Road trip and school!

Lots of quality time in the van
Caleb still likes to rub hair :)
Isaac wasn't sure what to do with the video games
Grandma and the boys on the carousel. Isaac had a death grip and wouldn't smile at anyone. :)
At the park with Tessa and the kids. I'm pretty sure I am holding Isa in this picture???
The DeMaster cousins (minus Annika who was at market and Jack in WI) and Nate
First day of school- Off to Young 5's all day long!
Caleb's first desk

Time to catch up on blogging! We had a great vacation. We started by going to Freeport for a reunion. I got together with some grade school friends and it was alot of fun. It was also interesting to drive around Freeport again. I am officially a parent now- I kept pointing out landmarks to Caleb like, this is my old house, and here is my old high school! He was only mildly interested. :) We spent a night in a hotel with a pool which is great fun for the kids. The next day we made it to Toledo and spent the night in another hotel with a pool. Isaac slept in a sleeping bag and threw up during the night. Nothing like puke in a hotel room in the middle of the night, ugh. Thankfully he didn't throw up again. However, after that night Nate and I wonder how people sleep in the same bed as their children! I shared the bed with Isaac and he spent most of the night sleeping horizontally to me and kicking me in the side or sleeping on top of me. Nate got a fair amount of kicking from Caleb in their bed. :) After 2 nights in hotels and lots of driving I was starting to wonder why we decided to take this "vacation." However, Nate reminded me that the kids were loving the vacation. And it's true as long as the kids are enjoying the trip, the parents are happy too. Of course, the vacation is not truly relaxing for parents, but that is why we take vacations away from the kids. :)

Anyways, back to my travelogue! We arrived in Rochester and spent a couple days with Nate's parents. We hit the local children's museum and zoo. We also visited Lake Ontario and local playgrounds. The boys enjoyed undivided attention from their grandparents. Nate and I did alot of reading and relaxing. We then drove to Reuben and Tessa's farm. It was fun to see their kids again and catch up. Annika is almost 9, Simeon is 7, Britta is 4, Blaise is 2, Gwen and Isa are 4 months old. It is a busy household and I don't know how Tessa does it! Isaac enjoyed playing outside alot. Caleb mostly enjoyed it, but was a little stressed at times. By our last night Caleb was a wreck. He was crying and saying, "I want to go home and I don't want to sleep on the floor anymore!" He spent almost the whole vacation sleeping on the floor. :) The trip home took 12 hours and the kids did really well. We only stopped twice, which was a big blessing! Thanks to our family for hosting us!

And now that summer is officially over, school started today! Caleb was excited to start school and no tears or fears today. I was a little sad today. It was weird to eat lunch and spend the afternoon without Caleb here. Isaac would occasionally ask "Key-ub?" We'll all have to adjust to this new routine!