old stomping grounds

Last weekend we took a family mini-vacation to Des Moines.  We spent three days and two nights there, and I was able to share some of my childhood favorites with my boys and the Roodhouse family, who came along for the trip.

We started with a trip to see the Iowa Cubs play at Principal Park.  Yes, all the boys were wearing Kansas City Royals shirts. :)

One of my favorites!

Nile and Novak, at the game.

That night we swam in the hotel pool and the next day...Adventureland!

All the kids (those who can walk, that is!)

Nate found his new favorite ride:  The Scrambler.  This makes me beyond excited.  This was my absolute favorite ride as a kid.  We rode it twice and were planning to go back before the rain hit.

Nate's new favorite ride!

Nile on "Puff the Magic Dragon"

I had to include this picture because you can see James riding Puff with Lily... ;) 

Adventureland was a lot of fun - this year the boys were able to do a bit more (except for poor Novak...) and that meant I got to do a bit more too!  Apparently, though, we attract rain.  Three years in a row we have made trips to Adventureland, and the last two years it has rained.  True to form, the day was interrupted by a thunderstorm - we took cover in one of the restaurants on Main Street and ate lunch, then headed back out.  Unfortunately everything was wet, and cold (65 degrees), so we only lasted about an hour more before it was time to go.  We headed back to the hotel for a little bit more goofing off...and the Roodhouses headed home.

Typical Nile, Typical Nate, and look at Novak's eyes!

The next morning we headed to Blank Park Zoo.  We have a membership to the Niabi Zoo here, so we were able to get in for free.  The zoo is undergoing quite a bit of construction but we still spent a good two hours there looking at the animals.

They actually did this without coaxing.

Of course Nate had to get his picture taken with a frog.

The aquarium was one of Nile's favorites.

After the zoo we ate lunch and headed home.  Except for Novak's sleep issues, I'd say it was a really successful (and fun) trip!