Love, Life, and Lessons with the Kinzenbaws: Our RV trip!

In June, me, the hubs, and our kiddos had the pleasure of borrowing my in-laws RV. We had tossed around several ideas for a summer vacation but we were coming up stumped, due to a low budget and trying to come up with something fun for all of us. Flying somewhere (not much fun with a 3 and 1 year old), staying in a hotel (not much fun with a 3 and 1 year old), driving somewhere far away in our van (not much fun with a 3 and 1 year old), were our options....until my father in law bought this amazing RV! We thought this might actually be fun! Kids aren't strapped into car seats, cable going down the road, a microwave, separate bedrooms, no potty stops, and the list could go on...So we quickly planned an unplanned trip! ha! This just means that for once we didn't try and see and do everything, we just enjoyed the time together and did the simple things like enjoying pop-tarts in the morning while watching cartoons, going on hikes, playing in lakes, visits with family, pools, canoeing, movies, fishing, and lots of just being together.
We started out by staying a night at my in-laws farm to see them and learn how to work the RV. Next stop was Coralville lake. We didn't want to get too far just in case it didn't go well, but our kids just soaked it up and we had a great time hiking and swimming in the lake. Next up was the QC to get the RV worked on a little bit and a visit with my parents (Mickey and I actually snuck back to Ankeny for a night too without kids to go to our neighbor's anniversary party). Then we picked up the RV, my dad brought us our children, and off we went to Appleton, Wisconsin to see Mickey's cousins. The whole family was up there to celebrate the baptism of the 1st grandchild on this side of the family. It was a blast catching up with all of his family and meeting little Ella. While there, we headed up to Green Bay thanks to a tip from a family friend about a permament carnival with .25 cent rides. We went on a ton of rides and ate dinner for less than $20! It was an awesome time.
Next, we drove down to Baraboo, Wisconsin where we stayed at a campground close to Devil's Lake State Park. What a beautiful spot in this country. It was so peaceful and the water was so clear! Evan got to go fishing for the 1st time on this lake.
Finally, we headed down to Decorah, Iowa. I grew up having my Evans' family reunions there and it is a place near and dear to my heart. All of my cousins understand this! We hit all the spots I used to go to as a kid: The Whippy Dip (ice cream place), the movie theater, beautiful Dunning Springs, Mabe's Pizza, and the Decorah Pool. It was everything I hoped to be able to enjoy this town with my kids and husband.
There is much more I can say, but just please enjoy the pics of our trip and I highly recommend an RV trip with young children-I couldn't imagine anything else being better!