Vacation 2010: Part 1, The Machine Shed

Don't the kids look bright and shiny, ready for a long day on the road?! We left Tulsa much later than we had planned, due to our 3am bed time the "night" before. We headed out at about 10:30. Destination: Des Moines, Iowa!

At about 6:00pm we pulled into The Machine Shed Restaurant. We were so looking forward to some down home cookin'! We were happy to see there were two hotels on the grounds of the restaurant, so we checked in for the night, freshened up, and headed over to eat.

A tractor pulls guests on a 10-15 minute tour of the "Living History Farms" area. The restaurant is just one part of this place. We didn't get to explore the farm area, but it would be fun to do that another time!

The weather was gorgeous--maybe 80 degrees? I think this is the best natural smiles picture I've ever taken of all four kids. Aren't the flowers beautiful?

Must take picture in front of tractor! Must!

So I'm backing up now to tell you about the surprise we got! As we entered Iowa I remembered that my friend Chanda and her family live in Iowa. I couldn't remember where, but I called her anyway. She read my mind and asked if we wanted to meet for dinner! Yea! They only lived 30 miles from the restaurant. So for us, the Akwaaba Gathering started a day early!

Here is sweet "T". He and his brother "E" were 2 of the first six children ever adopted through AAI's Ghana program. These boys are so special to me! Isn't "T" funny with his lemon smile?!

This kid cracks me up! Eric and I kept looking at each other in amazement because "E" does some of the exact same goofy things that Bright does! Their laugh and hand gestures are very similar!

Chanda and I. Photo credit to Taevy. Isn't her shirt beautiful (and we can't forget the beautiful lady wearing it)?!

Four Ghanaian fire-crackers!

The kids were just getting warmed up to start playing with each other by the time we left. They played on the big pig first!

That sums up the first day of our mini vacation. We crashed hard after dinner. The Machine Shed? Eh...it was okay. But I honestly like Cracker Barrel a lot better. I'm glad the night was saved by the S family coming to visit, otherwise we may have said the first day was a bust!