Wisconsin

We finally have a new car that we got in June, so when I broached the subject of me taking the kids to Wisconsin, I wasn't expecting Adam to concede so easily by saying, "of course, that's one of the reasons we bought the car."

Lennon was prepped for weeks about the long car trip and the fact that dad wasn't going to be with us.  He was a little leery about the trip until we moved him into a booster seat where he had more freedom to move around--he was then excited!  The dollar store was a life saver for me--I went before the trip, bought a bunch of things and wrapped them.  After we would stop for breakfast, lunch or dinner, they would get to pick out a "surprise."  Lennon would be occupied for hours...Tesla is a 2-year-old and would move on more quickly, but she did great!  

On the trip out we left the house at 3:30 in the morning and stopped at the hotel after about 10.5 hours of driving.  It worked out great--I only wanted to drive in the dark once, at the beginning of the trip; and I wanted the second day to be super quick.  The kids were a little more antsy on the trip home, as I expected, but they still did so great and I was really proud of them!

Our first priority in Wisconsin was to see Great-Grandma.  Lennon still talks about the cars and toys he played with at her house!

Leah and Emery came into town a couple days into our trip--Lennon was so excited to have a sleepover with Emery in Grandma's sewing room.

Love!

Lego mania--they would spend hours with all the legos.  I love that Lennon (and Emery too) is full immersed in the Lego phase--I have a feeling he will be in it for a long time!

Playing with Jenny:

Tesla was super clingy towards me, as was expected, but still difficult to deal with.  It was always a fight to hand her off to someone to get a break.  So it was a little piece of heaven when Tesla left my lap and crawled right into Jenny's.  Jenny looked over at me and said, "is this normal?"  We all gave a collective, "no!"

Wisconsin State Fair:

The day we went to the state fair, Lennon and I were having a bad day.  Lennon was missing Dad a lot.  I was extremely tired without having Adam to help with the kids--needless to say, our trip did not include some of my best parenting days, and the State Fair was one of them....

First stop (at 10am) was cream puffs!!

Lennon wanted to do the big slide--he didn't love it after the first time (neither did I since my stomach kept jumping with each bump) However, he wanted to go again and loved it after that.

Tesla looked like she was going to throw up after her time...she didn't do it again.

The Discovery Barn was geared towards kids and it was awesome!

Watching a baby chick hatch!

Tractor riding!

We were given a mission by Great Grandma to get a good picture of the three kids...so I did what any good mom would do--I told them we would go get ice cream if they took a good picture....

 ...it worked!

Love!

Even though Tesla had a tiny trim at Christmas, we're considering this her "first haircut," even though we only have about a half inch of hair to show for it!

Having fun on Aunt Diane's phone:

Cousin love!

The boys had so much fun together.  They would take their breaks from each other with no problem and then come back together for fun!

Hotel stay on the way home--getting "surprises:" Angry Bird Go cars...

...and Princess Sophia rings.

A few weeks after we had been home, I was in my room cleaning up and I heard the kids in their room playing "Going to Wisconsin." They were in there for a good hour or more.  They would climb on their bed and "be in the car." Then they would get out and go to their kitchen to "stop for something to eat." There were also many "surprises" on their trip.  It was so fun to hear and watch them...Even now, a couple months later, they still play their game, which I take 100% as a successful trip!