In Thompson Country

We finally made it...2 1/2 years later after our first planned trip, we finally made the trek to Iowa to introduce the entire Thompson family to the boys! So, Mom and I made the trek with both boys - a 12 hour drive turned into 16 thanks to 4, 1 hour stops! We started at 5:30AM, and made it to Grandpa and Grandma's by 9:30PM. Drew did GREAT - between travel tickets, reward tickets, prizes, awesome travel toys from Mom and of course movies, he didn't have any problems. Noah on the other hand was really only happy for the first 3 hours, maybe! I ended up nursing him while he was strapped into his car seat, not recommended as the most comfortable nursing position by the way! But at least it helped! Noah got to the point where when we stopped to eat meals and let him walk around, as we tried to steer him back to the car he would put all his strength into planting his feet and going any direction but back to the Pilot - poor thing just wanted to move and play - very hard to do when strapped in a 5 point harness with a 5 minute attention span!

 But here are some pics of our travel along the way...missed a Missouri pic since we didn't want to stop in Kansas City, but loved the Iowa welcome center cows!

As soon as we got to Grandpa and Grandma's, the boys were so excited to be out of the car, and Drew was so happy to finally be in Iowa (he asked so many times on the way "Are we in Iowa to see our family?" - adorable!) they stayed up for about another hour playing and running around - Noah wouldn't stop moving, and loved going up and down the stairs. I didn't have the heart to put them straight to bed, so they played a bit while I started to get unpacked for the week. (The car was filled to the brim - these kids require so much when we are away from home, and I'm a bit OCD about it too)

The next morning, we headed straight outside to enjoy the cool weather before it turned hot for the week and enjoyed the park. Then after Noah's AM nap, it was straight to the farm at Stella's for lunch and Scott's after that to see even more animals! Drew loved it all, but was of course a bit hesitant with quite a few things, including refusing a tractor ride. Noah loved it - grabbed the steering wheel right away! :) Drwe was so cute with all the animals - he kept waving and saying "Hi" in just the sweetest voice. Timothy was especially attentive to Drew immediately, which was wonderful! The boys had a blast and I didn't have to worry about Drew, which was nice since Noah wouldn't let me out of his sight! Ugh!

The next day brought a wagon ride that ended shortly with Noah following Drew out of the wagon, and dumping himself straight onto the asphalt - he doesn't know his limitations to say the least! I was home finishing my shower when I hear both boys back and screaming, with Drew racing up the stairs, straight in to tell me, between sobs, "Noah fell out of wagon and got blood!"

Aunt Shari showed up to visit for that day, and we headed out again for another walk, with a rope for a belt for Noah. We stopped again to check out the coolest climbing tree ever! Had a visit to the library and back for a nap. Drew had a quick piano lesson from the guru herself. And then back to Stella's for dinner with more of the family! Drew had a BLAST with all the boys! Between Hide and Seek, Chase, and plain ol' wrestling and rough housing, it was a boy toddler's dream! Noah had another spill into the corner of a wall, leaving a mark by his eye - poor guy had a rough day! No wonder he didn't want to leave his Mommy - every time some one else helped him, he got hurt! HA!

We were visited by more family every day which was great to see everyone, and the boys adjusted a little bit better by meeting a few at a time rather than all 60 at once! Aunt Sara, Aunt Shirley came with cousin Natalie. A fun time was had by all - so good to catch up and just be with the fam! Noah did a great job entertaining everyone, giving everyone a little piece as he pivoted around and around on the table to play with all!

Scott and Becky and kids stopped by several times that week. Drew quickly attached himself to Hannah, granted, she was one of the few that had a chance to sit down and read some books with Drew - an almost definite win over his heart! Drew asked for her several times throughout the week!

One afternoon Aunt Becky took Drew and I to a great pool for kids in Cedar Rapids with Hannah, Nicolas and Timothy. It took a bit for Drew to warm up to it, but by the end he was going up and down the slide over and over again! He did such a great job waiting his turn and staying away from the kids causing trouble - I was such a proud Momma! We even got to stop at McD's on the way home for a special ice cream treat. Drew was exhausted after it all! Later that day, Uncle Kevin showed up with cousins Jason and his family, and cousin Chris stopped by too. We went to Nicolas' baseball game that evening and Drew had a blast! Surprisingly, he sat for quite a while, simply watching the game and listening to Aunt Becky - she had a way with both boys actually! He loved running around with Timothy some more and played in LOTS of dirt! The ballpark is so close, he was able to walk/run to and from Grandma's house!

By this point, Noah was kind of stressed to his max by everyone and everything it seemed. As his Mommy, it seemed like he was only happy when I was around or when he was outside. I did get lots of reprieve from everyone, who was very happy to help and get some Noah time, but if he saw me walking by, then let the fussing begin. Thankfully there were lots of people to pass him around to help. But he quickly found every door and window in Grandma's house (and later at the reception as well) and would quickly direct people to get him outside! It was pretty impressive I thought, that he figured out where to get out so quickly! Poor thing, it was so hot, but he got outside any way!

Noah also had a great time playing chase/peek-a-boo with Grandma and Grandpa around their island in the kitchen. It was just the right size to give him enough element of surprise every time he turned the corner! I think they all enjoyed that game quite a bit!

Friday came and so did Daddy! It was so good to see him again! Both boys giggled with delight when they saw him. Mommy quickly ran off for a girls only outing to Cedar Rapids for pedicures with any other girl from the family that wanted to join. As we were leaving to head back to Scott and Becky's, a HUGE storm rolled through with intense wind and rain. We were delayed a bit, but thankfully we were able to wait it out at Sara's house not too far away. We were bringing dinner though, so the family was ready for us to get there when we did. We had a great time, lots of yummy food, and a blast getting almost everyone together already! Drew was in heaven again with all the toys in Scott's basement - with 4 boys growing up there, there was no shortage of toys to play with. Even Mommy and Daddy were impressed!

Finally the big day had come - wedding day for Erik and Annie! The morning flew by and before we knew, it was time to be at the church - right in the middle of nap time for the boys (and every other toddler there!) Thankfully, both of our boys fell asleep during the ceremony, after entertaining everyone behind us of course! I think the moment of silence at the beginning of the service was longer than normal since Noah kept it from being truly silent for a bit! But Noah really pulled out the tricks for those behind us, giving them his crazy scrunched up face over and over again, keeping everyone distracted, or entertained!

The reception was very nice, but the boys quickly had their fill with only a short nap under their belts. Drew was entertained by watching a movie on the iPhone, and was quickly surrounded. At one point he realized how surrounded he was and rapidly retreated. Noah barely made it through dinner until Mommy realized "How bad could it be to give him a roll?!" Well, he LOVED it! He simply attacked it, and then another! Thankfully (for his tummy, not the cleaning crew), the majority of it landed on the floor, but it kept him happy long enough for Mommy to eat dinner! Whew!

The boys were exhausted and Noah was almost impossible to keep happy if not outside (did I mention it was hot!), and like I said, he found the outside door quicker than I thought possible for an 11 month old! All that to say, Matthew kindly offered to take the boys home and get them to bed, while letting me stay through the reception - which I immediately accepted! Sadly, the boys didn't get to enjoy any of the dancing, but the rest of Thompson family, as always, dominated the floor regardless!

Sunday morning, Grandma hosted a most delicious brunch for as many of the family that wanted to join - it was a pretty good showing considering we had all been up late dancing the night away just a few hours earlier! Cousin Jill was up in the wee hours driving from St. Louis (was in a wedding there Sat. night) to see everyone as well before we all went our separate ways - thanks for your dedication to the family Jill!

Drew had a blast once again having an amazing audience that bowed to his every beck and call. He had a blast building towers, taking turns building and knocking down, but always "in charge" of who needed to be doing what! He also had some great time outside with Timothy and others playing with bubbles, much to Aunt Shari's delight!

Noah got his fair share of attention and applause as well. Once again (he did it at Stella's house too), he got everyone in the room to copy him holding hands up over head - quite hilarious! Somewhat resembling "The Wave", it was quite contagious! Noah thought it was hilarious! What power he had!

It was an afternoon of goodbyes, since we would be leaving after lunch on Monday, with almost all of the family returning home and back to 'normal' life again...Had to get a picture with the Scott Thompson family and Drew - he connected with all of them so well!

And here's a picture of the Thompson 'gingers', with Mommy included so Noah would smile rather than scream for Mommy!

Monday morning, Nana and Daddy took the boys to the park one last time to get as much outside time possible before restricting them to the long car ride again. Meanwhile, Mommy tried to get everything packed as well as possible and try to return Grandma's house to semi-orderly again after the 4 of us dominating her well maintained house for a week!

We had such a wonderful time with everyone, but were so blessed to get to spend so much time with Grandma and Grandpa. I'm truly tearing up as I write this because I know it will be too long before we get to see them, and everyone else, again. We are truly blessed with such a wonderful family - with 66 of us, it's amazing we all get along so well, but we really do! We love you all!!!

The trip home was better than the trip up, both boys fell asleep rather quickly after lunch. Drew did pretty well, but it was apparent he had been spoiled rotten for a week, with little semblance of a schedule or normalcy. He was just a little bit more whiny and fussy than normal! Noah was not happy to be back in the car once he woke up, so we made the right decision leaving when we did so that the majority of the trip was sleep time! We made it back home safe by 2:30AM with Matthew driving the ENTIRE time!

With all the chaos, clinginess, fatigue and week long recovery (literally, it took Drew a week to get over not sleeping in the same room with us, and it was UGLY to say the least!), the joy, happiness and fun we had with everyone made it all worth it!