Sunday, July 10, 2011

Miserable…

So in trying to compose a post containing images of our 12 day trip through the Midwest, I am realizing that we did a terrible job of taking pictures this trip! So if you have any great shots of us, our children or our trip, please email them to me and I will include them in a future post! You will be credited, of course. Smile

Our trip began with an overnight stay with Auntie Becky, Uncle Roger, Abby and Charlie on their farm in Ohio! Diana and Cara got to meet Charlie’s cow Philip and even pet him! Cara was much more brave than her big sister! One of Diana’s favorite things from the trip was the homemade strawberry ice cream that she helped Charlie make!

The next day we continued north to Indiana where we saw Grandma, Auntie Wendy, (almost) Uncle Rob, Grandpa and Oma! We had such big fun there. Mommy and Auntie Wendy had fun doing wedding planning activities, including picking out bridesmaid dresses and flowers! Diana and Cara also tried on flower girl dresses, but we were not as successful finding ones for them.

IMG_8933

Cute, but not in Cara’s size…

IMG_8934

IMG_8940

4T was too big…

IMG_8944

3T was better…

IMG_8949

…but the smallest size was a 2T, which was WAY too big for Miss Cara. Oh well, the hunt continues. They are still pretty cute though.

IMG_8953

IMG_8956

The girls also got to go to a “jumpy place” that day as well! Both the girls (and the grown-ups) had a blast!

IMG_8959

IMG_8961

IMG_8965

IMG_8968

IMG_8969

IMG_8971

IMG_8973

IMG_8976

IMG_8978

IMG_8980

IMG_8984

IMG_8985

On Daddy’s birthday we continued further north to Wisconsin to visit Grandma, Bobo, Uncle John, Auntie Liz and baby Grace!

IMG_8987

On the deck during cocktail hour

IMG_8988

Chatting with Grandma

IMG_8990

Cara likes to enjoy dip much like her Uncle John used to as a child…one chip, lots of dip, lick it off, and dip again!

IMG_8992

Yum!

IMG_8994

IMG_8995

Pretzels became a new favorite food during our looooooong car rides!

IMG_8996

Playing in Gracie’s exersaucer

IMG_9000

Uncle John and Gracie with her favorite toy!

IMG_9004

Doing “Rida Rida Ranke” with Bobo (a Norwegian nursery rhyme)

IMG_9008

Playing before bedtime

IMG_9013

Happy Birthday Scottie!

On Friday, we continued even further north to Minocqua to Nana and Papa’s house!

IMG_9017

Cutie pie

IMG_9020

Who could it be on that wave runner?

IMG_9024

Is it….

IMG_9028

Diana?!?!

IMG_9039

Our very brave girl decided that she was ready to try out the wave runners this year after seeing her 2 year old buddy Logan give it a try!

IMG_9057

Diana, Logan and Rosie fishing with Bobo. Logan and Rosie are friends of ours from church at home, and happened to be vacationing at their grandma’s house only 45 minutes away! We had a great Saturday afternoon with them!

IMG_9060

IMG_9069

Diana giving it a try

IMG_9090

They got one! Everyone touched the fish and giggled when it wiggled around.

IMG_9083

Cara was NOT a fan of having to wear a life jacket on the dock. However, rules are rules!

IMG_9100

Checking out the latest catch

IMG_9104

Diana rocking the visor look

IMG_9106

Because everyone needs a pacifier leash on their swimming suit…

IMG_9107

Beautiful jewels from Nana’s drawers!

Now for the moment I know you all have been waiting for…three years ago, the four 3rd generation Russler children attempted to ride the torpedo behind the ski boat. It was an epic failure…hilarious, but a failure nonetheless. Check it out here.

The last two years, one of us has been pregnant, so we could not reattempt. This year, we didn’t have that excuse. Fueled by pride (and a serious cash bet) on the line, we tried again…

The end is cut short because Grandma was frantically trying to flag down Bobo to stop the boat. Scott fell off shortly after the video cut, after hanging onto the handles, flopping up and down on his stomach for 45 seconds or so. After we realized he fell off, we tried to flag down Bobo as well, and that’s where we lost Elizabeth. John and I are now frantically trying to get Bobo to stop, succeed, and then fall off ourselves!

We did win the bet however, and here are the torpedo masters with their prizes. We are glad we succeeded, not only for our pride and the cash, but to know that we never have to try that again! Smile

Hopefully there will be more to follow, provided I get some good pictures emailed to me…hint, hint. Thank you to all our hosts! We had an amazing vacation!

No comments: