to Minnesota

So!  Here's what we've been up to... 

At some point in the past six months, my great aunt Ginnie (inadvertently?) included me on an email about the semi-annual family reunion in Minnesota.  I say inadvertently because I've never gone and there was no reason for her to include me but I assume I'm on her family distribution list.  Regardless, an idea was planted, but I was so unsure of whether we would actually get to Minnesota that I did not put it on my 10-things-to-do-this-summer list, although I really wanted to put Family Vacation as #1!  See, we've actually never been on a family vacation, and I didn't know if we'd be able to squeak it out.  Can you believe that?  I know, it's sad.  We've been on lots of trips to see family for holidays, but only a few hours here or there, and definitely not a vacation, the whole five of us.  Well, things have changed, I'm happy to say!

What did we do? you may wonder.
On Wednesday night, we drove to Nana and Grandpa's, loaded up the minivan they'd rented, and spent the night.  

on the drive to Nana and Grandpa's...

Early Thursday, we got up, and made sure we had everything we needed, and drove to eastern Nebraska, where our favorite big cousins live.  We got to see them, and tour their house.  And catch fireflies!  And while I took a hundred pictures of fireflies, they did not cooperate - they didn't blink when I clicked, and when they did you couldn't see it.  Here's something you might not know: fireflies don't live in Colorado.  The only time I have ever seen a firefly in Colorado was one time when our favorite big cousins drove out here from Nebraska with a jar of them.  And by the time they got here, there was just one still alive.  So although fireflies were on the very tippy-top of my list to get pictures of, I didn't.  

On Friday, we got up early.  Early.  And drove to Minnesota, the Northwoods.  Of course, we stopped many places along the way; with seven people of various ages in the car, we had to make a lot of bathroom stops and a lot of lunch, snacks and drinks stops.  Luckily, no one got carsick, although we'd anticipated one person might.  The boys watched a movie or two on Nana's laptop, and also had brought some gaming devices.  You know I had my vacation knitting - four different projects, and managed a few naps.  My mom worked on a special crochet project, and the men manned - ha - the driving and maps.  Along the way, we heard lots of stories of days gone by, where my parents had grown up and things they did, and memories of these many strange and foreign cousins we would meet.  My dad figures that the last time he went to this reunion, he was 12!  We enjoyed the miles and miles of green corn growing in Iowa, and I finally got a chance to prove to BFJ that Nebraska is really charming.  BFJ and I, at least, were amazed at all the wind farms in Iowa.  

Oh dear, I've run out of time and am headed to my LYS today.  I'll have to tell you about our adventures in Minnesota next time!