The five cousins playing in the pool

The kids look forward to this trip every year – the annual summer visit to Des Moines. We drove out for 10 days to spend some time with our Iowa family. Like every year within five minutes of arriving the kids are in the pool. Then they spend most of the next 10 days in or around the pool.

With the twins getting older now, they are nearly five, I noticed this trip all five kids would play together more than ever before. They get along really well, for the most part, and really enjoy each other’s company.

Water balloon fights in the front yard

This trip Marcy and I decided to head away for a few nights to New York for a real vacation. We had a blast just wandering around the city, walking through Central Park, visiting museums, seeing a Broadway show, nice dinners and relaxing in the hotel pool. We crammed a lot into just three days and we left with a new appreciation for New York. Marcy even commented that she would like to spend a year there some time when the kids have left home.

A sunset dinner at the Rainbow Room on top of the Rockefeller Center in New York City

We flew back to Des Moines Wednesday night and had an exciting reunion with the kids at the airport. Just one more day in Des Moines and then we had to say our goodbyes. We drove back on Friday so we could be at the back to school picnics for Anna and Jude that were both held at the school yesterday.

Saying our goodbyes as we leave to drive back to Denver

Today was quite a big day. This morning we had the Stapleton Kids Triathlon. We missed out on this one last year and Jude in particular was really looking forward to it. It was their second triathlon, so they both knew what to expect. Jude was determined to do well and put in a huge effort to come 13th in his age group out of about 30 kids. Anna also tried really hard, she did great on the bike but was really tired on the run leg. Afterwards, Jude said that he wants to do more triathlons next year, Anna was less keen.

With their medals and gifts after the Stapleton Kids Triathlon

Jude has had a countdown on our wall for the past six weeks. This was not for back to school, or even for the Iowa trip, it was for his new leopard gecko. Jude wants a dog but we decided that wasn’t practical for now, so instead he chose a leopard gecko for his new pet. He named it Carrot because it is a Hypo Carrot Tail Leopard Gecko and he loves it so much already. He spent 20 minutes before he went to bed tonight just lying down next to its cage staring at it.

Jude with Carrot, his new Leopard Gecko