Show Me Fun

As the summer comes to a close, we're getting in our last bouts of fun and travel. Last Thursday, after attending a "meet your teacher" picnic and Meredith's new school, we hopped in the Honda CR-V (nicknamed "Junebug") and drove through the night to Springfield, Missouri. Leaving Eden Prairie, Minnesota around 7:00 PM, we arrived safe and sound just shy of 5:00 AM at the grandparents house. The two girls did their duty of sleeping the entire drive. After driving 10 hours, Jen and I immediately went to bed and the girls had fun with Grandma Gail and Grandpa Kerry.

It was a short visit to Springfield, but fun-filled. We got some good swimming in. Meredith got quality time with her grandparents and Jake-Dog. We were able to celebrate Great Grandma Lael's 80th birthday party. Elaine got reacquainted with other relatives and met Uncle David and Aunt Olga, who hopped in a car themselves and drove from Tulsa, Oklahoma immediately after flying in from their three weeks in Russia. Elaine continued to do a good job eating from the bottle, her late-coming and urgently anticipated skill. She also continued to eat solid foods, with the result of various levels of mess.

We returned to Minneapolis in the same fashion--driving through the night. I must say that driving through rural Missouri, Iowa, and then southern Minnesota is just as exciting at night as it is during the day. Either way there isn't much to see. Fortunately, it is an easy route to drive.

PICTURES

Meredith feeds Elaine!


Great Grandma Lael the day after her birthday made a cake to celebrate all the September birthdays of those present including Meredith.


Meredith gets an early birthday present from Grandpa Kerry--a camp chair from Bass Pro.


Jet-lagged Uncle David and Aunt Olga meet Elaine.






VIDEO

Meredith feeds Elaine. (We're trying to teach her that "little baby-butt" is not an acceptable term of endearment for her sister.)