We decided to take our first family road trip this summer.
So we stocked up on toddler songs CDs, packed up the Pacifica, filled up the gas tank, and took off.
One of our roadside oasis lunch stops.
We made it Minneapolis to find Jula, (Brad), Liz & Matt!
Polar bears at the Como Park Zoo.
Us girls and the giraffes :)
Abigail loved sitting in the animal car in "Como Town"
Stepping in the firefighter boots.
Seal show at the zoo.
"Spoon Bridge and Cherry" at Sculpture Garden. It's a fountain too.
At some point, Lydia got the camera and was taking pictures of all the flowers.
She took this picture of us. This is at one end of the Sculpture Garden.
The Girls.
"do not climb sculpture" sign was not found near this one.
a different kind of stick horse
On pedestrian only Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis.
Mall of America! American Girl store!
Nickelodeon Universe! Blue from Blue's Clues!
Riding Magenta's Skidoo. Lydia was all smiles!
Riding the train with Daddy.
Meeting Dora & Boots. She's so happy!
Curious about the Lego girl.
Under the Dora umbrella back at Como Park.
The next day we stayed overnight at a hotel in Ames, IA. Bouncing on the hotel bed is a must.
As is swimming in the pool.
The next day we made it to Great Grandma Pulley's in Shenandoah, IA and visited for two days.
Then finally to Aunt Marsha & Terry's lake house for a bit of a family reunion.
Janet, Dana, Brent, Jeff, Mike, Terry
Trent, Trevor, Jordan, Addie, Josie, Mackenzie, Josh; Reed and Lydia in front.
Abigail and Lydia sitting with Marsha.
A stop in Port Byron then made our final stretch to home in Oak Creek.
I felt kind of out of whack upon returning home after all those hours in the car, but it was worth it. Good family times.
The exuberant Abigail is 18 months old, and boy is she growing up fast! Already moving her step stool to see what's going on at the kitchen counter, scooting down stairs, swinging in the regular big swing, putting away her utensils from the dishwasher, playing with tiny toys, talking. Some of her words include: duck, pig, where's Daddy?, Lydia, cup, dog, baby, shoe, swing, high, snack, and why (guess who taught her that one). She's still obsessed with shoes and enjoys tea parties with Lydia. Also, she's a big copy cat of Lydia and even what she sees on TV. Example: we had American Ninja Warrior on, and so Abigail started jumping and flopping off the living room bench. Lydia said "She's being brave like on TV." Abigail looked something like this:
