"Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" has nothing on us!

We quickly figured out that the pattern of this trip was all about things for the girls to ride on and play with....so, here is my post about all of the modes of transportation that we encountered.

First of course the van. It was 3,200 miles traveled in it to be exact, and thank goodness this is how the girls spent some of that time as passengers.

Ahh, America...next it was tractor rides in Illinois. Definitely a hit, and I liked driving.

Dirtbikes. My cousin, Eric, has this set up for his son Kyle. It is a little dirtbike with training wheels. Jenna really liked this and took advantage of every chance she had to ride it!

Kylie on the other hand would rather be the passenger. She liked riding with Uncle Conor.

Conor's fishing boat on the canal.

Conor also took the girls for a spin in the Bronco.

Four wheeler rides with Grandpa.

Horse & cart. I guess that is what it is called, but it sounds funny.

Horse. This is Brittny's horse, Lilly.

Golf Cart. It is funny that the picture is of Jed driving, because I had so much fun, I was driving it all the time. I don't remember him driving. I bet they snuck out there while I was taking a nap?

Pontoon Boat with Grandy and Grandpa Dave.

Summer Voyage: Battle Lake & Red Wing, Minnesota

Our adventure continued as went east towards Battle Lake to spend a couple of days with Grandy and Grandpa Dave. Grandpa Dave had gotten the girls a couple of fishing poles and we spent some time fishing off of their dock. It got to be too much work...with every cast the girls were catching little sunfish.
Emphasis on the word little. It was still lots of fun. The girls made great fishermen. They wouldn't put the worms on or take the fish off, but they did all the hard work.
After our time in Battle Lake, we headed south to Red Wing. Dave's son, Shane, came over one morning with his kids. The girls had such a great time with them. Here they are doing a little spin art!
Picture time for Landrie, Grandy and Grandpa Dave.
One of our favorite things to do in Red Wing was to enjoy a camp fire out on the deck. Here's a nice picture of Jamie and Grandy and I. You can see the moon behind us, and if you look really close you can see the face of Wilma Flintstone's mother, Pearl Slaghoople.(This legend was unveiled to us by Grandy on this trip)

Meeting up with friends in Brainerd

We were lucky that some of our friends were able to come see us while in Brainerd. We met up with Jen and Bryan Miller along with their handsome little guy, Carter. They live in Brainerd and we were very glad to have some time to visit with them and to finally get to meet their little boy. Becs and her boyfriend, Bryan, and Andrea all made the trip from the Twin Cities to come hang with us for the night. I am very glad that it worked out. It is always nice to reconnect.

Here is Carter with Jenna, Kylie and Brittny after conquering the large dirt pile!

Summer Voyage: Brainerd, Minnesota

After Illinois, we headed north to Brainerd for a few days. We spent time with Grandma and Grandpa Eisel, Uncle Rick, Auntie Lisa, Brittny and the newest cousin, Garrett. We also saw some great friends too...they will be in a separate post. It was fun to see Landrie and Garrett interact, they were almost oblivious to the other one being there some of the time. Landrie would hijack toys and pat him on the head(similar to the "patting" she did when Addyson visited). All in all, they did a little baby bonding.
As most would suspect, it was difficult to get a picture with both of them looking, but we finally pulled it off.
Grandpa loved spending time with all of his girls. They loved the four wheeler rides, and always wanted to go "just one more time"!
Grandma was a big help with Landrie when she wasn't tied up with Garrett. Two little grandbabies can be a challenge! Landrie enjoyed her time with Grandma, especially the night that Grandma followed her around while she explored the lawn for at least two hours so we could relax with friends. Thanks mom!
On our last day in Brainerd, my Aunt and Uncle, Dorothy and Clayton, invited us down to the lake for a cookout. We had hot dogs, brats, potato salad, chinese chicken salad, desserts and some wine. The girls got to swim a little too, and Landrie enjoyed some time in the tree swing as the sisters pushed her.

Summer Voyage: Illinois

Our summer excursion from Texas took us to the far north. Our first stop was Atkinson, Illinois to visit Pop Pop and Shanny. We also spent some time with Uncle Conor, Uncle Mike, Grandma Marge and Aunt LeAnn's family...it was a great time. The weather was great, with some "cooler than we are used to" evenings, but we made it:)
Uncle Conor took us for a ride in his boat on the canal, that was fun. Conor you are growing up so fast...you are taller than I am now!!
The girls enjoyed time with Uncle Mike too. They all balanced the front of the boat and smiled for this snapshot in a large culvert.
Pop Pop and Shanny were a big help with Landrie!! Thanks so much for getting her in the mornings and letting us sleep another hour or two, that was awesome. She can be quite a handful:)

Landrie's pool pics

Here are some pics of Landrie at her happiest......because she is naked!

Look at this perfect fit.
She loved it.
Testing out her walking in the water.
This was great! The girls always want to do a silly picture after I ask them to smile for a nice one. It was funny because they didn't know Jed held Landrie up until they saw the picture on the camera!

Beating the Texas Heat

We have been spending lots of time in the water these past few days. It seems like the only way to be out of the house and comfortable.
Here are a few pics from our afternoons.
Poolside table for two.

Wii-ing

Our friends Deanna and Jodi just got a Wii. We have been over there several times to play. One thing that you can do is to create a "Mii". The point of the Mii is so that when you play the games your character plays and it is supposed to be a likeness of yourself. Anyway......We all made one. Here is a picture of mine.

I agree....not really close. But get this.....
Freakish isn't it. We laugh so hard everytime we see it. Jenna and I were playing baseball over there the other day and I guess the game automatically puts in the other mii players because every once in awhile Jed would show up to bat for my team. Great fun!
Our two favorite games are American Idol and Rock Band. Here's a picture of Jenna and Kylie singing a duet. I believe the song was Glamorous. I wish I had a picture of us playing Rock Band. We have got it all figured out. With me on the guitar, Deanna on the drums and Jed on vocals we sure do rock! I know what will be on the top of this years Christmas wish list. The girls would sure enjoy one too! Ha!