Early Saturday morning, the family set out on the first road trip as four to see great-grandpa Irv in Decorah. The long weekend also coincided with a wedding in Des Moines for one of mom’s cousins.

Eleanor (thankfully) slept all the way to Des Moines, but was awake and all smiles at the church.

Des and dad read his new book at the reception, What the Dinosaurs Did Last Night (thanks Katie & Stephen!)

All the great-grandchildren with great-grandma Jan

Des playing his first round of putt putt. Hitting stuff with balls is always a win.

Des exclaiming, “woohoo!” when he knocks the ball in

Mom putting around the toddler hazard

First official father and daughter dance ❤️

Ma showing another Meysenburg girl how to dance

Dance like nobody’s looking

Des pushing around a chair, moments before climbing on it, toppling off and scuffing the scab on his nose. This marked the beginning of the departure and resuming the road trip

Living the dream, both kids asleep in the car

…for about 14 minutes before sister needed her first rest area stop.

Des exploring and enjoying his own personal picnic shelter

Riding the wave of sister’s temperment/sleep, Des exploring rest stop #2

It was a rough final 45 minutes, but everyone made it to the hotel alive. While the girls were going to sleep, Des and dad decide to burn off some pent-up energy with a nature walk

Decorah’s characteristic limestone cliffs paired with an Iowan sunset was the perfect end to the day.

He had to get one more picture on the way back, this time with lights