Wow, are we ever an exhausted family this evening! And poor Cory is off delivering pizzas and didn't even get in the nap he wanted to take after we got home from Mitchell. We discovered two things from our 1 1/2 hour trip each way to Mitchell to see a double feature at the drive in theater:

1) Our kids definitely get along better when they ride in our more spacious van compared with all three sitting next to each other in Cory's car. We took the car this time, though, because we thought it would actually work better for everyone having a better view of the screen while sitting inside. It really didn't. It's a great view from the front seat, which is where Accalia and Cole sat during the first feature, Kung Fu Panda. You have to twist your neck to see, though, if you're in the back. It would have worked great to bring along lawn chairs to sit outside, but we didn't have room to do that with the car.

and

2) No more double features. After Kung Fu Panda, the kids were definitely ready to head back to the motel since it was past 11 p.m. We had planned to stay for Hulk, though, and Cole and Ella both fell peacefully asleep - Cole in the backseat and Ella in my arms. Accalia, however, was not going to be happy unless she was lying down in a bed. Once Ella was fast asleep, I set her down in the backseat and took Accalia in my lap. She finally fell asleep for a while, which is good since we didn't get back to the motel until 2 a.m. So, we'll just plan to do the first feature the next time.

We left for Mitchell yesterday a little after 5 p.m. once Cory was home from work. We checked into the motel and decided we'd do a few things around town before the movies rather than hitting the pool. We had to drive by our old house, of course, which looks pretty much the same from the outside. Cole talked about how much he misses Mitchell despite his being only about three weeks old when we moved. Then then kids wanted to stop to see the Corn Palace, and we ended up going inside and taking the short tour at Accalia's request. We made a quick shopping stop to see if there were any pool toys on clearance (nope), and then we headed over to Cory's brother's house to see the progress they've made on their home addition. Mark was working, but he took a break and showed us around. The kids had a blast jumping on their trampoline and almost didn't want to leave for the movie. We did, though, and they played on the playground at the theater for a few minutes before the movie started.

The kids really seemed to like Kung Fu Panda, and Cory and I both thought Hulk was okay. We were all in bed and asleep right around 2 a.m. Cory and I got up a little before 9 a.m. and woke the kids up shortly so we could go swimming before we had to check out. That made waking up much less painful for them, and we had fun in the pool for about an hour. Then we had brunch at the nearby Perkins, which Cole declared a "fancy" restaurant. I told him about how Grandma Greve took us there when he was about two weeks old and how he spit up all over me. After brunch, we made another quick shopping stop and then went back over to Mark's house for a bit. Two of the cousins were home this time, so the kids had fun on the trampoline and the zip line.

Our plan had been to get back in time for Accalia's tap class, but Accalia said she just wanted to skip it today, so that's what we did. Unfortunately, tired, cranky kids and parents aren't a great combination to have the neighbors run right over and play. We're all surviving, though, and will be very happy to go to sleep.