Our Long Trip: Part 1

Well, I suppose it's time to start documenting what we did on our trip and share some pictures. Since it was such a long period of time and we did so much, I will break it down into several different posts so as not to give anyone Kooistra vacation overload.

We left for our trip on Wednesday, July 18 somewhere around 3:00 pm. Jer left work early to pack up the car and our new car top carrier (which I think means we are official suburban family geeks). It was not an easy job packing up all our stuff, but he did a great job (despite putting the dress I borrowed from a friend up in the carrier instead of guaranting its safety inside our vehicle).

We were finally on our way and drove up to Champaigne, IL and spent the night at a Homewood Suites. After trying to get Elise to stop running, yelling, and jumping on the bed in the room, we finally got her to sleep and we settled in ourselves. The next morning we enjoyed a nice breakfast at the hotel and headed out again to make our way up to Grand Rapids.

On the way through Indiana, we stopped and met my sister and her circus for lunch at Don Pablo's (or "The Backyardigan's restaurant" as Elise kept calling it for all you Nick, Jr. watchers out there). We had a nice time visiting with Tim and Jen and all their dozens of children and meeting our new nephew, Wyatt. After lunch, it was on to Grand Rapids. Below are some pictures of lunch with the circus and at Jer's parents house. Stay tuned for the next event on our trip: my step-brother's wedding.

Wyatt meeting his Aunt Kim

Caroline and Elise

This spells nothing but T-R-O-U-B-L-E - Amelia, Elise, & Greta out for a joyride

Elise riding her bike at Grandma and Grandpa's house

One of her favorite activities - Playing the organ with Grandpa

Another favorite activity - reading books with Grandpa