A Vacation for the Staples' Family!

Well we did it... traveled to Michigan and back (with lots of stops along the way)! It was a wonderful 2 1/2 week road trip and I hope to do it again next summer. We packed our van full and drove off on our way...waiving good-bye to the "new house" as Jacob calls it.

Our plan was to camp a couple nights at Mahoney State park near Omaha, NE. We were unable to get a reservation so we were praying along the way that one of the first come, first serve sites were open. When we were an hour away I called to check...and they had one site left. Do we risk it? Dave and I decided it would be best to stop and get a hotel and get there early the next morning to get a site. We stayed in Grand Island...ate Qdoba and found a hotel with a pool. The next morning we did set out early..on the road be 7:30 and made it to the camp ground by 9:00. We were 5th on the waiting list and finally our campsite became available. We set up camp...made some grub and headed to the water park for a little swimming. That night we grilled hotdogs and played at the park...i forgot how MUGGY and HUMID Nebraska is. That night when we decided to lay our heads to rest we realized how SMALL our tent was. Dave and I had used it last when it was just the two of us...now there are 4 so you can only imagine! We made it work though...Dave and I laughing hysterically at the situation!!! It stormed like crazy that night but we managed to stay dry! The next morning our campsite was one BIG puddle so we decided it was best to pack up and head to the next portion of our trip.

Next on the list was Davenport, Iowa. We found a nice little hotel and spent most of the evening swimming. The next morning was the Lord's day and we found a cute little church that we were able to attend Mass. It was a beautiful Mass and we left renewed. We then traveled 6 hours to Michigan where we stayed with Dave's family for 1 1/2 weeks.

It was a good time in Michigan. We did lots of fun things to entertain all. The zoo, a fun park with fountains for Jacob to run through, paddle boating and lots of spoiling by the grandparents. It was really nice to spend time with them! It is always hard to leave. The night before we left Jacob woke up with 105.5 fever...it was a little scary. We could not get the fever to go down so we ended up taking him to urgent care. Everything turned out to be okay and Jacob ended up getting a cold within the next couple of days. Baker then developed a fever and then got a cold too. Its just hard to be sick and away from home but the boys handled it great.

We then headed to Wisconsin to hang out with my extended family. We saw my Grandma Baker who is in a nursing home. It is always so good to see her but pains my heart to see her there. Such a lonely place. It is such a blessing that she was able to see her only 2 great grand children. We stayed with my Aunt and Uncle and had a BBQ with my other aunts and uncles and cousins in the area. It was really great to see everyone! We then left and headed to Omaha, NE.

We arrived to Nebraska, checked into a hotel and swam...can you tell that Jacob LOVES to swim! The next moring we got up and head to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha. I lived in Omaha for 9 years of my childhood and have such fond memories of that place. We spent a lot of time at the zoo...it was great to re-live my memories of the zoo. It is an AMAZING zoo! They have done so much to it! The boys had a great time! A fun surprise was that my mom decided to fly to Omaha to come to the zoo with us...she missed her little grand-babies! It was great to have her there. Jacob really missed her! (as did the rest of us!) We stayed with some good friends of my parents...another reason why my mom came...to spend time with her good friends! It was a great time. By the end othe day we were ready to get home!

The last day of traveling went fast...and we were SO happy that my mom was there to help with the boys. There were some moments of survival but we made it through! Thank goodness for portable DVD players..and suckers!

In the end it was a great family vacation! It was nice to travel together as a family and to visit lots of family along the way. As much fun as a vacation is, it is always a good feeling to get home and get you life and schedule back in order...but sometimes you need to leave for while to appreciate the everyday life you have at home.

Thanks to all the hospitality along the way! It was SO nice to see everyone!