Back to Texas - Day 1 - Polk City, IA

After three straight days of packing and exhaustion, we left for our long trip back down to Texas.

We said our goodbyes to Grandpa and Grandma Flinck and settled into the van. There was a major storm blowing through southern MN and we had to drive through it for an hour. Thank the Lord the storm had mostly run it's course as we drove down I-35W to Iowa.

A big thank you to David's parents for letting us crash at their place throughout the summer. They put up with our mess, noise, and crazy schedule. We will miss them as we return to Texas until Dec.

We left Brooklyn Park around 9 am...right on schedule (for once).

We drove 250 miles to Polk City, Iowa, in order to spend the rest of the day with Talitha & Dario C. and family. Upon arriving at 2 pm, we all went to the city pool for a quick swim and then out for supper at Cici's Pizza.

No naps for the kids today, due to the day's activities and playmates.

The kids turned into zombies at the tail end of supper, due to the long day of travel and an afternoon full of swimming. Above: Ben practically falling asleep while watching Tom & Jerry at the restaurant.

Little David, Sophia, & Jordan "just resting" in the booth.

Ben pretending to drive a race car at Cici's Pizza.

The kids got their second wind on the way home from supper, so we stopped at the Iowa National Guard Monuments to let the kids climb on the tanks.

Jordan is showing you all that there is a pilot inside the fighter plane.

There is a "little kid" in all of us.

Talitha & Kristi - peaceful best friends

You'd think that once we got home the kids would be dog tired, cause all the adults were beyond exhaustion. That would be a NEGATIVE...they all got their pj's on and watched a short video together in the den. Finally, we got them all in bed around 10 pm...way past their bedtime.

As, I finish up this post, Kristi and Talitha are chatting the night away upstairs (until who knows when). We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Up and at 'um early tomorrow with a 8:30 am departure time.

Thanks for checkin' in on our trip...come back again for the next leg of our journey back down to Texas!