The Gilbert Family: Summer Vacation

On a Saturday morning at the end of June, with our van packed to the gills, we headed out on our 8 day family summer vacation. It was a road trip, of course, because that how we Gilberts do it best.

We drove three and a half hours to our first destination of Lake McConaughy, a big lake outside of Ogallala, NE known for it's nice sand beaches and camping (in Nebraska, crazy, I know!). My parents went with us and we camped for two nights. It's amazing how much work goes into sleeping on the ground and eating outside for two days! This was our first real camping trip as a family and it went really well. The weather was gorgeous for us, despite the massive amount of rain they've had this year that has washed out a lot of the beach. We spent most of the time playing by the shore for the two days we were there, with a bit of time at the campground playground, and of course at our campsite cooking and eating. Lots of fun memories made in two short days!

{One of my favorite memories being a pretty classic quote from Sydney. While waiting for breakfast after our first night of sleeping in the tent, she says, "I feel old." To which I responded, "Oh, yeah, what does that feel like?" Her response? "Icky."}

We left Lake McConaughy on Monday morning to make the 5 hour drive to Omaha where we spent the night to break up the trip a bit more. Our overnight there was remarkable only for finding the best hotel deal ever! We decided to take our chances and find a hotel last minute on a travel deal website. We got a cheap rate on a hotel with a pool, so basically it fit what we were looking for. When we arrived, we learned that our room was a full suite, that the hotel offered a free dinner complete with free beer and wine, and a full hot complimentary breakfast. We never even left the hotel!

Tuesday morning we took off to make the 4 hour drive to Cedar Falls to visit my grandparents. We also got the treat of seeing my Uncle David, Aunt Nancy, cousins Shaina and Nicole, and to meet Shaina's new baby. We spent Tuesday catching up with family and topped off the night watching the Cedar Falls band in Overman Park.

My beautiful grandparents.

Overman Park

On Wednesday, Sydney and I made the trip to Dubuque along with my parents, grandparents, and Uncle David to meet up with Nel and her mom. Nel was home from Jerusalem for the week, and it was so special to be able to see her, especially as she is nearing her due date. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest niece/cousin!

On Thursday we left for Fort Dodge and spent the long July 4th weekend with the Gilbert side. The cousins had a lot of playtime, we had a chance to catch up with some of Gilby's cousins, aunt, uncle, and grandparents, Gilby and I ran a 5K in Webster City while Grandma and Grandpa hung out with the kids, we went to a 4th of July parade, Gilby went kayaking with his dad and brother, and we overall had a great time catching up with everyone and enjoying each others' company. We kept busy and left a bit tired, but the time with family was fulfilling and lots of memories were made.