Iowa Adventure- PART 3

Monday night after we left Adventureland, we went to Ames to see Rachel and Micah. It only took us a little over a half an hour to get there. Micah wasn't quite home from work yet when we got there, but Rachel gave us a tour of their house while we waited and we got all settled in. When Micah got home we went out for supper at an amazing BBQ place called Hickory Park. It's giant! Apparently the biggest restaurant in Iowa. Our food was delicious and I wish I would have taken a picture of the dessert menu...it was HUGE! We all got the small portion of ice cream. I got the s'mores scoop. YUM!

Jacob, Rachel and I stayed up pretty late, although Micah had to go to bed since he had to work the next day. It was nice just getting to hang out and relax. They graciously let us sleep in their bedroom and they slept in the other room on an airbed. I would have slept really well if it hadn't been for Daniel waking me up every other hour for a bathroom run!

On Tuesday morning after breakfast, Rachel took us around Ames and showed us some of the sights. It's actually a very nice town (except those pesky Cyclones...haha!).  We stopped at a cute toy store on the main street where there were several shops. It was lots of fun to look around! By the time we were done doing all of that it was time to meet Micah for lunch. We ate at a popular Mexican place, El Azteca. Once again we enjoyed a tasty meal!

Next we headed to the Iowa State campus (Yes...I have walked on Cyclone soil now. I feel dirty.) so Rachel could show us where she studies and works!

She even gets her own (well, shared) office this year!

After we saw her building, we walked to the library, which was really cool and we met one of Rachel's friends while we were there.

We did a little walk through more of the campus. Here are Rachel and I  under the Campanile. It's really beautiful.

Apparently legend has it that if you kiss your true love under it, you'll be a Cyclone for life. Needless to say, I did not kiss my hubby under it!

By mid-afternoon we headed back to the house where we just hung out for the rest of the day. Jacob and I both ended up taking a nap at some point. I just could not keep my eyes open anymore and the next thing I knew an hour had passed!

Jacob and I both enjoyed playing with Rachel's iPad!

For supper we had grilled burgers, potatoes and baked beans. And then for dessert we had brownies and ice cream with some really good hot fudge on top!

We had to say goodbye to Micah that night before bed, since he'd be off to work earlier than we'd be up. I had a harder time falling asleep that night, but I think it was because of my late afternoon nap. At least I slept well! In the morning we got all packed up and then the 3 of us went to Village Inn for breakfast, before Jacob and I had to leave to come home.

I'm so happy that we were able to visit them, even if it was just for a short time as well. Our whole trip was a whirlwind, but so much fun!

Our trip home was about 6 hours or so. It felt long at times and not so long at others. Jacob and I traded off on the driving and made oh so many pit stops for me! It was a great trip, but nice to get back home again too.

Iowa Adventure- PART 2

Last Monday we all spent the day at Adventureland. It was the first time I had been there since 2005, and also the first time I wasn't able to ride on any of the exciting rides. I take that back...I made up my own fun ride.

I call it "Bench Riding".

I also took pictures of the other riders. Although Jacob, for the most part sat out with me all day. He rode a couple things, but felt bad that I couldn't, even though I told him it was okay. Very sweet.

While the whole family took a ride on The Underground, Jacob and I walked around and then sat at Soda n' Sounds. Although we hadn't had lunch yet, I felt the need to eat a sno cone. No regrets there!

While some of the others were in line for the Log Ride, Jacob and I went to check out the games. My mom was awesome and gave all of us spending money for the day! I won a cheap ugly dog playing Skee Ball!

Log Riders!

Logan actually posed for a picture!

We all grabbed some lunch from different places and then ate together before heading to the Magic Show. Same guy...same magic, but totally fun!

We headed over to the other side of the park. More rides for everyone. More bench sitting for me. Thankfully the weather was really nice that day so it wasn't too hot if we weren't sitting directly in the sun.

My and my sistas!

Finally an hour before Jacob and I left, I got to ride some rides! First we rode the Ski Lift from one side of the park to the other.

Then we rode the Sky Wheel!

Next up...the Carousel. Erica told me I should've ridden that all day.

Last, but not least we rode the train. A true thrill. Haha!

Erica and I stopped to buy candy at the train station when we got back. We were super excited to discover that they sell Fun Bugs!

Everyone else was sticking around for a couple more hours, but we wanted to get on the rode to Ames. Plus I was wearing down and tired of walking and sitting. Even though I knew it was coming, it still didn't help. We had to say our goodbyes.

I did really good at first, but when Erica hugged me I could feel the tears filling up in my eyes and the big knot in my throat. I made her promise to come back to meet Daniel. I didn't cry until we walked away. Even with sunglasses on, Jacob knew I was sad and told me just to let it all out. That's when the tears started. I stopped in the bathroom before we left and regained my composure. I was excited to be going to see Rachel and Micah, just sad to leave my sisters and everyone else behind!

Although it wasn't much time, I'm thankful for the time that I did have with everybody!

Stayed tuned for the last leg of our trip!

Iowa Adventure- PART 1

On the first leg of our Iowa trip we went to Chariton, Iowa to celebrate my grandma's 80th birthday! Jacob and I left around 6:30 on Saturday morning and stopped at McDonald's for breakfast. I was in need of a caramel frappe. The GPS told us that it would take just a little less than 5.5 hours to get there. Since we were traveling mostly on highways we ended up pulling off at a couple of gas stations and a Wal-Mart to use the bathroom (since Daniel has decided to use my bladder as a punching bag!).

We arrived in Chariton just before 12:30 and timed it perfectly. Kendra and Luke were already there, but the rest of the family pulled in just as we were getting out of the car. We said all of the "hellos" to relatives we hadn't seen in awhile and then got ready for lunch. Fried chicken and a lot more delicious food!

Now Grandma is not your typical 80 year old lady sitting in a chair knitting something. No...she's a retired elementary school teacher who loves to keep people entertained with activities. She's always afraid that we'll get bored. Now, I'll admit, I've never really been fond of planned activities. At least from about the time I turned 13 on. This time was different though. Jacob, Jim and Luke were all newbies to this, so we totally embraced it.

Activity 1: Cake Decorating

Grandma split us "young ins" up into teams to decorate mini cakes for my dad's cousins birthday and Luke's birthday. Hilariousness followed. My team knew we would suck at it, so we just went for um...creativity.

The other team made 2 mini cakes.

Activity 2:  Grandma had gifts for everyone!

Even Daniel got a present. A Hawkeye piggy bank. Daddy was not as impressed.

Jacob and I with our presents.

Erica was very excited to receive our Great Grandma's candy dish that always sat on her coffee table. It had some sentimental meaning to her, so I'm really happy that she got it after all these years.

Activity 3: Grandma always has yard games. Jacob even got me to play some croquet with him.

 Badminton anyone?

Activity 4: Balloon Animals

I gotta say, after all the years of grandma's activities, I never saw this one coming! I was terrible at it, but Jacob made his perfect!

Family picture time! (Plus the 2 balloon animal girls, which highly amused us).

Activity 5: Celebrate Grandma!!

She's always so humble and doesn't want the attention on her, but she deserved it. She's the best.

Activity 6: Museum!

Erica and I really wanted to go to the Chariton Historical Museum, so some of us headed over there for awhile. It was just as I remembered it.

Activity 7: Water Balloon Launch

The guys especially loved this one, but everyone had a great time. The highlight was that even Grandma launched one.

Jacob talking to Daniel

Swing jumping!

We had a small supper that night. A big one was planned, but no one was hungry. Grandma was so afraid that she wasn't feeding us a sufficient meal!

We headed to our motel around 9 or 9:30 and checked into our rooms. Jacob and I had our own room that night, and fortunately it wasn't as ghetto as I had described. They've at least updated the bathrooms some, but the rooms are still rockin' the wood paneling!

Sunday, we went to church and took up 2 pews. I held my cousin's baby, Oakley through the whole sermon. That boy is a little flirt!

We left around 3:30 that afternoon, but did some family pictures with Grandma first.

We all headed for Des Moines for the evening. We had 2 rooms that night. Logan slept with grandma and grandpa and the rest of us shared a suite. We went to Applebees for supper to celebrate Luke's birthday and then all just chilled out at the hotel the rest of the night.

This concludes the first part of our trip to Iowa. Stay tuned for our fun filled day at Adventureland.

Emotional Roller Coaster

It's been an emotional week for me. Work distracts me, but it's still been hard knowing that our friends are moving 12 hours away. Last night was a farewell youth group party. We had known that this was going to be the last time that we saw them before they leave. I enjoyed a lot of time with Jack and Liam while the kids and most of the adults played games. When it came time for Sandy to take the boys home to get ready for bed, a heaviness came over my whole body. I started preparing for the goodbyes, when Sandy realized they would be in Taylorville on Friday night having dinner with some friends, and decided they could stop by our house. She wasn't ready for the goodbye either.

She left, but it still didn't stop my tears. I had a nice chat with a great lady from church and she and I did a little bit of crying together. I was thankful for someone to talk to in that moment. I had more tears on the way home while talking with Jacob. Then this morning I had a message from Sandy who had forgotten that the boys weren't going to be with them on Friday night, so we won't see them again. Yep. I cried again. At the same time though, I feel like it's for the best. God gave me a great opportunity last night to spend time with each of the boys. He knew that's what I could handle better. Tomorrow night we'll say our goodbyes to Seth and Sandy. I doubt I'll be able to hold it together...I'm crying as I type. Told ya I was emotional.

I'm so thankful that God put them in our lives and I know that even with 12 hours between us, we will always remain friends.

I also feel like God is helping me out through all of this, by giving me something to look forward to as well. After the goodbyes are finalized, we'll be heading to Iowa. I'm looking forward to being around both my own family and also Jacob's. This will be the first time we've gone to visit Rachel and Micah, so we're really looking forward to it!

And even though we'll be back mid-week, I took the whole week off. I plan to enjoy my 9 full days off of work! Only 1 more day to go and then I'm free!!

Baby Talk

Wow. Yet another week of this summer has passed by. While some days go slow, other ones seem to fly by. We're already headed into the 2nd week of August and I'm getting anxious to see my whole family next weekend. I feel lucky this year because I'll have gotten to see Erica, Jim and Logan twice.

I am approximately 15 weeks away from my due date. Someone commented to me yesterday that 15 weeks seems like a long time. Amazingly to me, I think it seems really close! In fact I don't feel ready yet. I do in the sense that I can't wait to meet Daniel, but I have so much that I feel needs to be done first. We have to get his room ready. That's the big thing. Not to mention, there's so much I feel like I need to get organzied still!

I'm sure as the time gets even closer I'll be ready to have the baby. That's what I'm told anyway, by other moms. I hear, "You just wait!" I feel blessed though. Although I've had little things here and there, pregnancy has not been cruel to me like it is to others I know. I got sick twice. I've been extremely tired. I go to the bathroom 10 times more than I already used to. I get wicked bad heartburn daily. BUT...those all still seem minor to me. I actually love being pregnant. I love knowing that our little baby is growing inside of me. I love feeling and seeing him kick each day. I love knowing that in a little over 3 months I'll hold him in my arms. But until then, I shall keep myself busy so that the time keeps passing by quickly.

I had my 24 week appt. last Thursday (but it was technically at almost 25 weeks). Daniel sounded great. I love getting to hear his little heart beating.  I go back in 3 weeks for my next appt. I get to enjoy a glucose test and get a RhoGam shot because I have a negative blood type. She didn't tell me where I get the shot, but uh...from what I've read online I am not amused. After that I start going to the doctor every 2 weeks!

Yesterday was a busy day for me. We went over to the Bates' to check out their garage sale and to buy some pink lemonade from Jack. That boy could be quite the salesman. He is very persuasive.

In the afternoon spent 4 hours in Springfield. Hit up Babies R Us first and started a registry there. I love getting free stuff when you register places. Then went to Kohls and got a pair of shorts and a tank top for $10 total because they were on clearance, plus I had a giftcard, so I really got them for free! Went to Motherhood, Bed Bath and Beyond and finally to Gordmans where I got Jacob a Lance Berkman shirt. He was excited. I made one final stop at DQ for Jacob and I before coming home. I finally ate supper at 8:00 and enjoyed my Buster Bar Blizzard.

Today we went out to lunch with the Bates'. It was our last Sunday with them at church. They'll be there next Sunday still, but we'll be in Iowa. A few pictures of our wonderful friends. I can't believe they're heading for Nebraska next week. Although, we're already planning a visit there next summer!

Liam doesn't wanna go! Haha!