Our Mini-vacation

Okay, get comfortable - this one's looooooooong!

My friend Tiffany from college got married last weekend in Illinois, so we decided to turn it into a little mini-vacation! We went there for the wedding, to the St. Louis zoo, and then took a short drive to Southern Indiana to see my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

It was a bit of a long drive, so we took several stetching breaks along the way. Here we are at the World's Biggest Rocking Chair. Seriously. We saw the sign and just couldn't pass it up!

Our after dinner stretch: (LOVE watching my boys play!)

Saturday morning we went to the St. Louis zoo. Lots of fun!

My favorite "Daddy and Me" picture:

My favorite "Mommy and Me" picture:

Guinea pigs:

Looking at Tree Kangaroos:

For some reason, Lonnie found this extremely funny and HAD to get his picture taken by it:

Finally... the wedding! Tiffany, you were a STUNNING bride! So glad we could share in your special day!

This is pretty much what Ethan did during the reception. He wandered around the open field, watched the other kids play (participated a little bit), and threw his bear around. He just loves to be outside; it doesn't matter what he's doing!

After the wedding we drove 3 hours to see my grandparents in Southern Indiana. It was WAAAAY worth the trip! I am so glad we took the time to head their way; we don't get to see them very often. We certainly couldn't pass up the chance to see them since we were so close by! Grandma and Grandpa, thanks for a great visit; we wish we could see you more often!


At Olive Garden for dinner after church: (eating lemons - yum!)

When we got back from dinner, we had this to deal with:

Awesome. Unfortunately, the TLE at Walmart was already closed for the night, so Lonnie put on the spare tire for us to drive on until we could get to a Walmart in the morning. (I love having a handy husband, by the way!!!!)

We all kept Lonnie company outside while he changed the tire.

Ethan seems to take a while to warm up to people, which was true with my grandparents. But once he warms up, look out! By Sunday night Ethan was very comfortable with his GreatMa and GreatPa, and he was hamming it up! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these next few pictures:

A couple funny stories from the trip:

(IF YOU DON'T LIKE POTTY STORIES, STOP READING!!!!)

• While we were at the hotel in Mt. Vernon, we had just finished getting Ethan undressed and were getting ready for bed. We were letting him "air out" a little before putting on his PJ's. He wandered into the bathroom and we shortly after hear a loud thud and crying (never a good sign). I walk in there and see that Ethan had fallen and hit his head on the floor - no big deal, he was fine. After further inspection, I see a "puddle" on the floor. He had peed on the floor, slipped on it, and fell! Am I a bad mom that I think this is hysterical?
• On one of our stops for gas and bathroom, Ethan decided it was a good time for his "potty" break, too. Once I was sure that he was done filling his pants, I took him to the front seat to change his diaper. Not ideal, but it was a small, dirty gas station, and I figured the van was definitely better than going inside. So we were a little cramped, but I proceeded to change his diaper anyways. Once I undid his diaper and started to wipe his cutie patootie, the uh, poo came unstowed, so to speak, and basically rolled out of the diaper, hit the van floor, hit my foot, and rolled to a stop on the ground. Lonnie and I could NOT stop laughing. The kind of laugh where your face hurts. Oh, poor Ethan - such immature parents. I couldn't help but start singing the "On top of spaghetti" song, and change the words to fit our poo situation. Ahhhhhh...we all need a good laugh on a long trip like that. Good stuff. (At our defense, it was getting late and we were getting a little loopy.)

We had a WONDERFUL time on our mini-vacation. Got us all excited for our BIG vacation next month - Destin! Can't wait!