Summer Vacation 2012

For our vacation this year, we headed east at the beginning of August. The Yergler family reunion was held in Des Moines, which was a much easier drive for us than in previous years when it was in Indiana.

Our first night was spent in Lincoln, NE. We were excited to have time to spend in Omaha the following day as Greg and I wanted Godfathers Pizza (they don’t have them here in Denver) and we also wanted to show Adrianna some of the places we lived during our time in Omaha.

Omaha

When we got to Omaha, we drove by Grace University and showed Adrianna where we had our first date (a picnic) and also drove by our various houses in the area. Sadly, the Green Burrito (the house Greg lived in during our first months of dating) is no longer there. The other places looked much the same.

We then drove downtown through Old Market and then went to Con Agra. It was so hot and humid that we were exhausted and sweaty by the time we’d walked around Con Agra park, but it was worth it. We enjoyed the ducks and ducklings and pointing out to Adrianna that Greg and I had also spent time walking around there 12+ years ago when we were dating. We also told her that we’d had a picnic at Con Agra on our 1 year anniversary, which was also the night Greg proposed. 🙂

After exploring Con Agra, we went to Godfathers Pizza on 29th and Farnam. This was one of the two Godfather’s restaurants I’d worked at during the time we lived in Omaha. It was also the particular place where Greg came to ask me out on a date! I still remember wiping down the salad bar when I noticed him walk in the door. And jumping around with glee in the kitchen after he’d left because I was so excited that he’d asked me out. 🙂

Not too much had changed there. The food was delicious, as expected.

Des Moines

After lunch, we headed to Des Moines for the Yergler family reunion. Adrianna was very happy that her 2nd cousin Ella was there. She and Ella instantly began palling around again. Bree hung out near us, stacking and unstacking the kids chairs. She was very particular about it and got very angry  if anyone tried to help her. For dinner, we lucked out and got Godfather’s Pizza again. Yay!!

The following day, many of us went to Adventureland. As soon as we pulled into our parking space, the sky began to dump rain. We decided to wait it out and I am glad we did. The day that followed was pleasant and a lot of fun.

Bree got to ride her very first amusement park ride. Appropriately, it was on a ladybug, which she loves. (She calls ladybugs “wee-a-buh”.)

Adrianna enjoyed the merry-go-round. I thought Bree would enjoy riding a “hoe-hee” (horsy), since she loves horses and ponies, but she got nervous after I put her on one, so she and I rode the bench on the merry-go-round instead.

And back to the ladybugs. This time with Ella driving.

Bumper cars! Adrianna enjoyed chasing my cousin Jess and Ella around.

A log ride. One of the fun rides pregnant women weren’t allowed on – Boo!

Bree didn’t like the boat ride. I think the water made her nervous. She cried most of the ride. I loved how Adrianna would put her arm around Bree to make sure she stayed safely in the boat. Such a good big sister!

Ladybugs again!

Greg strikes a pose on the ferris wheel.

Some of the cousins on the train. My cousin Matt, his daughter Sienna, Adrianna, Ella and Ethan and Chad.

Bree talked about riding the ladybugs for days afterward. (“Righ a wee-a-buh!”) She even proudly talked about riding the boats.

The reunion itself was at my Uncle Ray and Aunt Donna’s house. They have a huge backyard and after the rainstorm, the weather was pleasant so we all spent a lot of time outside while the kids ran around and played. It was the perfect, laid-back setting for a reunion. And my Aunt Donna was a great hostess and she and my cousin Jess and her husband Chad provided a ton of delicious food for the entire weekend. I enjoyed seeing cousins and aunts and uncles and am very glad we made the trip.

Visiting Friends in Iowa

After the reunion, we visited some friends who lived in a little town nearby. Chris and Anja’s oldest daughter and son and Adrianna had a blast playing together. After jumping around the trampoline and dressing up like the cutest princess, queen and knight you ever did see, they decided they wanted to setup a lemonade stand. Of course our little entrepreneur was beside herself with joy when the grown-ups said “okay”.

I was told the umbrella was because “they are royal.”

We were all amazed at how many customers they received. And many of the customers tipped well too. By the end of the afternoon, they’d made $14.50, which they split three ways. Of course, how could anyone resist NOT stopping with such cute kids in their costumes?

We had fun visiting with Chris and Anja while the kids played. We realized that the last time we’d been to their house, I was pregnant with Adrianna! Although we have seen them one time in between, when we’d all stayed at a Ramada together in Des Moines when Adrianna was 2. She and Keelin were the best of friends that time too.

First Lost Tooth!

Of course I cannot miss blogging about Adrianna’s first lost tooth! At our hotel room that evening, she pulled it out. She was extremely excited about it and admired her new smile in the mirror for some time. The “tooth fairy” did visit her that night and she was pleased to have another dollar to add to her stash of money.

Kansas City

On Monday, August 6th, we left the Des Moines area and headed to Kansas City and the Great Wolf Lodge. The Great Wolf Lodge is a fun resort with an indoor water park. Greg and I had reserved the “Kid Kamp” room which had a separate room with a bunk bed for the kids. I regret that I didn’t take a picture of them in it while we were there; it was really cool!

The water park itself was fun. My favorite part was the lazy river. Bree wasn’t too keen on the water, even the kiddie portions. But she did consent to sitting on a lap (therefore being mostly out of the water) and floating along the lazy river with Greg or I. It was a great compromise.

Adrianna enjoyed wearing a life jacked and floating on her back in the lazy river. She loves to play in the water.

Since we were in Kansas City over Greg’s birthday, we all went out to the restaurant of his choice: Jack Stack. Kristi had taken us there before and it was as good as we remembered. One of the best meals ever, in fact. It was so delicious! Afterward, Jeff and Jess treated everyone to cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.

After staying an additional night in Kansas City at Kristi’s new house, we headed back to Denver. We planned on staying at a hotel in Hays, about halfway home, but the Holiday Inn Express (one of our favorite hotels to stay at) was full and the Ramada (which is a chain that we often have enjoyed) was disgusting. Seriously gross, stinky, awful. We weren’t in our room for 5 minutes before we headed for the front desk to ask for a refund and left town.

We drove another hour and a half to Colby where we knew there was another nice Holiday Inn Express. Greg thankfully thought to have me call ahead because they were filling up too by the time we arrived. But we got a good room and had an enjoyable rest of the evening and a relatively easy drive home the next day since we’d gone more than halfway.

It was a nice vacation and I am so glad we got to spend it with friends and family.