Kansas Trip

As a family we decided that we needed a break from our routine so we decided we needed a vacation. After discussing ideas we finally settled on Kansas to go and visit some a Mike's family that live down there. Mike's brother Charlie and his family, his sister Lauree and her family, andhis sister Jaimee all live there. However this meant a 16 hour+ drive out there because plane tickets are too expensive especially now that we would have to pay for Tyson. So on March 22nd we started on our way. We had packed the portable DVD players and many toys, books, and other distractions for Tyson. He did quite well on the whole trip except for a few outbursts which would be expected from a 2 year old on a 16 hour trip. Tyson did not sleep a ton but did watch quite a few movies. Eliza did really well and only cried when she got hungry. I would get back there inbetween the car seats (which is a tight fit but doable) and feed her when she got hungry. On our way out to Kansas we took I-80 and we had almost got to Laramie, Wyoming when they shut down the interstate and were not letting anyone through because of a severe storm with high winds. We were told that there were about 15 crashes there. So we had to backtrack a little and go about 170 miles (about 3 1/2 hours) out of our way to get past this. We went up through Casper and around to Cheyenne, Wyoming. We stopped in Cheyenne for the night. It wasn't until about 11:30 PM when we got there and by the time we got in and got everyone to bed it was probably 1:00 AM. We started off the next day around 8:00 AM and made it to Kansas at about 5:00 Kansas time. Long trip especially with the detour. That night we just spent time hanging out, talking, and have a bbq dinner with yummy ribs. We stayed with Charlie and Lotus and their family for two nights. Then went to Lauree and Chris Rush's the next two nights. The first day that we were there we went to the insect museum on campus and had pizza for lunch and then ice cream. We went home put the kids down for naps and the boys tried out their insects that they got from the insect museum and had dinner and had a lot of fun just hanging out. The next day we got up and ready and headed to Topeka and went to the zoo there and then went back to the Rush's house and had lunch and naps. We had a birthday dinner for Jaimee of fajitas. Saturday we all just hung around and talked then said goodbye to Charlie and Lotus and their family that night. We stayed another night at the Rush's and then left their house Sunday morning to head home. This time we headed on I-70. The weather got a little rough in Colorado around Vail. We decided to stop in Glenwood Springs that night to spend the night. We stopped around 9:30 and got a room and were able to relax a little bit. We left the next morning after breakfast at 8:00 AM and made it back home at about 1:00 PM. It was a long drive but short stay. It was fun though to see everyone.

Tyson at naptime

Eliza did quite a bit of this

Insect Museum

playing with bugs

being bugs ourselves

the three little girl cousins (Rylee, Eliza, Rosie)

Shining a flashlight at the bugs

The whole family

Our little family in front of the butterfly showcase

After the insect museum we went outside and got another group family picture

Cousins playing together outside

Eating ice cream

What a happy bunch of kids. They had so much fun playing together.

Eating the insects from the insect museum

Topeka Zoo (It was a very cold day)

All the boys (Mike, Tyson, Tanner, Chris, Sammy, Charlie)

Most the girls-minus the three baby girls who were all sleeping at this time (Lauree, Jaimee, Maddie, Chari, Lotus)

Tyson was introduced to bubble baths this trip and now asks for them all the time. Yes we had to go out and buy bubble bath.

The three little boys did a lot of wrestling and being little boys. They had a lot of fun together.

Two of the little girls. Sharing binkies. How nice.

All the cousins. The best picture we could get. (Rosie, Maddie, Tanner, Rylee, Sammy, Tyson, Eliza)

Saying goodbye to Sammy.

Back in the car for the trip home.