Nebraska Family Vacation

 

Last week we were finally able to take our long-awaited summer vacation.  We took a road trip to visit Ed's Dad's side of the family in eastern Nebraska.  The last time we were there was when Sam was 21 months old, so it's been awhile (life has been a bit busy since the girls arrived:)  We managed the 9ish hour drive in one day, with several stops along the way to make it more like 12 hours...but that was a-okay!  We stopped in Moline, Illinois at the John Deere Tractor Pavilion.  It was a great place where kids could climb on most of the equipment.  We all enjoyed it:)

 The combine was a favorite!  I have to admit it was pretty fun to be able to get inside a combine!

Since we were right on the Mississippi, we decided to find a spot to eat lunch.  We lucked out with a great location.  There was a lot of action on the river and we were even able to see a big barge come through the lock.  I wish we could have sat here for a couple more hours.

 But we enjoyed it while we could!

 Finally we arrived at our home away from home in Nebraska...Acorn Cabin.

 Emmeline

 Mollie

 Sam (I took this same photo last time we were there)

 Surrounding the cabin is a fenced-in pasture area for some cows...they provide great entertainment.

 Next to the cabin was a hayfield that Ed's uncle and cousin's husband were in the process of baling.

 Sam got a lesson in hay bale climbing!

 Sam was able to help bale some hay with Ed's cousin's husband Robin!  He LOVED that!

The kids were able to see lots of animals at the farm where Ed's dad grew up.  The farm has passed hands from Ed's grandfather, to Ed's Uncle David and now to his cousin Andrea and her husband Robin and their two children Charla and Caleb.  Here is second cousin Caleb showing us their goats!

  Now we are seeing some chickens!

Ed's Dad owns a former missile silo site in Nebraska.  It's a unique and special spot for us to visit when we are in Nebraska.  The kids love to climb this cement entryway and slide down it.

 Here is second cousin Charla with the girls.  She was so great with them!

Then we visited Ed's Uncle Lyle's farm.  Sam loved checking out all of his tractors and combine!  The girls enjoyed it too.

Ed's most anticipated event during this trip was getting a ride with his Uncle Lyle in his airplane.  They had a great flight and even flew over all of the farms and missile silo site we had visited.  When they got back, Lyle even took me up for a short flight.  What a fun opportunity!  Thanks Lyle!

 Sam was able to sit in the airplane and check things out before the flight!

 Waiting for dad to get back at the airport...

 Back at Uncle Lyle's farm...Sam helping him turn on the irrigation pump.

 Watching the cows (or maybe it was them watching us) from our cabin at breakfast time.

We enjoyed a trip to the Omaha Zoo while we were there...it is amazing and I highly recommend it if you are ever passing by.  This aquarium was one of the best I've ever seen.

We met second cousin Collin for the first time during a quick visit to see Ed's cousin April.  We were so happy to meet him in person after just seeing him in pictures this past year:)

One morning, Ed's Uncle David showed up with his old Jeep Nellie Bell.  He took Ed and Sam for a ride around the pasture to see where some of the cows had been getting out.  That was a fun adventure!

 Uncle David let Sam help drive a tractor around.  This made Sam's whole trip, I think:)

 This is where we were!

 The gravel/dirt roads made our car look like this on some days:)

 Here is Charla with Emmeline.

 Caleb getting chickens ready for the fair!

On our last day we went to Ed's cousin Darla's house.  Here is Sam with second cousins Madison and Lila.  The kids all had fun playing together and we were glad we were able to see them on this trip.  Thanks for hosting us for the night!

On our way home we stopped in Dodgeville, Wisconsin to see this static airplane on display there.  It was a great spot for the kids to run around.

 Ed and Sam had the most fun piloting the plane!

We had a great trip with so many fun memories.  We can't thank all of you Nebraska-folk enough for your hospitality and for letting us be a part of your lives while we were there.  The kids so enjoyed all of these experiences and we look forward to future Nebraska visits.  I'm so glad this road trip was a success!