South Dakota, 7/23-7/29/08

We had a great trip to South Dakota to see Mike's family and friends, and attend his 20th high school reunion. I'll post pics soon.

When we got to the airport in SanD, Keelin started to cry very hard. We had tried to set things up so she was hungry as we took off, so that drinking her milk would help with the pressure change. But that didn't work, and we were a little nervous about the trip ahead. But, once she had some milk she was happy as a clam and we had a pretty good trip. It's hard to change a baby's diapers on a plane, and of course MJ was in the bathroom trying to change her as we started to descend. He said that was a fiasco! But our return flights were even easier, Keelin was her usual cheerful self. The traveling wasn't as difficult as I envisioned.

Everyone was so happy to meet Keelin, and she loved meeting so many new people. Of course she already knew her Grandma and Aunt Carol, and she got to meet lots and lots of other relatives and friends. We got pictures of her with her aunts and uncles and cousins (first cousins, and first cousins once removed), and even got a big family picture with 4 generations. I was amazed at how relaxed she was with so many people, she was passed from lap to lap and just gazed at faces and smiled. Bonnie had set up a crib for her in our room, and she slept beautifully, no worries about being away from her own room. But, when we came home and brought her into her room, she smiled ear to ear to be back home with her aquatic friends.

We had dinner with Bill and Lisa (our first time meeting Lisa), and went to Mike's high school reunion parties on Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday night. Mike and the boys did some serious drinking on Friday night at Flanagan's, so everyone was moving slow on Saturday but still had a good time. On Sunday, Bonnie threw a huge BBQ with ~60 people, and Mike got to see family that he hadn't even met yet.

I'm pretty sure we managed to go to Taco John's every day (Mike's favorite, but we don't have them here). We all had a great trip, and we're looking forward to next time!