Indiana 2011

The Rooneys have had quite a busy few weeks. Our first **big** stop was our annual Indiana trip! It went by in a heartbeat and given the sweltering weather, thunderstorms, some bad planning and a trip to the urgent care, I can't say it was one of the best trips we've had.

I was talking to one of my friends who has 3 kids and we were laughing about the fact that every time we come home from a "vacation" with our kids we are utterly exhausted, buried in laundry and feel like we need another vacation to recover! But then we start looking through the pictures and hearing our kids talk about things that happened on the trip and all of the hassles seem to dissipate and we're left with beautiful images of kids having a great time....it makes all of hassle and stress of traveling with kids worth it.

Let's list out the hassles and stress....

1. Waking the kids up at 3:30 am for a 6:00am flight....actually that was kinda fun...they loved it :)

2. Barely walking onto our 6:00am flight after I silently swore we were going to miss it.

3. Arrived right after a tornado in Indiana which left everyone with no power...did I mention it was about 110 degrees and 100% humidity. Yuck.

4. A mean woman on the plane who yelled at my perfectly behaving kids for coloring too hard on their tray tables. Traveling with a 2 year old, she was lucky he wasn't yelling in her ear and peeing on her seat.

5. Too hot to hang out by the lake over the weekend which is usually the highlight of our trip. I was cooped up inside pretty much all weekend. Ugh.

6. Will broke out in an awful rash one day that got so bad we took him to urgent care. It could have been strep, reaction to sunscreen or heat rash. Who knows but it cleared up completely within hours of landing in SF.

7. Driving 6 hours one day to visit my relatives in Illinois, 5 hours the next day, then immediately hopping on a 6pm flight back to SFO...like I said POOR PLANNING!

And now...here are some of the "beautiful images"....yes, it's always worth it!

Quality time with Pops

Brookey, Kate & Will (who is being nice at the moment)
Bathtime for Brookey & Kate

Chasing fireflies
Fun with cousins!


Craft time with Grandma Taylor

Roasting marshmallows with Pops

Backyard races

What's more fun than rolling down a hill?! (or running around without a shirt?!)

Will playing nicely with Kate...for once :)

Brother and sister love at urgent care

Brookey & Livy

Turning some wheels at the shop with Pops

Indiana 2010

Another annual Indiana trip has come and gone--so quickly! Actually, this was one of our longest, action-packed trips to the Midwest to date!!

- Flew into Chicago, spent the night in one of the most AMAZING hotel rooms at the Palmer House...all for $80, I might add...thank you Priceline!!! Brookey said she felt like Eloise on the tippy-top floor :)

- Spent the morning in Chicago, playing in Millennium Park before driving to meet my brother in law and family for lunch Highland Park. Then, off to Wisconsin for the Baptism of Scott's Goddaughter, Gracie!

- 5 hour drive from Wisconsin to Indiana where we spent 8 days hanging out at the lake, going to BBQ's and getting in some quality family time.

The kids both did very well in my opinion given the time change, driving, plane rides and just the general craziness of being away from home. I was stressing out (a lot) before the trip but once we were there, I was pleased to realize how adaptable they really were.

Buddy got very restless on the flight home which was pretty much the fault of Scott and I. We should have stayed in Chicago the night before our flight, but instead we decided to wake up early in Indiana, drive 3 hours to Chicago and get on a 5 hour plane ride. That is A LOT of car seat time for 'Lil Buddy. He did as good as he could do :-)

It was one of our most fun trips yet, even with all the craziness and travel. I know Brookey can't WAIT to go back! She's already asking about next year!!

Playing in the fountain at Chicago's Millennium Park


Buddy likes getting his feet wet :)

Gracie's Baptism

Scott's Goddaughter, Grace Lisbeth

Cousins!!

The girls!

Brookey loved the dogs and swimming in the lake

They look like they're high-5'ing, but they're really ready to beat each other up!

Brookey learned to shuck corn! Getting in touch with her Indiana roots!

Happy 4th of July!!

We just returned from a 9 day stay in Indiana. I can't believe I am saying this but it was actually RELAXING!!! Brooke is getting her groove down on air travel and has become an expert at taking her shoes off at security, sitting still to watch movies and always entertaining us with 2,000 rounds of "ABC" and the "Wheels on the Bus."

After 5 days of being terrified by all the dogs, Brookey finally warmed up to all the hounds in Warsaw and was very sad to leave "Henry, Ladybug, Shadow and Einstein." She still remembers that Charlie is the one who "ate all her M & M's." Not to mention Scott will never live down "Daddy dropping his cell phone in the toilet." It's great to have a 2 year old to keep everyone in check :-)

As Brooke gets older it makes me sad to think that we only get back to Indiana once a year but I guess the situation is what it is. Everyone is welcome to come to visit the West Coast Rooneys anytime!