Here we are in Kirksville, MO

We are on our annual trek to Kirksville, MO, to visit Grandpa Pete. He is a professor at Truman State University, which is in Kirksville. The kids LOVE our annual trip. Here are some reasons why:
1. Uninterrupted time with mom and dad. Mom and dad like this too.
2. Movies in the car. Our minivan has a DVD player which we do not use except on longer trips. I remember when Ellie pointed to the DVD player in the van and said, Mom, that is used for playing movies! We had not told her what it was; I still do not know to this day how she knew!!
3. Treats. I generally say no, as a rule, automatically, when the kids ask for a treat at the grocery or Target. But on vacation, I usually say "yes." So far we have had: Hubba Bubba, chocolate skittles (yuck), Milk Duds, and Hershey's Kissables.

One required part of the trip to Kirksville is the annual "run around the classroom" excursion. Grandpa Pete teaches on the science faculty, and so we always go to Science Hall. This year we got to go into the venomous reptile lab (no kidding). All children had their strict instructions to keep their hands at their sides and not to touch ANYTHING.

Then we went into an empty classroom. Uncle Jay and I wrote on the blackboard a little bit:

After our trip to campus we went to the Northeast Missouri Conservation department. We took a little walk around the grounds and then went to the interpretive center. This is Grandpa Pete with 6 of his 7 grandchildren (Gus was in the stroller so he couldn't go down by the pond):
The best part of the interpretive center was the bee hive. The bees come into the building through a little tube. It was very cool.

If I wasn't so wiped I would write more. Besides these outings we went to the Kirksville Aquatic Center for swimming, and for a picnic. Tomorrow we are going to Hannibal, MO to see Mark Twain stuff!