Summer travel Part 2: Texas

After our visit in Oregon we flew to Austin, TX for a family reunion with some of Chris' family. We were staying at Chris' uncle and aunt's gorgeous house on Lake LBJ about an hour outside of Austin. I'm going to mostly let the photographs speak for themselves. We had an amazing time catching up with family. Chris and I went out on the jet ski one afternoon while the kids were sleeping and we all went boating a couple times. I was worried about how Oli would do with the life jacket and in the boat but he did great and even took a nap on the boat both days we were out! Josie didn't love the life jacket but did pretty well. Oli had a great time exploring the yard and house and especially loved playing with Chris' cousin Jessica. One day he took a 4 hour nap so we let him stay up late. He had his first smores, danced to music in the moonlight and even got to see his first fireworks. On our flight home we had to make an unscheduled landing in Madison due to thunderstorms in the Twin Cities, but the kids did really well. The flight attendant kept remarking on how Josie was the happiest person on the plane. We had such a good time but it felt good to be back. Thanks for the visit and all the great memories Bock family!

Lots more photos follow after the jump.

Summer travel Part 1: Oregon

Life has been really busy this summer so this post is late coming. We got back from our trip over a month ago now! In June we took a 2 1/2 week trip to Oregon and Texas to visit family and attend a graduation and a wedding. This post will be about our time in Oregon. It was tiring to travel with two kids but we had such a good time! And this was the first time a lot of our family got to meet Josie for the first time! This was also the first time Josie was on a plane. She did great! She didn't sleep much but was calm and happy for most of the time. Oli was a little hyper in the airports, but did great on the plane with snacks, books, and the iPad. Our first stop was my parents where we spent a week. Oli loved exploring their beautiful yard, picking raspberries and cherries, and playing with his grandparents. One of the highlights was the Oregon coast (as usual)! The weather was surprisingly nice at the beach and we had a great time eating at Mo's and playing in the sand and water.

More photos after the jump.

Chicago & Madison 2014

Still catching up on some posts... The last weekend in April we drove to Chicago for my annual conference at the Palmer House in Chicago. The drive was pretty long but the kids did ok (with me in the back again). We got lucky and had a huge room at the hotel so we were able to set up the crib on one side of the room and had two double beds on the other side. The first night I put Josie to bed while Oli and Chris got some takeout. We ate picnic style on the floor of the hotel room and then Oli and I went down to freshii (which is in the lobby of our hotel!) to get some tart frozen yogurt. It was such a simple night but so much fun! In addition to going to the conference, we had fun seeing Chicago. Such a great city! Oliver loved exploring the city ("let's go exploring", he would say), especially the fountains and bean in Millenium Park. 

A little about our short trip to Madison after the jump.

Roadtrip March 2014

During my spring break this year (middle of March... just now getting around to posting) I had a conference in Austin, TX to attend. Flights were really expensive so we decided to take a road trip, the first really long car trip we'd taken with both kids. The first day we drove to Kansas City, MO and then stopped and stayed with James & family for a couple days. Josie slept the first 3 hours and then cried on and off (but mostly on) for the last 3 hours. She recovered quickly when we arrived, but it was unpleasant to say the least. Over the next few stretches we figured out that she did pretty well if I sat in the back so I spent most of the trip wedged between Oli and Josie. What we do for our kids! 

Oli's driving

playing outside at a rest stop
(we were excited there was no snow on the ground!)

Our Kansas City visit was great. We ate good food (thanks for cooking for us James!), played games, and the kids played together well. We also celebrated St Patty's Day (a big holiday in the Prior household). It was a fun visit and I wish we lived closer to each other!

exploring the museum in Kansas City

Oli gets to sit in a helicopter at the museum

the toy box makes a good seat

playing outside in Kansas City

Jo is good at making faces

Molly & Josie

Oli and Til made green milkshakes on
St Patty's Day

the guys made macaroons

Seamus the leprechaun left green candies and
potatoes for the kids 

the girls (minus me since I was taking the photo)

Read about the rest of the trip after the jump.

End of the summer trip to Iowa

Took our last road trip of the summer (and likely our last trip before the baby arrives) to Iowa City. We had a pretty relaxing time (or as relaxing of a time as one can have with a toddler) visiting family and friends, going to some of our favorite places in Iowa City, and enjoying the quiet countryside. Oliver especially loved watching the Amish horse and buggies go by. It was great to see everyone and thanks especially to Bruce and Jenny!

have sunglasses, will travel

Chris & Oli in front of one of the barns

I love photos by a barn, can you tell?

Oli playing with the old water pump

Amish ice cream and local blueberries

fun at the Kalona City park

teeter totter with Grandpa Bruce

Oli & a stump

Jesse taught Chris how to use the wood lathe
 and he made this beautiful top for Oli

On the way home we stopped in Mason City, IA to get some coffee and stretch our legs and happened upon an awesome city park and train. The combination of inexpensive coffee, beautiful park with amazing play equipment, and a train that you can get in, we'll definitely be stopping here on future road trips!

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And just for fun, our trip to Iowa City last June Part 1 and Part 2.

Madison and celebrating #4

I had a conference in Madison the second week of August so we decided to all drive over and see family too. We spent a few days in a hotel downtown and then stayed with Shell and fam for a few days. Although sharing a hotel room with a toddler is not the most relaxing, we had a blast. Oli had breakfast in bed and got to watch PBS each morning so he was a happy camper. 

roadtrip!

a litte car snooze

gorgeous view of Lake Monona at sunset from our hotel

loving hotel life

The Ayres-Wilhelms were moving (congrats on the new house you guys!) so things were a little hectic, but it was great to see them and their new house. Their new place is in a great neighborhood and we took advantage of the nearby park. While everyone else was moving, Oli and I took a walk through the community garden. He loved seeing all the vegetables growing, especially the yellow squash. He did great on the trip overall. Right before we left he fell off the bed and hit his head which resulted in a huge goose egg above his right eye and lots of tears. He was pretty upset and didn't sleep well that night but thankfully was fine by the next day.

walking to get pizza for dinner

cousins waiting for ice cream

goofy family shot

sisters!

While in Madison we celebrated our wedding anniversary (#4!). Scott (a friend and colleague of mine who was also at the conference) watched Oli for us so we went out for dessert and walked around downtown Madison. It was low-key (especially compared to the canal cruise we took in Amsterdam last year) but nice to have some time to ourselves.

Chris got me some delicious local chocolates

photo in the elevator on our way to celebrate

candlelit Italian restaurant

dessert!