Whirlwind Weekend in Des Moines

Just wrapped an epic weekend. I think it's because my adorable Tory Bean has been such a joy to be around this week. Seriously. I'm floating on a parenting cloud nine because every minute of every day with her lately has been full of laughs and cuteness.

Also, I spent the weekend with my lovely family whom I love and miss dearly. We met in Des Moines, IA early Saturday morning for a quick 24-hour reunion. Des Moines is the half-way point between my parent's hometown and the Twin Cities and I'm not sure why we don't take advantage of meeting there more often because it really makes visiting each other quite simple.

I was stressed about driving four hours solo with Tory Girl, so I prepped myself extra to be super go-with-the-flow and accept meltdowns as they were sure to happen at some point. I charged the iPad on Friday night and downloaded all the Bubble Guppies episodes we own so she'd have plenty of viewing material. I brought three no-spill sippy cups of water and three different baggies of snacks, placing them in my car's center console area so I'd be able to toss back more snacks and drinks as Tory dropped them. I loaded up the pockets of the car seat seat protector with little trinkety toys Tory's not used to playing with like Matchbox cars, Lipsmackers lip balm and kid's sunglasses, plus stickers, crayons and coloring books. I directed (and tested for perfection) an air vent to blow directly on her car seat, while not blasting her in the face, so she wouldn't get too hot strapped in her car seat for hours on end. And surprisingly, after all that worry, Tory was a peach on the drive to and from Des Moines. She never cried once! All my preparation tricks worked fabulously, and I was able to successfully reach, dismount the iPad from the headrest mount and re-start Bubble Guppies episodes every 20 minutes. Believe it or not, it was actually a fairly relaxing drive, too. I turned on some old-school John Mayer (my favorite) and listened to my favorite tunes while Tory watched her shows and ate snacks. The drive time flew by like a breeze. (Tory did take a little snooze each way and that helped, too).

Tory and I arrived in Des Moines around 10:30am and met my parents, my sister and her family at Mimi's Cafe for breakfast. Personally, I was craving Red Robin for some strange reason, but everyone else wanted to do breakfast, so whatev's. Tory was too excited to sit down and eat so she spent the better part of our brunch orbiting the table from family member to family member and playing with her cousins.

Neeley and Tory sharing crayons and creating messes

Next, we ventured to Blank Park Zoo for an afternoon of lions, tigers and bears, oh my! There were twice as many animal exhibits open this time compared to my trip with friends last month. The weather was hot and sunny - perfect for an afternoon outside with the kids. Tory was even more fascinated with the zoo this time around. She loved the giraffes, monkeys and seals.

Tory (1 1/2 years) and Brooke (5 3/4 years)
It was impossible to get both girls to look at the camera at the same time.

Watching the giraffes roam

It always warms my heart when Tory gets to spend quality time with my parents. She doesn't seem them as often as Andi's family (naturally, due to geography) so it always takes her a little time to warm up to everyone which I know breaks my parent's hearts. Each visit, Tory seems to remember Nana and Papa a little more quickly and this time, she let my dad carry her around for half our time at the zoo.

One of the neat things about the Des Moines zoo is that you can pay to feed / interact with many of the animals. Brookie got to ride "Holly" the camel around for a bit. I was quite shocked she was so willing to get up there and ride by herself, but she didn't seem scared a bit.

Tory and Brooke also fed the coy fish.

We were going to ride the train at the end, but decided everyone was too hot and hungry to go. Brookie said, "Ah, man! I have to be six to ride the train. Maybe next year!" Seriously, where do kids come up with these things? No one said anything of the sort to her.

After the zoo, we had a late lunch / early dinner at Applebee's -- my parent's favorite. Secretly, I like when I'm with my family because we get to eat at chain restaurants and do wild and crazy things like order pizza. I've got to soak up all these special treats when my husband's not around. (He hates chains, remember?) I had the Sante Fe Chicken Salad which was especially tasty and drooled over my parent's giant size Long Island Ice Teas. Brookie and I cheers'd over Strawberry Lemonades.

Next, we swam in the hotel swimming pool for a bit before Tory's bedtime. My little girl was pooped from the day of travel and being outside at the zoo, so she was ready for nite nite at 7:00pm on the dot. A bit later, Neeley and Brookie were asleep and the adults sat up in our suite's living room area chit-chatting.

Storms were rolling into Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska today, so we hit the road after breakfast this morning to beat the inclement weather. I'm always left feeling a bit sad and broken hearted when I leave my family after visits, but so is the life of the girl who moved away. I was hoping to make a trip back to Nebraska for a visit in early June during another one of Andi's work trips, but expensive flights have me watching airfare deals and crossing my fingers. As short as our visit to Des Moines might have been, I'm glad Tory and I were able to see my family and hope our next visit isn't too far into the future.