Road Trip

The newlyweds!  Jody and Shane! 



4 generations!
Here is a makeshift feeding when you don't have 3 highchairs! :) 
Tulip time in Orange City, IA. The tulips were beautiful and everywhere!
Hailey, Addison, Emily - all ready for Rehearsal.
Dad and the girls wiped out on the bed.  

I'm sure some of you out there are wondering why I haven't written in here for a while.  Well, we went on the girls' first big week-long road trip to Iowa!  We left at 4 a.m. on Monday morning to head to northwest Iowa 8 hours away.  Our van was PACKED.  We had 14 cans of formula, 150 diapers, 3 Pack N Plays, 12 bottles, etc.  The girls did great though!  They slept the first part, then Ryan and I would stop and change the girls in the back of the van on top of a suitcase...and then we'd feed them in the driver and passenger seats in the parking lot.  It was pretty funny seeing people's reactions to our feeding system.  But it worked!  They really did well though.  It was KEY leaving at 4 a.m. and then I only had to hop in the back a couple times to shake a few toys around at them. :)  We went all the way to Orange City, Iowa to visit my relatives who haven't met the girls yet and to get together with some college friends.  We all experienced our first Tulip Festival which was really neat since we are Dutch.  :)  We knew we were in Iowa though when we were walking with the girls "downtown" and one older man said "Just look at that stroller!  Those girls get more attention than a John Deere tractor!"  :) Then on Thursday we headed 5 hours back to Pella, Iowa for Ryan's brother Shane's wedding!  :)  We had a blast and everything went so great!  The girls were the "flower girls" and were rolled down the aisle in their decorated stroller. Ryan and I were both standing up so the girls were on their own.  :)  They made it down the aisle though wide awake with no screaming so it was priceless! Overall though, I think we will travel with the girls again!  They did great considering their schedules were messed with and they were sleeping in new surroundings.  The first nights in new places were a little rough but not near as bad as I expected.  Sunday afternoon I had to drive home with my sister and the girls (and no Ryan! He had to leave early for a work trip) The girls slept the first 3 hours so Kara and I were so pumped!  But...then we paid for it.  For some reason the next 2 and a half hours Kara had to sit on the floor in the back of the van trying to calm the screaming girls down.  I think they were just SO sick of their carseats.  But, we made it home in one piece and now it's just getting back to their schedules and routine again.  The girls DEFINITELY got used to being held all of the time on the trip as today was a little bit of a struggle.  Even though we had a great trip, it is GOOD to be home. :)  Congrats to Shane and Jody!