Des Moines

First up for our summer trip was a week in Des Moines to visit Angela’s cousin Katie and her family (husband Jared and kids Dillon and Evan).  Their boys are close in age and almost identical in interests to Gareth and Gavin.  The adults all get along great too, and it’s always an enjoyable and relaxing visit.  Angela’s mom and an aunt also drove up from Louisiana for the first few days and brought two more cousins who also get along with our kids. 

Angela and Katie spent the days visiting and thrifting.  The kids played pretty much all day, splitting time between DnD, Magic, Pokémon, video games, and whatever else they came up with.  I worked during the day and took advantage of the Des Moines hike and bike trails as often as I could around my work schedule.  Sidenote: If you weren’t aware, Des Moines has an incredible network of trails that seem to go everywhere and connect just about everything, making it so easy to get out and walk.  Almost every evening was spent with Jared, Dillon, Gareth, and I playing a game of Magic.

The week came to a close feeling like we had barely just arrived.  Next up, we’re headed to Omaha for a couple of days before we really start to make more progress headed west.