade point average throughout 4th and 5th grade. 11 students in Sam's class received this award and she would like to point out only one was a boy!! Other awards she received are: Library Reading Award for checking out 52 books from the school library throughout the year, Family Reading Award for partaking in a "Book-It" like program which encourages children to read at least 10 minutes every night at home either by themselves or with a parent, an Art Award for putting forth the most effort on art projects, and a pin for participating in a state wide competition for Battle of the Books. If you are not familiar with Battle of the Books it is a program where a group of 3 students have a list of books to read and memorize then are asked numerous questions about the books. We are very proud of Sam and know she will do well in Middle School. Wow I just can't believe that she is going to Middle School! Someone told me kids will grow up even faster once they enter school and I really didn't believe it until my kids were in school. And now Sam is going to be a 6th grader!!!

Ian's 4K Graduation

Ian "graduated" from 4yoa kindergarten (BB4C) on June 4th. He was so handsome and so proud that he finally gets to go to kindergarten and ride the bus with Katarina to school!! The entire BB4C class walked in to Pomp and Circumstance, then they sang us some songs, then showed a slide show of pictures taken throughout the year and finally handed out the diplomas. It was such a cute little ceremony!! I can't believe he will be going to Kindergarten next year!!