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We all made the big trip east to North Dakota in the last couple weeks to visit the Peterson family there. Everyone got together for both a family reunion and a wedding. Jillian had a great time seeing all of her relatives again.

We found out on the way over (and back) that Jillian is a great little traveller. She did very well sitting in her carseat for the two 12-hour driving days. She only had a couple meltdowns, but for the most part, she kept herself busy or found ways to entertain us. She had plenty of stickerbooks, and her usual story books, plus she had lots of Dora the Explorer videos to watch on Daddy's iPod. And she managed to get lots of naps in.

Our first destination was Cavalier in the northeastern part of North Dakota, where Uncle Alan and Aunt Karen Crowston live (with Cousins Jay and Julie Peterson and family down the road). We stayed in Jay and Julie's big house for the weekend, and Jillian loved the fact that Cousin Adam and the Verd family were also staying there. For pretty much the entire trip, Jillian and Adam were inseparable, playing and fighting like brother and sister.

That first weekend was the family reunion, and there was lots of family. For Jillian, this was the first time that she had met some of these relatives. She got a lot of good play time in, since there were quite a few kids. We did discover that mosquitoes find her tasty, as she ended up with about 9 bites (one of them probably being a spider bite) after just the first night. After that, we made sure to put lots of repellant on her.

After the reunion, we left to head for Rugby. We stopped at the Peace Garden on the Canadian border on the way, and almost didn't get back into the US when the border guard wanted to know where our passports were. This was Jillian's first international incident. In Rugby, we stayed at the home of Cousins Greg and Deb Mack. Again, Jillian got to hang out with Adam the whole time.

While in Rugby, us and Grandpa Peterson and the Verd family visited and travelled around, going Knox, Leeds and Devil's Lake. And we spent a couple days in Fillmore with Uncle Davey and Auntie Charolette. Jillian and Adam spent nearly all of their time climbing on and riding the John Deere riding lawnmower.

At the end of the week, it was time for Cousin Ben's wedding to Bethany. Mommy and Jillian had come down with head colds, so they were laid low for a day or two, but by wedding time they were ready to go. Jillian watched the girls in dresses very carefully, liking the blue dress (worn by Cousin Nadia) the best. She managed to stay pretty quiet throughout. Then it was time for the big reception party at the Mack Farm in Orrin. This was the hottest day of the trip, and we tried to stay cool. Jillian found a big fan that she liked to stand in front of to "dry my hair". There was a live band, and as soon as the music came on, Jillian was bouncing all over the place. Throughout the night, she was on the move, dancing and running. By the time the party was over, she was exhausted.

Bright and early the next morning, we took off for home. Once again, Jillian did very well in the car. She was so excited to get back home where she could run around and play. It was another fun and relaxing trip to North Dakota; we look forward to going back soon.