Catch Up

The last weekend of July we made another tip back to Iowa for a family reunion.  We spent the weekend with Jeff's family and got to meet some Great Aunts/Uncles and cousins we had not met before.  The boys loved playing with cousins they don't see very often, and of course they loved eating Grandma Lori's famous homemade ice cream!  Believe it or not I don't have a single picture from our reunion.  We had 37 people inside Grandma's house so it was a little congested and chaotic.  There was no time for snapping pictures.

Jeff and I headed back home with Grant and Cooper on Monday evening, and Jackson got to stay with my parents and have some special one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa.  The first night he was there, they went to the Balloon Classic in Indianola.  It was a super hot night, but Jackson didn't mind the heat.  He loved watching the hot air balloons go up in the sky.  He announced to everyone around him every time he saw a new balloon.  What Grandma reported is that he would stand up and say, "Look everyone, here comes another one!"

He's been begging to go to Grandma and Grandpa's lake house for months now, so of course that's where they went for the week.  And they had a BLAST!!

At the dock

Grandma, Jackson, and Great Grandpa Ozzie went into town for a festival where Jackson got to enjoy ice cream...

...and check out the fire truck!  Here's my little fireman...

He even got to spray the hose!

To top the night off he got to go for a ride on the old fashioned fire truck around town.

Even Great Grandpa Ozzie (in the blue shirt) went for a ride!

The next day was filled with playtime with Grandma, Great Grandpa Ozzie, Great Grandma Muriel, Aunt Becky, and cousin Landon, followed by s'mores and camping.

Landon and Jackson watching videos of trucks and excavators!

Time for s'mores, woo hoo!

Neighbor friends came over for s'mores too.

Let's just say Jackson has his Grandpa and Grandma wrapped around his little finger.  He wanted to go camping, so Grandpa went and got a tent, and Grandma, bless her heart, stayed in the tent with Jackson all night.  Jackson slept great all night...Grandma stared at the stars and watched Jackson sleep all night!  Poor Grandma!  Here are Jackson and Grandpa setting up the tent.

Grandma and Jackson settled in the tent.

While Jack was in Iowa, Jeff and I were able to focus on the little boys.  We both commented right away how different it felt just having the twins.  The dynamics between the boys change dramatically when you remove one of them from the mix.  Of course, Grant and Cooper missed their big brother and asked where he was many times a day.

We were able to take Grant and Cooper back to the zoo and see the dolphin show.  The boys were amazed at how the dolphins could jump so high.  But I think the highlight for them was actually getting to see the lions and tigers up close!  We got to the zoo early enough in the morning that they were awake and moving around so we could really see them.

The lions look far away but it was plenty close for this mommy!

The tiger was up and walking around. Look at those teeth!

Being silly.

Watching the seals and sea lions.

Waiting for the dolphin show and eating our lunch.

The boys were intently watching as the dolphins "warmed up."