"You mean the ones I saw sitting by the door to the garage?" Hmmm...thankfully it was HIM that forgot something and not the kids or myself :) By the time we turned around and headed home to pick these babies up, we were now at 7:15 leaving Ames! So much for heading out by 6:00 am. It just allowed us all a little more bonding time together in the van. Just what we need at this point in our week long journey!
Carter had the first leg of the journey today and was rip roaring ready to go! Check out his new "bad boy" look.
Austin and I saw them off and then headed on our own merry way. We were to meet up with them in Baxter as the halfway point today. Of course, we have to take a different route than the bikers, so on my round about way, we stumbled upon Trainland USA. Let me tell you, I had one excited boy on my hands begging to stop. Since it was only 8:30ish, I wasn't sure it would be open. I whipped the van around and we went to check it out. I think the look on his face here says it all :) It was open!
He was thanking me profusely as I was trying to pay and asked if we could stay there ALL DAY LONG! My heart absolutely melted as I watched him hang out and explore every nook and crany for over an hour. There were interactive buttons to push and make things move, which was right up his alley. His favorite was titled, 'cop chasing hobo'. Austin is just at that age where he's really wanting to be a teenager (yikes, that's scary) and then pops back to wanting to be a playful little boy. It was an amazing hour of watching and interacting with an excited little boy. Thank you Trainland USA for being open early so I could enjoy this perfect moment with my son!
Meanwhile, Ace and Carter were off on their bike journey. They ran across some pretty cool things on the route this morning. One was a man carving this ice sculpture in Colfax.
The other was the crazy bananas treking across the state on bikes!
I was afraid Austin and I were going to be late to Baxter since we had a nice little pit stop at Trainland USA. However, the ride was apparently a bit hilly and it took them a good chunk of time to reach us. This was all fine and dandy because it allowed me to stumble upon the best pecan bars ever :) They had just come hot out of the oven and were to die for! Yeah me :)
I hate to even say these words, but it started to rain on us a little bit and I was actually COLD for the first time this week. I am not complaining, just saying! Those little chilly moments can come back at any time.
Austin hopped on with Ace and they headed off for the second leg of the day. We have all been amazed by the "big wheel bike" as we call it all week long. Austin got a chance to sit atop of this fancy little bike during his ride today.
You know I still had one more "requirement" to fulfill with Carter to make him happy...shopping. So, I asked him what he was wanting to shop for. His answer, "You know, souveniers and anything else we can find!" Hmmm...that doesn't narrow it down a bit. However, I can now check this one off my list as I made my other son extremely happy today too!
Hair gel for his "new" do!
Do you notice the "new do" in this picture? Me either, but it's supposed to be the "puff" in front :) He's working on a new style he tells me. Yikes! What's he going to be like as a teenie booper? ...and there's hardly any hair there to work with. He's not sure how well it will work with wearing a hat either :) Oh, the worries.
All in all it was a terrific day. I could even say it's been my favorite so far :) Two happy kids and a great landing place to sleep tonight. We are being treated like royalty at the Honold household in Grinnell! I think I might just make it :)
I'm sure that you can add an entire post about the happenings at the Honold's!! :) Mom, Dad, and I took the kids to Trainland a few years ago, and they LOVED it, too! It is really cool. Every kid should get the pleasure of seeing it, and every parent and grandparent should get the pleasure of seeing their little one enjoying it!!
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