And now for our trip through the Midwest. Our route was Huntsville--> Atlanta--> Paduca--> Kansas City--> Omaha--> Yankton--> [stay put and play for 12 days]--> Wichita--> Little Rock--> Huntsville-->Bed.
17 day trip, 40 hours and 2200 miles of driving. Two angel boys. Totally worth it. Here's the proof.
There are many many pictures ahead, just to warn you. This is a lot of fun crammed into one entry.
THE ROADTRIP
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| We picked up a bug from one of these places on the way up, they were sick for most of the week, but we learned our lesson for the way back and bathed in hand sanitizer everywhere we went. I couldn't skip the pit stop playgrounds. |
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| Cutest bellhops I've ever seen. |
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| The dirt on some of these places is unnerving. But they needed a place to move. |
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| Mom lets them splash as much as they want in the hotels. |
QUICK STOP IN OMAHA
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| We stopped at the Winters Quarters Visitor's Center in Omaha for our break. I knew it would be clean and hoped it would be a good place for they boys to play. I was right. They learned all about the pioneers who walked across the plains and loved every minute. |
YANKTON EVENTS
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| Donovan finally met Uncle Josh! |
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| Feeding ducks & geese at the park |
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| Eating cotton candy at the circus |
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| Elephants are fascinating at any age |
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| This is the only documentation I got of the 4th of July fireworks show over the bridge |
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| Happy Birthday, Opa! |
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| Does this face look familiar, Stacy? Haha. He wanted cake. |
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| Podzimek Family Reunion! Muscle shot for Nick. |
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| Fun times with the Uncles! |
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| Does she ever. (Read her shirt) |
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| Attempt at croquet. Mason just wanted to throw the balls. It didn't really work out. |
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| Mason did, however, learn how to play tag. And he loved it. |
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| He also learned how to play frisbee. |
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| We went to a puppet show at the local library. Mason wanted to help, but never got picked. She only picked the ones who were sitting down with their arms nicely folded. Mason stood for almost the entire show. Most of the time he was in the front row, right in the middle. |
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| We celebrated Donovan's birthday a little early so we could celebrate with the Hochsteins. It was fun. |
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| Donovan could not wait to get his hands on the cake. |
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| He took a minute to figure out that it was something he could eat. |
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| But he figured it out just fine. |
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| Final product. |
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| Mason enjoyed the celebrations, as well. |
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| This is at the park behind their house. It has this little digger that is perfect for Mason. |
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| We went hiking on Smutty Bear Trail. It was a perfect day of outdoor fun. |
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| The view at the top of the trail. That's Nebraska on the other side of the river. |
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| We played in the Missouri River after the hike. |
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| And we had to stop at the playground as well. |
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| This is the Meridian Bridge in Yankton. Cars used to drive over this bridge to get from Nebraska to South Dakota over the Missouri River. Now it's just for bikers and pedestrians. We walked it. |
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| We went to visit Sarah at work at the Community Center, where we swam. |
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| And the boys helped her finish up some work. |
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| So nice to see everyone! Just wish Justin could have been there. |
YANKTON MISC
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| Hide and seek with Uncle Nick |
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| Watching Opa snooze on the dining room floor. |
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| Pinball in the basement! |
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| How many straps can I fit on my shoulders? |
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| Happy! |
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| Mason loved these metal cars. They were super heavy and he like the marks they left in the carpet. |
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| Superman! |
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| Bubbles! |
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| Not sure what's going on here. |
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| There's got to be some sort of trouble happening. |
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| Mason and Sarah are BFF |
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| These were presents from Babi and Sarah. Police Car and Rusty. |
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| I am a very serious pianist. |
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| I LOVE this new front porch they just added onto their home. We spent hours out here during this trip. |
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| Donovan loved his snuggle time with Babi. |
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| One night Nick was in charge of getting the boys into their PJs... |
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| More bubbles! |
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| Not sure if Babi ever found these glasses agian. |
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| It was hard to leave when these boys were so happy. |
WICHITA
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| We stopped in Wichita for two days to stay with my cousin Melanie and her cute family. They have four kids, and my boys had a blast experiencing the fun factor of a cul de sac. Mason also learned how to cast Harry Potter spells on people while we stayed here. |
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AND THAT'S THE END! WE MISS YALL SO MUCH!
That was a lot of pictures, but I loved them!! Really love the bridge shot of little Mason. And I loved Donovan's face. If only we could get a picture of the two of them together doing it.
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