Just Me and My Men

After we had spent a night in Urbana and hung out with my Grandpa again for a bit in the morning, my whole family made their way to Des Moines. Will had discovered Des Moines had a minor league team, the Iowa Cubs and they were playing that afternoon. We ended up heading there as we got into town since Grayson... as well as Will... loves going to baseball games. :) Grayson got a new baseball hat, which he'll actually wear!, and Ryley ended up getting a little teddy bear. When we first arrived we didn't see much shade in the general admission area so we didn't plan on staying long due to the heat. However, when we walked around to the other side of the stadium we found a fountain Grayson could play in so we stayed till about the 7th inning. Grayson had a great time of course, and Ryley found Grayson's french fry cup quite interesting and kept peeking around trying to grab it from Grayson. Ryley is getting more mobile these days and Gray is starting to learn the hard way that things he leaves on the floor may or within his brothers reach may get ruined! Maybe he'll finally keep his toys picked up! (ha... wishful thinking.... I know!)

Yummm! Ice cream!

After the game, we headed to the hotel my family was all staying at. It had a small water park inside the hotel which Grayson fell in love with! There was a pirate ship with small slides and a shallow pool that he could play in without being held. There were also two large water slides that he could go on with an adult. He learned that he only trusts Daddy on the big slide because Daddy remembers to hold him up as they get to the end so he doesn't get dunked. Mommy forgot and brought him under. When we got out he said "No Mommy! I not go under! I go with Daddy! Not Mommy!" Little did they know that was my master plan so I didn't get stuck taking him on the slide over and over again! ;) (not really... but I guess it worked in my favor!) Grayson still talks about this hotel to this day and refers to it as "Jake and the Neverland Pirates pool" since he sometimes watches that show on Disney and the pool at the pirate ship.

Going down the slide with cousin Katelyn

Snuggling with Grandma

Here we come!

"I go with you Daddy... not Mommy!"

The next day we headed to Adventureland! I grew up going to this amusement park each summer with my dad's side of the family. Some of my cousins, as well as my Aunt Anita, met us there just like old times! When we were little, my mom would make me, my sister (Laura) and our cousins, Jessica and Peter, matching outfits to wear. We thought it was the coolest thing back then! Of course none of us had any fashion sense at that age either so crazy, colorful, shorts were awesome! Well, of course I had to bring this memory up to my mom so she managed to make matching outfits for the whole crew of grandkids to wear as well! :) Poor Grayson's shirt was a tad big around the neck so he looked like he had an 80's workout shirt on, but he didn't care! Ryley didn't last long in his due to typical blowouts, but we managed to get a picture of them all when we first got into the park. My mom even put the number order of when they were born on their backs, but Grayson didn't understand what we meant when we said "turn around so we can see your 6". He just kept looking at us touching his 6 telling us that was his number. It's pretty much an impossible task to get 7 kids to take a good picture at the same time, but we tried! Grayson had a blast that day at the park! He loved that Addie and Katelyn would go on the smaller rides with him too while Tyler, Reese, and Mia were all about the roller coasters and fast ones that Grayson isn't big enough for. My parents were so nice to take him back to the hotel after lunch so he could get a good nap. Boy was he tired! He took over a 2 hr nap, but was ready to hit the rides again after he woke up! While he was gone, Will and I managed to ride a few big rides and hit the water park with my cousins since my sisters took turns watching Ryley. As my parents hit the "sky tram" ride with Grayson to meet us at the water park, Grayson started noticing all the rides down below and wanted to go on them again. Grandpa was the lucky one to take him all around to ride them again. Thanks Grandpa!!! It was a great day with perfect weather! Some fun memories were made that day since it's rare for all of my sisters to be together at the same time.

His first ride at the park. He eventually figured out how to make the plane go up high. :)

Riding with Daddy, Katelyn, and Mia

Two bottom teeth were just starting to poke through at this time!

The whole gang on the bumper cars! (Grayson rode with me, Uncle Art in the back, Katelyn, Uncle Jeremy, and cousin Jessica heading straight at us)

Aunt DeeDee with a sleepy Ryley

Checking to see if he was short enough to ride the airplanes

All the cousins riding the Frog Hopper with Grayson :)

Hands Up!

Addie and Grayson

Ryley asleep again in Aunt Anita's arms :)

Riding one of mommy's favorites from when she was a kid!

Our next stop on the summer road trip was to Urbana, Iowa where my dad grew up. It's a small country town in the Iowa cornfields so we had one hotel to choose from which worked out well since all my sisters, as well as my parents, met there for the night. My grandpa joined us at the hotel both days so he could see the great grandkids, but could manage to escape back to the nursing home when he got tired. :) Grayson was thrilled to see all his cousins! It was great that he had seen each of them within the last 7 months so he remember who each of them were. The kids all had fun playing in the hotel pool, but Grayson was a little hesitant this summer about pools. He was happy standing/sitting on the steps to play in the water. Ryley wasn't too sure what to think... and neither was I... since the water was freezing! The hotel had a large room for the morning breakfast that we were able to use to hang out in as well and play games. Grayson tried his hand as a game of cribbage which is a family game that we all grew up playing on my dad's side of the family. It was a short visit with my grandpa, but I was glad he finally got the chance to meet Will. I'm sure Grandpa probably slept for a week after all the great-grandkids were there to play!