Tales from Mommy Merrill: 'Oh the places we will go...'!

Like the great Dr. Seuss book -- Drew has already seen many places! Last weekend we traveled back to Iowa (via Minnesota) for Eric and Christina's wedding!

It was SUCH an awesome weekend with family and I have tons of pictures... might have to break down all of this content into about 3 posts!

We flew out on Thursday and this was Drew's SECOND trip (5th airplane ride if you count connections) back to Iowa so he was an "experienced" traveler! He really does do SO great on the plane. As long as his little tummy is full he is a happy camper!

We flew up to Minneapolis this time so we could spend some extra awesome time with the Webers! Wendy and Luke were at the airport to greet us.

Wendy and Brad got a cool new SUV this spring -- it has a 3rd row, which we planned to 'test out' over the weekend and see how many babies, toddlers, adults and luggage we could safely pack in there. Wendy and I were always in the back -- Ethan in the middle, babies in the captain chairs and daddys in the front. GOOD TIMES!

Hey Luke - I like your new ride!

'Luke - you have a pretty cool play mat! It pens us in like little piggies!

We spent Thursday night at the Weber's and after Ethan got back from swimming lessons it was time for some BASEBALL! Uncle Baseball helped him out with his grip and stance... before you know it he was crushing the ball into left field!

Grand Slam for Ethan Weber! And the crowd goes wild!

On Friday morning we piled back into the family truckster and headed to Iowa! When we arrived in Holstein we met up with Papa Butcher for lunch at the Inside Scoop. It still amazes me what you can get for your money in a small town ... a HUGE sandwich for $4 ... it puts big city quality and quantity to shame!

Patiently waiting with Cousin Ethan for our ice cream! Drew loved all the black and white checkers inside the restaraunt.

After lunch we stopped by Great Grandma Butcher's house. The photo below is super dark - but it is a picture of Drew peacefully sleeping on great grandma's bed. So tired from that yummy lunch!

Next stop: Grandma Lori's! Grandma was so excited to get her hands on the little boys - she doesn't get to see these two as much as Kelby and Beau so she tries to get as much cuddle and snuggle time with them as she can. Mom has NO FEAR so of course she took both crying babies on at once!

See - she got them both calmed down!

Hey bud - we're back on this blanket and looks like we have it all to ourselves this time!

Once we got to Grandma's and all settled in.. it was time to hit the patio! Mom and Frank redid their patio this spring and it is AWESOME! Firepit, built in grill, gorgeous pavers and landscaping and some super comfy couches to lounge on! Once we made our way outside - I don't think we came back in until after dark!

Grandma snuggling with baby Luke

Andrew, Melissa, Kelby, Ben, Bri and Beau all came up to hang out -- Frank grilled us some awesome steaks and mom fixed some good drinks! We ate on the patio then migrated over to the firepit -- SO fun to just relax and hang out with everyone. LIFE IS GOOD!