The Great Whirlwind Vacation - Stop 1: Dallas Center

We managed to drive twenty hours without any auto problems or Erin puking all over the car so we consider our trip up a success. The kids did great on the drive up. We spent our first night in Oklahoma City with Amy and Derek and went out for our tradition dinner at the local Pizzeria. They have a son Noah who is Isaacs age.

We spent the first two days of our trip in Dallas Center at Jared’s parents. The Renshaw geek squad played several games chess, had heated discussions involving the validity of Jared’s dad new perpetual motion machine idea politics, astrophysics, and matrices. Those of us who married into the Renshaw clan bring the much needed normal social gene to the pool.

Between engineering lingo there were lots of laughter and good times with siblings, great grandparents, grandparents and cousins and tons of food. And who could miss participating in an Iowa fashion show? Erin would make a wonderful Dairy Princess.

We spent the first night all sitting on the upper deck of the Renshaw house looking at the stars. Living in the burbs our kids don’t see the stars. Erin was amazed as she watched several shooting stars from the blackened backdrop of the night. We spent the second night enjoying a good Midwest electrical storm. The house Jared’s family built has a lighting observation tower. Its cramp and still unfinished but we were able to take the girls up and watch the summer storm roll by with all it’s splendor.