Road Trippin'!

We just returned from a week-long vacation down in Missouri! Here's all that we did in the ten days... (warming - super long post! #sorrynotsorry) 

We worked ahead to get packed up and ready to go as early as we could on Friday, August 14. Our new process of getting down to Missouri has to include a stayover in Iowa City:) For everyone's mental health. Dave was able to get home early and so we dropped Abby at the pet retreat in the Dells and loaded up the van in some pretty wicked heat and humidity! Yuck! The kids were so anxious to get in the van. They had their backpacks on and kept trying to get in:) Dave kept yelling at them to get out of the heat and stay in the house, but they were pretty excited:) 

Helping Mommy pack up for the trip

The boys

The drive to IC went pretty well. Ayden fired up a bit at the end and I went to sit next to him which helped enough. We were coming in around the kids' bedtimes, but we wanted to eat back in our old haunt:) so we decided to push it with the kids. We drove straight to Cedar Ridge Winery. Dave completely had ulterior motives here - but I love that place too:) We pulled up and the cars were parked down the road! Eek! I was really scared it would be too busy. But you just order at the bar area and find your own place to sit, so we ordered two pizzas and a bottle of wine and made a picnic out in the grass! It. Was. Lovely. It was just gorgeous. It was busy, but there was plenty of space. There was a live band. The place has really expanded since we were there last! The food was amazing, the kids had a ball, we love the wine. We picked up some whisky and jumped back in the van to find our hotel. A perfect way to start our vacation!

Sitting on the hill 

Being silly! Collin loved our number for our pizza order

A pretty fun impromptu picnic!

You know. Your typical winery picnic. On a Bumbo:) 

Beautiful night. Lots of cars

And the pizza was so good.

Our hotel was awesome, a new Homewood Suites at Iowa River Landing. It is right on the interstate and has two rooms, so Dave and I can stay up a little later while the kids sleep. We got up in the morning, hit the busy free breakfast and then hit the road! It was a very hot and humid day, we stopped for some coffee and then jumped on the road to Missouri! The kids did really great. We made gas and potty stops, nursing stops and then ate at the McDonald's in Kingdom City as we neared Gma and Gpa. Dave and I were getting pretty tired of the road trip at that point:) and these strangers kept coming up to our kids all the time and telling us how cute they were and getting in their faces. Stop touching our children!! Good grief!

Enjoying some new activities in the car...

Ayden and I having a nursing break in the car while Dave and the bid kids went to some random place with bait/tackle and apparently an alligator!

Anyway. We rolled into Lake Ozark at a respectable time (around 3 p.m.?) and Gma, Gpa and Laurie were at the door ready to greet us/help us unpack. We hustled in and then got changed into our suits and went down to the community pool for a party! The neighborhood that Gma and Gpa live in is unique in so many ways. It is flat out gorgeous, with views of Lake of the Ozarks below and lots of beautiful homes. It also is home to many, many friends of the Lenningers:) They always want to see the kiddos (and I suppose Dave and I) so there is usually a cocktail party during the week. It was nice to jump right into a pool party/cocktail party as the kids were cooped up in the car all day and they are LOVING the pool right now. They got to play and we were able to chat with everyone. As usual the food everyone made/brought was amazing and we had a nice evening. 

This guy turned 7 months the day after we arrived!

Heading down to the pool party!

The pool we spent a LOT of time at this week!

Ron found this beer!

The kids were set up with a new tent in the dining room area and they slept on cots and "camped." Ayden was in a pack-and-play in the walk-in closet in (our) the downstairs master. The kids loved the tent and slept well there. Ayden did alright at the beginning but his sleep really started to suffer as the week went on :( 

We didn't get moving too early each morning, I like not rushing anywhere when we don't have to! The week started off pretty hot and humid, perfect for the water. We spent time at the pool (Kate's request every single day) and the kids played catch, splashed, jumped in and played with Gma, Gpa and Laurie. Super fun. Ayden spent some time in the water - he liked his floatie thing but also spent time nursing and sleeping on the pool deck and at home. We also rode Gma and Gpa's wave runner ("get ski" - Collin)! Kate rode for the first time last year and loved it. This was Collin's first time. The kids were quite enamored with it. Collin cried quite a bit if he wasn't on it, but eventually he became okay with taking turns. We "borrowed" a dock of some friends (Klautzers) were we could spread out and run the wave runner into the cove for calmer water or out into the main lake. 

Trying to keep Ayden cool and safe!

They weren't too sure at first about jumping in the lake, but they loved this raft.
Ahem - it is actually a floatie for a cooler but it worked perfectly! 

We had some weather roll in after we were there for a bit

Collin's first ride - he LOVED it:)

Hanging out on the dock!

We also swam in the lake and Ayden played in the pack-and-play. We headed back home for some naps and showers and then boarded the boat to ride out for supper. We went to a new place nearby called the Drafthouse. It was new and pretty. The music was a little loud but view and food were good. They had some bocce courts and bags games and the kids did well at the table and then explored over by the games at the end. Ayden did awesome.

Collin sitting with Gpa and Kate with Gma on the way to the restaurant

Our oldest goofball

Collin and Aunt Laurie playing after supper

Collin wanted to take a picture

Tuesday brought more pool fun, plenty of golf cart rides (another thing the kids begged for all week) and another boat trip out to a place called The Boathouse for supper. Our family has been there quite a bit, but it was Laurie's first time. It was completely empty (which we always enjoy) and has a pool, so the kids swam a bit and we lounged and ate great food. Oh - possibly a highlight of that excursion was the kids dancing on this little stage to the music. I need to find the video of that....

A little tired coming home, but still wanted to sit out in the bow - Aunt Laurie had a good hold on him:) 

Snuggles with Gma on the boat

We were going slow and he was fussing enough that I wanted to give him a break from the life jacket

So, Collin decided to come down and smother him:)

Wednesday was the rare cool day with a little bit of rain and overcast skies. So we planned to do brunch at On the Rise (by car). Very yummy and the kids did...okay. We followed that with splitting up girls/boys and doing a little shopping and then pedicures! We all found a little something at Victoria Station and then we had a rather long time at V.V. Nails getting our tootsies taken care of. Kate knew what to expect and did great. She decided on purple nail polish with white polka dots:) 

Our pretty toes!

She likes pedicures - can't blame her!

A sneaky guy crawling around and trying to climb up on Ayden's cot!

We had planned on a movie and grilling for the rest of the day. Though it took quite awhile :) we eventually were able to watch Inside Out the new Disney movie and it was very good. I really enjoyed it and Kate needed to curl up with Daddy as she does if there are any sad parts of a move:) We enjoyed some super yummy supper and then hit the upstairs porch after the kids were asleep for some margaritas and chatting!

Laurie and her "mini-me" watching Inside Out

Laurie had to fly home Thursday morning. At 5 a.m. So....Ron and Laurie got up SUPER early to get her there in time. We said goodbye the night before and she made it safely back to New York with no travel issues! Kate and I made a hair appointment with Bobbi's gal so we could avoid cramming that into our week back home before school starts. It was fun and she had someone shampoo and blow dry her hair for the first time:) She definitely wanted to keep it long, so it was only a trim and she was complimented on her gorgeous hair again. In fact, after our hair appointments, we ran to Target to get a couple things (and get Mommy a coffee:) and at the Starbucks the woman in front of us said she was so cute and gave us three dollars to buy her a drink!

She had been scared to do this the other couple times, but she did great:)

Getting her trimmed hair blown dry - another first!

A (first?) Starbucks run for Kate and I and brief trip into Target:)
We both love our "girl" trips!

We headed back home, left Kate and Collin to watch a movie with Gma and Gpa and Dave and I took Ayden and headed back out! Bobbi suggested we get out to do some shopping and so we did. It was a simply gorgeous day and since it was mid-week, the outlet was empty. Ayden slept for much of it all and then was a just a happy babe for the rest. We did some damage:) And then it was back home for another cocktail party!

After all our time outside and the begging to go for golf cart rides/jet ski rides, we put on a few movies to calm them down! This is usually what happened....

Collin doesn't usually fall asleep. Anywhere.
Tired Bubba

Rich and Robin Mohl hosted a party down at their pool and we joined them for a little swimming, some drinks and supper. It was a beautiful night with yummy food and luckily we made it through supper before the kids started to show their tiredness:) We hauled them out of there, put them to bed and then spent the night up on the porch again, listening to the bands playing across the water:) 

Friday morning brought a round of golf for Ron and Dave. I think they had a good time, but those courses around the Lake of the Ozarks can be pretty challenging! They played The Oaks at Tan-Tar-A with a gift certificate we bought last year. When they got back, we loaded up for one last day on the boat. We went up to Jolly Roger's for lunch. It was pretty windy but super fun to see the pirate ship they have there! They also have a parrot and playground and great food. It was a fun stop. The boys both fell asleep on the boat ride afterward and we docked it at Klautzer's again to get the wave runner out. The boys woke up and we played in the shade in the boat and ran around on the "get ski." :) 

This pirate ship was SO. COOL. 

The boat makes for great naps:)

Double trouble down for the count!

After our fill of fun in the sun, we once again headed back to the house for showers and regrouping. This time, Dave's folks encouraged us to go out for a drink! Okay! We left all three kiddos and had a date night at The Patio at Bentleys. It was so nice. A beautiful night, wine and appetizers and some live music. There was one waitress for the whole patio, so it took awhile for us to get served but we spent a couple hours out and even stopped for ice cream on the old strip on our way back. We maybe should have spent some time doing laundry and packing up later that evening, but we again decided to sit up on the porch and hang out with Ron and Bobbi:) Better time spent. 

A beautiful patio with quite a view

So much to do on the "Strip!"

Well, Ayden slept horribly that final night. I'm not sure what is going on - I know his teeth are bothering him. He just wouldn't sleep. So, that was rough and Dave ended up sleeping up in the upstairs bedroom. I got about 3.5-4 hours of sleep. So I handed Ayden to Dave around 7:15 a.m. and went back to bed. Ugh! Once I got a little more sleep, we attempted to pack it all up and get on the road. We did about as expected, left around 12:15 p.m. and forgot a few important things! My computer cord, swim diapers and the kids' toothbrushes (new ones that have timers and light up). Needless to say, Gma is mailing us a package:) 

A picture with Lexi, she is definitely showing her age:( 

Letting him stretch his legs and crawl a bunch before getting strapped into the car seat again
His hair looks so dark in this pic!

We drove up to Iowa City for the night. The trip went well. The kids slept, Bobbi packed us a wonderful cooler full of lunch so we only stopped for potty, nursing and gas. We made it up to Iowa City around 5:15 p.m. and called ahead to order a Flying Tomato pizza from the Wig & Pen, a favorite of ours in Coralville. We grabbed the giant pizza and went to City Park to eat it and let the kids stretch their legs. It was so fun to be back in these favorite places. And also to see all the new students and families arriving on campus for the year! I just kept thinking that it will seem all too quick that we are dropping our babies off...and then I squeezed my 7 month old a little tighter!

They were running races while Ayden nursed

Ayden's first time (and Collin's?) in City Park

After supper, we met up with friends - Mike, Carryn, Austin & Braden Anderson at an open house event for Lutheran Campus Ministries. It was really fun - outdoors, jazz band, bubbles, free food...we caught up with our friends, met the nice pastor and enjoyed being downtown. Ayden fired up a bit and we left to get to the hotel, but not before stopping at Best Buy to grab a replacement cord for my laptop. Well, since we were right next to Target and the kids needed toothbrushes, we stopped in there too:) And....since we were in Target in Iowa City, we headed to the Hawkeye apparel section to pick up a few things. A lot of things. It is safe to say we are properly outfitted in enough Hawkeye gear to offend any and every native Wisconsin we will meet! 

The kids were blowing bubbles while the band played -
It was very Lawrence Welk. Amazing:)

Finally, we checked in at the hotel and put the kids to bed. Dave and I had one drink in the hotel and watched a little SNL before also going to bed. The night went alright! Woo hoo! And we slept in a bit, then got ready to have brunch across the street at 30Hop with friends Mike, Emily, Gia & Xander Herzig. It was a fun, new restaurant and it was SO fun to catch up with them! We also had to meet Gia (almost 2) and brand new Xander. They met Ayden and marveled at how big Kate & Collin were:) It was a good meal but the kids were quite restless at the end. Let's just say, I'm glad it was pretty empty in the restaurant:) 

The kids had a great time together, we need to get together again!

Collin diggin' his pockets on the walk back to the car...

After brunch, we loaded up, grabbed some coffee (I have such an addiction!) and made our way up through North Liberty to see our old house:) It hasn't changed at all! We then meandered up to Cedar Ridge again to purchase some alcohol to take back to Wisconsin:) 

Hello, old house!

So...it would just be too easy to head straight home, right? Very un-Lenninger:)  There was an event at the farm we get our CSA from, Orange Cat Community Farm. Our friends were going to go and it sounded fun, so we drove from Iowa City to Reedsburg, WI to do the farm tour, bonfire and s'mores with Ryan, Angie, Clara & Harper Plamann. :) The trip up went fine, Collin refused his nap, which was a bit of a headache (literally. He kept saying, "milk truck, where are you?" after seeing one that turned down a road and out of sight). Ayden slept most of the trip after getting his morning nap cut short by brunch.

I have a personal wifi hot spot from my phone, I try to make the road trips productive!

Somehow, we timed it perfectly and arrived just before the tour of the farm started. The kids were able to see them feed the pigs and then we headed out on a tour of acreage with Farmer Laura! It was pretty amazing to see all the produce and learn how she does things. The tour ended with a bonfire and supper/s'mores. The clouds cleared out and the sunset was beautiful. It was a very lovely way to end the trip!

This was the van at it's utmost craziness. Way too many shopping trips with bags just thrown in.
We arrived back to Wisconsin and it was cool! I had to dig through everything and find some warmer things for the kids to wear (of which I packed nothing, it was 90 and humid when we left and for much of the trip)

Tour of the farm

Bonfire with veggies and chicken cooked over the fire - So. Yum.

Dave showing Ayden how to roast a marshmellow:)

He preferred sitting/crawling on the blanket

A special thanks to Ron, Bobbi and Laurie for helping out with the kids SO much and giving Dave and I some time alone:) I'm sure I've missed a lot of what we did or special moments but I'll try to throw them into another post soon (Ayden's 7 Months?)! Love you!

Dave and I really love traveling and getting out to see family and friends, we really wouldn't have it any other way. Another benefit of leaving a lot - we so enjoy coming home! We are happy to be home for awhile now. Kate starts school in one week, we have a lot to catch up on and get ready for. Today the high was 61 degrees. I'm ready for fall. Having such wonderful vacations lately makes it easy to feel like we made the most of summer. Stay tuned for a first day of school post soon!