The Elliott's Blog: Road Trip!

Last Thursday, Mom, Dad, Andrew and I hit the road at 6:00am. Destination was Jefferson, Iowa. I was a little apprehensive about being in the car with Andrew for 12 hours since he doesn't normally travel well, however, I was surprised that we saw little of crabby Andy! 12 1/2 hours later we arrived at Aunt Cleta's house. They were quick to pull out the toys and begin playing... it took him a bit to get his land legs back since he had been sitting for so long. We had dinner, played, bathed and went to bed.

The next morning we got dressed, fed and were on the road again. We had numerous destinations today. First stop, Jefferson City Hall - had to check in with Great Aunt Cleta, City Clerk. Second stop, Lake City Hospital to surprise Grandma and Grandpa Kuklenz! They have never met Andrew in person, so this made it an especially wonderful day! Third stop, Lake City Drive In... grabbed a quick lunch. Fourth stop, Pomeroy, Iowa - visited Grandma and Grandpa Janssen. Finally we drove back to Jefferson for dinner and play time. After Andrew was put to bed, Mom and I helped Diane with a Christmas project she wanted to do for Thanksgiving/Christmas gathering this week.

Saturday was another early rising day. We quickly got dressed and fed before a trip to Fonda, Iowa to see Grandma Lyla before she went back to the hospital to visit Grandpa. She was able to watch Andrew play for an hour or so. Then we stayed there and visited/played with Uncle Dustin and Aunt Karen. After awhile we headed back to Lake City, had lunch at the Lake City Drive In again and proceeded to the Hospital. Grandpa was having a much better day; I am so thankful we got to see him one last time before we headed back to Texas. The Kuklenz Klan was gathering in Jefferson for a feast that evening so we headed back to Aunt Diane's house. Dinner was delicious and it was so great to see cousins, aunts and uncles I have not seen in a couple years.

I was rather exhausted from the past few days so I went to bed early knowing we were going to have a long road trip the next day. Believe it or not, Andrew traveled even better on the way home... perhaps he is finally getting used to sitting in his car seat?!?!? He hardly made a peep the whole 12 1/2 hours back home! He was rewarded with tiny snacks throughout the day... powdered donut for breakfast, part of Mimi's sausage/egg burrito, Teddy Grahams, squeeze cheese... thanks to who? MIMI. I am sure there are others she failed to mention... nice.

Overall it was a fantastic trip! So thankful we survived the car ride, no red light tickets, everyone stayed healthy, and I got to see nearly all my Iowa family. HUGE THANKS to Aunt Diane for letting us crash at her place. Love you! Enjoy some pictures from our trip!