to the midwest & back.

so, yes...in 2 months, we tackled two trips back to the midwest, this one by four wheels, however. and how would i describe us right now...worn-out spaced cowboys. let's see...25 hours on the road + 2 trips back & forth between sioux falls & holstein, a new appreciation for ipod apps, a funeral, a new baby, an entire package of double stuff golden oreos, new tires, new brakes, one splattered raccoon (sorry), a 15-yr class reunion, many beautiful views of the mountains in the fall, a very vocal near 11-mo old...which led to an extra 1/2 day of driving and one night stay in a hotel, numerous potential lockjaw encounters at gas station bathrooms, a bruised arm from losing "slugbug" wars, 2 new teeth, all of this + much precious time with family & friends...we made it back home today. and that was our trip in a nutshell. i really tried to get some shots of how beautiful the golden aspens look against the forest green & mountains...but someone (eh-hem...michael) wouldn't allow us to stop...so i only have travelling shots with glare & bug smudge.

when we set out two saturday mornings ago...we began our trip thinking of the circle of life. with new baby isabella to meet we were ecstatic! but our hearts were also sad at the passing of great grandma fredie. she passed away friday morning. but in our grief was relief. she was no longer suffering the pain she had been experiencing for three weeks. i only knew grandma alfreda for a short time, but in that time, i quickly learned she was such a neat lady. i remember...on our way to emily & cory's wedding reception (feb 2010), grandma fredie & uncle tom rode with us. i sat next to her & she linked her arm in mine the entire drive. it was very sweet. she will be missed that's for sure.

swinging on grandma's swing.

miss izzy.

more cousin craziness...

the new olly "walk"

ava catching beetles.

for more photos of the family ties...visit...

flickr set

stella & emily came over to visit one morning too! we were so glad to get the kids together. when we were back last month, everyone was so busy with the wedding & oliver was visiting up in sioux falls & stella was sick...we didn't get much time to let them play. oliver hit it off with james back in september too...but since it's harvest, james was in the field, so those two will have to catch up over the holidays ;) i love hanging out talking to em, so i am so glad she came by. and i just love miss stella. she is a beautiful girlie!

hammin it up with mikey.

and coincidently, it was the class of 1995's 15 year reunion. yes...michael graduated high school five years before me ;) so since we were so close, mike thought it would be fun to attend the reunion. and it was. we golfed, ate & shared hilarious stories. we were at matt voge's parents' barn...such a cool space. and i got a bit nostalgic seeing all the black & orange!

orange crush * * * orange crush * * *

you know what i'm talking about...a good portion of my readers were former ghhs cheerleaders...& those of you not...i know you were in the stands with your "hot chocolate" cheering along with us =)

on our way back home...

i became obsessed with retro camera on my phone!

eisenhower tunnel.

finally home!

for more shots on the road...visit...

flickr set