A Whirlwind Road Trip to Wisconsin....

The whole gang climbed in the Odyssey this past week for the long trek to West Bend, WI. We had three big events to celebrate with JR's side of the family...

1. My niece Kasey's wedding



2. My step-daughter Kaiti and niece Sydney's HS graduation party



3. My father-in-law's 80th birthday party

That's right....all SEVEN of us packed in for the 16 hr/ 2-day trip!

Spirits were high as we set off....our layover would take place in OH...Everyone was anticipating the pool and hot tub awaiting us at the hotel!

This is the first time we have added a layover into this road trip, and it was a great call...at 16 months, the punks weren't interested in being in the car a minute longer!

I failed to get pics of all the water sport that took place, but believe me, it was timely and grand! Although we were warned my a hotel worker that peeing was frowned upon in the pool (yes, he said that), he said nothing about pooping....and CJ is a very literal child.....just saying.....

So, after a good nights rest and a filling breakfast buffet, we set off on our second and final leg of the trip....we hoped to get into town around dinner time.....so we drove....

...and drove....

...and we finally got there! We arrived at by brother and sister-in-law's immaculate, gorgeous, and spacious home right on schedule....we took no time at all to get settled right in to vacation mode!

After a god nights rest, we put our best good duds on and headed to a wedding....Kasey (my niece) could not be a more beautiful bride.

..and Kasey and Mac could not be a more adorable young couple...

We wish them all the best of love and fortune in their lives together.......

Having the whole family together to celebrate a wedding was the perfect opportunity to get some updated family group shots! Here is JR on the top left with the rest of his siblings as well as the cute couple that started this all....

...because of them, we have all these ornery little grand kids running around today.....note that Sophie and CJ are not pictured....that's because all this 'newness' made them a little clingy and a lot fussy on this particular day....and pretty much all the rest too...sigh

I was able to get a couple shots of the punks with their daddy though....love my family!

The day after the wedding JR and the big kids enjoyed some bowling with family and I stayed at the house with the little ones to nap and play....the naps were essential to survival on this trip! Don and Wendy built this handy little play area in their back yard and we enjoyed it thoroughly!

We also climbed all over The Great Wall of Gardening that Don built for all of Wendy's beautiful plants...

..and I got just enough of a break during nap time to kick my feet up and breeeeeeeeeeeeathe before JR and the big kids got home. From there, we headed to Ma and Pa's for food prep...the joint graduation/birthday party was next on the agenda!

Here are a couple of video clips taken of the punks doing their thang at the house...

My Baby Baller:

Leaves Make us Laugh:

We all piled back in the car and headed to the park next door to where JR grew up....where I learned from his brother Don that he got beat up for confronting a guy about bullying his little brother...awwww, so sweet! The way the story goes, a kid was picking on Don and trying to take out his knees during a game.....JR stepped in to stop it, and the altercation ensued....Turns out, said bully actually lives in the same subdivision as his brother now....awkward.

Sohpie and CJ enjoyed their first swing time here....

..and Randi got a good amount of swinging in herself.

Ryan attempted to coax Sophie into playing, but she was content on the bench...she likes her space.

There was plenty of time to catch up...here's Don (JRs brother) and Wendy (SIL), our fabulous hosts during this trip!

So, after a long day of celebration with family, we headed back to the house to pack up and head home...another 2 days on the road and we finally made it back.

Happy Travels,

Leah