happymomonline: Over the River and Through the Woods

So, we finally made the 500 mile journey to visit our families in North Dakota. We used to make the trip at least once, and sometimes a couple times, a year. But, with our expanding family and Todd's limited vacation time....the trips have become a little more spread out. Our last trip to Minot was for Todd's niece's wedding 1 1/2 years ago. We were due to make the drive!

That's a lot of enthusiasm for a 5:30 am departure!

After a few hours of driving, we stopped in Fargo to burn off a little energy at Lindenwood Park.

Because there are so many of us, we divide up between the grandparents. The big girls and Benj stayed at one house and the rest of us crashed at the other. Benjamin quickly became grandpa's best buddy!

The grandparents took the whole crew out to breakfast at the Homesteader after Sunday morning Mass - what a special treat!

Benjamin playing at the playground of my old elementary school.

Aunt LuAnn brought over some super yummy treats for us. She even brought supplies to make these ultra festive red, white, and blue drinks!

Esther was so excited to catch one of the parachutes! Minnesota law doesn't allow for fireworks that shoot up into the air, just the lame-o ones that shoot sparks. So, it was super exciting for the little girls to chase the parachutes, as they had never done that before!

The little girls were in horse heaven when they got to feed the horses their special treats!

Smoke bombs...need I say more?!?

A beautiful North Dakota sunset.

We met up with my sister and her kids at Planet Pizza for lunch and some video games. Here's a picture of the cousins with grandma and grandpa. I think it turned out pretty well, actually!

Aunt Patti took the oldest 7 kids to Finding Dory complete with popcorn. They also had various other treats and game time with her and their cousin...so...much...fun!