Summer Road Trip

We're taking a road trip for our summer vacation this year.  We affectionately call our drive the 'Great Grandma Tour', but that's really not the best name because we saw lots of other family along the way!

We're loaded and ready to roll bright and early!  First stop on any road trip is McDonald's for breakfast!


A few hours into our trip, we stopped for a bathroom break and to feed Liam



Our lunchtime stop on day 1 was in Lincoln so we could visit  my Great Uncle Charlie. We were excited for him to meet Liam and to see Karsten again.  We had lunch with him, my Uncle Dave and my cousin Brett. We ate in a private dining room at his apartment complex which was nice so we didn't disturb the other residents, and it gave Karsten the chance to get out of his chair and run off some of his energy.  

Liam got tired sitting in his highchair so he sat on Grandma's lap.  As soon as he was on her lap, Karsten decided that HE needed to sit on grandma's lap and help her eat her pie.  I'm not so sure he was much help with the pie, but I think all three of them had fun.


Liam had fun banging his hand on the table just like Uncle Charlie.


Three generations - my dad, Uncle Charlie, and the boys. Perhaps I should have jumped in the picture and we would have had four generations.


Karsten running laps around the room - when he ran past Chuck and Uncle Charlie, Charlie would act like he was going to jump out and grab Karsten.  This made Karsten laugh and laugh.  It was contagious and had us all laughing!


After lunch and a good chat with Uncle Charlie, Uncle Dave and Brett, we loaded up and headed to Scott's mom's house in Kensington. Karsten got to watch a movie on the iPad (aka baby 'puter) and then took a nap. He told me many times that he wasn't tired and he didn't know HOW to close his eyes, but when I told him that if he didn't take a little nap in the car, he would have to take one at Grandma's, he remembered how to close his eyes. :) He didn't want to miss play time with Grandma.


After naps, both boys were ready to play with Grandma and Papa.  Karsten found Grandma's toys and they got syarted playing with Papa.

Second haircut

Liam's first haircut was a little over a month ago, but his hair seems to grow super fast so it was time for another trim.

The 'before' shot.


I told Miss Sarah that I was really perplexed about what to do with his hair since it has a tiny bit of curl in it and two cowlicks in the front.  She played with it a bit then started trimming.  As I watched anxiously, my sweet baby started to look more like a sweet little boy.  :(






Karsten got to have his hair trimmed as well.  He's an old pro at the haircut thing now - he knows he gets a sucker and gets to watch Thomas on the TV, so he's a happy camper.


Liam showing off his new 'do.  So handsome.

Wordless Wednesday - I love the USA

Finally Swinging

We finally got Karsten's big boy swing hooked up so both boys can swing at the same time!

How does that work?

We were getting dinner ready and Karsten was entertaining Liam with the noisemakers from his birthday party. I love seeing the smile on Liam's face as he watched Karsten, and Karsten was so tickled when he could make Liam laugh and smile.

Touch a truck

This was our second annual trip to the Touch a Truck show.  We decided to head over there right after church, shortly after the show opened.  When we pulled up to park, we were shocked at how many other people apparently had the same thought.  There was a line that ran almost the length of the convention center.  The show ran from 11-4 and I think everyone wanted to touch the trucks before their little ones had to go down for their afternoon naps.

The crane outside the convention center was a big hit with Karsten.




We packed a picnic lunch because we thought we might need a break during the event - it turned out to be a good way to let some of the early crowds clear.


I'm not sure who this bird was - I think he was associated with Harvester's.  Karsten was excited to see him and gave him a big hug!


Trying to figure out how to drive the tow company's H2.




Karsten was excited to see that there were animals to pet...'like at the farm mommy!'


And Liam was along for the ride and enjoyed watching all the people and trucks.


Yet another character - Karsten ran right up and gave him a hug!


This big dumptruck had a LOOOOONG line to get into the drivers seat.  After we waited in line for 10 minutes or so, Scott had the brilliant idea of letting Karsten climb up on the other side of the truck. He was perfectly happy with this solution!




We ran into Jenn, David and the kids.  We coerced Eden and Karsten to pose for us on the front of the armored car.  These looks say 'fine, take the picture already'.


The combine also had a loooong line (are you seeing a theme here?) so we decided to sit in the tire and sit on the header.  Scott showed him how the header worked.




All aboard the school bus!


Rumor had it that the line for the fire truck was an hour and a half.  So, Karsten climbed on the back of the firetruck and posed for a quick picture.  These shortcuts worked this year but I bet we'll be waiting in these long lines in the future.


We visited the semi truck for the tow company on the way out - by this time, both boys were getting tired and were ready to head home.

Party time!

Karsten's 'friend Micky' was the inspiration for his birthday party this year.  He's always telling us that his 'friend Mickey' will be arriving soon or that he played with his friend Micky.  It's so fun see his imagination in action.

After some time (ok, probably hours) trolling Pinterest to get ideas, I finally had to narrow ideas down (aka get pratical since I may have procrastinated the planning a bit).  The Micky balloons made everything more festive and we had food with a Mickey theme.

Here I am putting the finishing touches on the fruit mouse-ka-bobs.  We stuck them into a foam Mickey head - this was my favorite, I was happy how it turned out!


Voila - Mickey's Mousekabobs!




And we had Pete's Pasta Salad.


Chip and Dale brought Chips and Dip.


Professor Von Drake wisely encouraged everyone to eat their veggies.


And you can't have a party without Hot Diggity Dogs!


Karsten liked the Mouskabobs.


A few quick pictures of us and the lunch spread before everyone dug in!




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Karsten wasn't too into the mouse ears - he took these off almost immediately after the picture was taken.


Birthday parties can wear a guy out!


But not this guy - he was enjoying every minute!  My mom spotted these noisemakers at the store and decided that they would complete the party.  The kids had a ton of fun playing with them!




Even the big kids had fun playing with them!


Time to eat!




And don't forget dessert!  We had Pluto's pretzels.


And Clarabelle's cupcakes which had Mickey heads on them.






Karsten and Taylor were claiming their cupcakes.


Still having fun with the noisemakers




And then it was time to blow out the candles!








Eden enjoying her cupcake.


Liam watched Elam eat his cupcake with an envious look on his fave.




Papa giving Liam a kiss.


Karsten headed outside to see his birthday present from Scott and I .








Taylor had fun playing with the Mickey Mouse ears.


I think Karsten was a bit overwhelmed with everyone trying to help him learn how to drive his jeep.


After some negotiating, Karsten shared his jeep and let Elam drive...briefly.


What a cutie!
























Liam stayed inside and kept Gaga company.






Elam talked Linda into playing football with him!


Taylor and Kelli having a good time!


Aww, how cute!


Present time!







Uncle Kevin and Aunt Nancy got Karsten this blow up ball pit - perfect for the 100 balls that they got for him.  They're determined to cover our house in tiny plastic balls!  :)


My dad build Karsten this telecope for his clubhouse - it was an immediate hit with all the kids, everyone wanted to look through it!


My mom made Karsten a cute dinosaur quilt.




Green dino was festive with the Mickey ears.


Aunt Kelli knows how to choose birthday presents for little boys.  The remote control digger is a HUGE hit!


Karsten and Elam wanted my dad to open it right away!


Linda found this cute camp chair for Karsten and he loves it.  It's currently sitting in our living room and he sits in it almost daily!


Liam tried to stay involved in the action.




Karsten, Elam and Eden playing.


Taylor and Karsten playing with the 'puter.


Kelli and Liam - I think the festivities wore this little guy out!


Taylor reading one of Karsten's new books to him.


Jenn and fam


It was a fun day - thank you to all the family and friends who helped us celebrate!!