MDW w/ friends & family

Memorial Day Weekend has always been one of my favorite holiday weekends. As a marker it typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, and of course honors all Americans that have died fighting for our country. 

This year, instead of tanning at my parents' house while my dad opens the pool and mom cleans the screened in porch, Mike, Joey and I were driving 80 West.

First stop: Omaha, Nebraska

Any of you ever been? Surprisingly enough, this will be my 3rd time. Yes, three. All because of Hails. When I studied in Florence, my roommate, Hailey, and I became close friends. After not seeing her for 4 years her boyfriend Jon (who I had never met) flew me to Omaha to surprise Hailey for her birthday. The next year Joey and I were dancing up a storm at their wedding and now here we are again. This time staying at Hailey and Jon's beautiful new home. First house guests right here :)

The boys were craving Omaha Steaks, so we made the obvious decision to go to a steakhouse. Johnny's Italian Steakhouse. A Florence and Omaha combo at its best. We all got steak. SO good! It may not have been an "Omaha Steak", but it didn't matter - steak from Omaha is delicious!

Next stop: Ft. Collins, Colorado

Up til now Joey has driven entirely. He prefers it. But Saturday I took the wheel and drove all the way. This beats out and DOUBLES my previous longest drive [BOS-NYC]. Go me.

5pm: We arrive at our cousins, Brian & Elena's, house just in time for a MDW bbq with all the Colorado cousins...and the C's game. It's so nice to be with family. Joey and I were just here in February, too, so it feels like we were just with them.

Sunday morning we take the long trek (across the street) to Colleen & Jeff's for a yummy breakfast with everyone. I LOVE how the 5 little cousins are so close. More like brothers and sisters than cousins. After some more chatting and playing we take off. Instead of Salt Lake City, we decided to reroute to Moab, Utah. More to come on that in the next post. Hope you're enjoying the ride so far. We are!