A Trip Up North

We made a long weekend out of the Fourth of July and headed up to Minnesota/Wisconsin for some time with Tim's family. We decided to break up our trip and left Thursday afternoon for Marion, IA to stay with our dear friends Any & Lindsey Knopp and meet their adorable new son, Liam, who is a month old. It was too short of a visit, but absolutely great to see them and meet baby Liam.

Friday morning we were off for day 2 of traveling and made it to Minnesota by lunch time. After a quick lunch, we all went to the Plainview pool so Hannah could swim her little heart out (her favorite summer activity!). They have a great kids pool and she felt right at home. Kyle and Nikki arrived later that day and we went out to dinner. It was a great start to our time together.

Saturday was a low key day of playing and just being together. Hannah made breakfast with Nana in her new apron and chef hat from Nana. She is definitely our little cook and baker!
We went back to the pool that afternoon since Aunt Ni Ni wasn't there yesterday. We came back and grilled out and Hannah and Cameron played on Nana & Papa's swing set. Here is our little man swinging away.Sunday was a busy day -- so much that I didn't take a lot of pictures that day. We started out at church and then made our way to Wisconsin for a dual family get together. First, we had a baby shower for Nikki. Yes, our kids our going to have their first baby cousin born this November! We are all so excited for Nikki & Kyle. The family got together to shower Nikki with some wonderful baby gifts. After a short break, the men of the family joined in and we had a really nice barbecue to Meet & Greet baby Cameron. Ken & Delaine did a great job putting it together and we were so thankful to get to visit with a lot of family that live in the area!

We decided to leave the afternoon of the fourth and head to Kyle & Nikki's to help break up our return trip home. So that left us with the morning to have some more fun with Nana & Papa. They took us to this great toy store near them. There was a nice little bench to take some photos of us. Here is our family ready for the Fourth of July!

Next up was Nana & Papa with the grandkids.

Then Aunt Ni Ni with her niece and nephew (Uncle Kyle was playing softball during the day.)

There were tons of toys and one whole room of handmade wooden toys. Hannah got to pick out one toy and she chose a metal Elmo lunch box. Cam got a wooden truck to zoom around when he gets a bit bigger. There was also this amazing carousal that was all handmade from wood. It took them nine years to make it. Hannah went with Nana and had a blast!
We went back to Ken & Delaine's for lunch then took off for the first leg of our return trip. We were very gracious that Kyle & Nikki let us stay with them. At this phase of our lives, taking the trip in two days is a great option! We made it back home on Tuesday to rest from our busy weekend. We had a wonderful time with Tim's family and are so thankful for our time with them!