Just south of the MN/IA border in the western part of the state, there is a fantastic place called Okoboji.  It is one of my favorite places.  We usually get down there once a summer at least and this was our weekend. Last year, we were there in May and it was beautiful, but not quite summer yet (2012 trip).  The weather this weekend was PERFECT and we had a blast.

Friday, we left in the afternoon with the pups.  They go to a farm right outside of town and are able to run and play for the weekend with lots of other dogs.  They get so excited when we turn into Judy’s driveway. We got to Grandma & Grandpa’s and headed immediately to the Pizza Ranch.  After dinner, we made a quick trip over to Justin’s aunt and uncle’s house to say Hi to them and their family.  It was an early bedtime for us (not until Justin found all kinds of fun toys at grandma’s.)

Saturday was a busy day.  We got up and went for a run and then got ready for the day.  We hit up the amusement park, the Pirate bar, the pool and then Grandpa & Grandma’s for dinner with everyone.  We ended the night with Justin’s brother in law at the Barefoot Bar.  So many pictures – so much fun!

Sunday, we went to the emporium to do some shopping.  I gave my nieces pedicures in the morning so we all had matching purple toes.  We had so much fun at the Barefoot Bar on Saturday night, that we returned again for lunch on Sunday with Holly and her family. 

We were able to stay in Iowa long enough to see J’s family from Indianapolis that we haven’t seen in two years.  It’s crazy how much teenagers grow.  We headed home around 4 and had the best drive.  The clouds and cornfields were beautiful and the dogs were lazy and slept the whole way home.

It was really fun having a weekend with minimal phone action, no email checking and lots of time with the family.  Okoboji is such an awesome place to spend some time in the summer.  Justin’s family is so much fun to hang out with and as much as I wish they all lived really close, it’s kind of nice to have an excuse to get away for the weekend.  I can’t believe in all the pictures taken, I didn’t get a single one of the 3 blond boys that belong to Justin’s cousin, Kelly.  I spent all day Saturday with them.  I decided to just steal a picture from Kelly of all three.  
I doubt that we’ll be back this year again, but I’m hoping to spend longer than a few days there next year. Now, it’s time to get through this week. Grandma fed us so many chocolate chip cookies this weekend that we decided to do a juice cleanse today to help get the sugar out of our bodies.  Happy Monday.
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