Summer Vacation #3 - Middle-of-Nowhere Minnesota

Does anyone know where Annandale, Minnesota is? Yeah, me neither. But for our 3rd summer vacation, we went to Annandale for a family reunion...even though no one on either side of my family is actually FROM Annandale. But, believe it or not, Annandale is #4 on the "Best Places for a Destination Reunion," right after Disney World, the Bahamas, and Washington, D.C.
To get to Annandale, I got to go on a plane for the first time! It was a long trip, but I did great!On Friday, we went to the Minnesota Zoo! Mom has been wanting to take me to the zoo since before I was born and so she jumped like a kangaroo at the chance to take me. What's even better was that my Grammie, Grandpa, Aunt Mary and Uncle Mike, and ALL of my "Johnson cousins" came, too! (Although none of us have the last name of Johnson!)
This trip to Minnesota was the first time that all of my Johnson cousins had been together with me! I LOVE MY COUSINS! Here we are, cute as can be. (From left to right: Sydney, Joe, Camryn, Ryan, Taryn, and me!) It was fun to play with them all weekend long!
And my Aunt Mary is just a little bit of fun, too...
The reunion on Saturday was wonderful! It was great to meet so many family members, including that crazy great-aunt that I had heard so much about! This trip was the first time that all of Mom's first cousins had been together, too! Here she is with all of them (back row: Brian, Sherry, Becky, Roxanne, Uncle Mike; middle row: Aunt Mary, Rich, Uncle Phil; front row: Joey, Jen, Liz, Mommy)
Here's a picture of all of my Mom's cousins and their children (can you find me?). Hooray for second cousins!!
My nametag showed that Henry and Lizzie Bartell are my great-great grandparents. And yes, they really were that great.There were a lot of babies at the reunion that looked a lot like me. Dad thinks that "Bartell" must be German for "bald, blue-eyed baby."
The lake at Annandale was beautiful!!
Bartells are #1!The Baby Bjorn came in very handy! Mom and I even participated in a highly-competitive game of kickball together.We spent Sunday at my Uncle Jim's house, where I impressed everyone with my new skill of crawling! I chased this bear all around the room to the point of getting rug-burns on my knees!

At the hotel pool, I also went swimming for the first time! I didn't quite get what all of the excitement was about; it just seemed like a big bath tub!
Reunions sure are exhausting!