Despite the long drive to St. Paul, MN, we had a delightful time with the monkeys. They were better behaved on this trip, but we have to say we´re looking forward to a few LOCAL shows coming up.

Reginald and Kyla take time out to work on their tans. They´ve got a long way to go! Adam and I spent that entire night slathering them with aloe as they moaned and groaned.

Rex took a turn at navigating mid-trip so Adam could take a nap. Needless to say, we got a bit turned around since he was looking at the wrong state in the atlas!

Reginald and Kyla stopped their reckless tanning when we spotted a state trooper and they quickly buckled up. Frankly we were shocked to find them without their belts on to begin with, but its hard enough keeping a monkey from jumping out the window, much less trying to get a seat bely on them!

We stopped in Olds, IA for lunch, and found a great little park in which to relax awhile. Simon and Kyla made sure we ALL saw the sign for Olds Park that informed us to keep the park clean. The dogs had the hardest time abiding by these rules.

Cybil showed off her gymnastics skills on the monkey bars. We know, we know. . . could she BE any more typical?

Cybil must have spent 20 minutes on "the bars," as the monkeys call them, and insisted on us taking lots of pictures.

Simon and Elizabeth soar down the plastic slide with an enormous mud pit at the bottom. Surprise!

Simon and Cybil had a grand old time see-sawing at the Olds, IA playground. They chanted their names (loudly) over and over, enjoying the alliteration that ensued. We enjoyed it, but, you know. . . less so.

-Kyla enjoyed swinging in the breeze while Adam and I ate lunch. Ahh, to be young again!

Simone put aside her prissy nature to help pump gas in Iowa, though it did take some convincing. Let´s just say that a pack of Twizzlers Pull n Peel goes a long way when dealing with ornary monkeys.

Natalie enjoyed the easy chair provided by the Sleep Inn in Minneapolis. She finally got to stretch out her arms and legs, and that doesn´t happen very often so she was pretty pleased!

We were thrilled that our cheap hotel had a hot tub for all to enjoy! Mitzie insisted on joining us, and while we let her set the timer, you can Elizabeth had to keep her under control lest we all boiled!

Mitzie tests the waters of the Sleep Inn´s hot tub. She was delighted to put her ever-present bikini to good use, justifying to nay-sayers that it IS a sensible wardrobe option.

Lori was ecstatic over the microwave and mini-fridge in our room. We thought her pose was a big provocative, but we didn´t want to put a damper on her excitement.

Natalie was REALLY excited by the king-sized bed. Frankly, we all were. But she can be a bit of a bed-hog.

Clara enjoys an early-morning banana despite her disdain for the stereotype she is reinforcing. She was disappointed in the rather rubbery waffles provided by the Quality Inn, as we all were.

The doggies like to travel in a pack, close together, and stuffed in a crate, though they were relieved when we opened the crate up to put them on display. Don´t worry - there´s air holes.

This was our booth for the day. The place was packed the whole time, but we were happy with our location (sunny!) and visibility (check out the spotlight on the sign!).

-Elizabeth tries desperately to keep Spunky under control for a quick photo-op. He got a little yippy and upset over Rex´s adoption, but we´re all very happy for him!.

Elizabeth and Fern were thrilled by the wind farm we stumbled across in Iowa on our trip back home. It was really cool to see them rising up out of the horizion though this picture doesn´t do them justice.

The boys (Adam, Jerome and Sandoval) couldn´t wait until the next rest stop, so we had to pull over for a potty break. Boys.

Martha was beside herself with excitement upon learning that we would be traveling through Hannibal, MO, the birthplace of Samuel Clemens (AKA Mark Twain). She devoured the brochures we picked up and was very disappointed that we lacked the time to enjoy his boyhood home and cave. Frankly, Elizabeth was also a little upset about missing the cave! (She´s obsessed)