Summer Fun - Part I

For the past several summers the boys and I have gone to Iowa as part of our vacation. This year, in an effort to cut costs, we decided to make it a road trip. We also decided to add a few new destinations. The trip went something like this:

Day 1: We leave home with hopes of reaching Tuccumari, NM the first night. There were two things I didn't take into consideration when setting this goal: 1) The crankiness of a 10 year old after a birthday party sleepover the night before and 2) The size of 5 year old bladders. After pulling over twice (before Four Peaks mind you) with threats of turning and around and canceling the above mentioned 10 year old straightened up and we head out. We were about 60 miles shy of our goal when we stopped in Santa Rosa, NM for the night. All in all, not a bad day considering it was me and three boys.

Day 2: Another day and another 630 miles or so and we made it to Louisberg, KS to stay the night with our cousin Stacy. Again, not to bad of a day considering we were in the car for 11 hours or so.

Days 3-5: We finally made it to Iowa. Vanessa and Ryan flew into Des Moines to join us for the middle part of our journey. While we were at Aunt Phyllis's house we took the boys to The Living History Farm and Reiman Gardens, where the butterfly garden is. Kathy invited the boys to sleep over one night so the rest of us decided to go to Jamaica for the pork tenderloin sandwiches (the best ever!). The boys also got to spend a lot of time playing outside and exploring Aunt Phyllis's "very cool" yard. Their cousin Tyler, who is Seth's age, took them on a ride on the tractor (it's small and they have a wagon attached to it so everyone got to go together) and then helped each of the boys drive it. Fun stuff when your a boy!

Days 6-10: This is where my mom joined the journey and we headed off on a whole new adventure for everyone (except me): Chicago. After a fairly uneventful 7 hour drive we made it to Gurnee, IL where my dad is staying. Our days in Chicago were jammed packed with fun and exciting things to do. This is also where Missy, her three boys and Susanne met up with us. We went to the Museum of Science and Industry to see the Harry Potter Exhibition, the Field Museum to see Sue (a dinosaur), the Jelly Belly Factory, swimming and fishing in Lake Michigan, a trip to Navy Pier and another dinosaur museum in WI. My dad and I also took the boys to Green Bay, WI to tour Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers! What an exciting day that was. Even I had a good time and I'm not a Packer Fan.

Days 11-14: Vanessa and Ryan flew home from Chicago and Seth went back to Ohio with Missy so it was just my mom, the boys and I making the trip back to Iowa from Chicago and then home again. We had planned on stopping in Kalona and Washington, IA, on our way back to Aunt Phyllis's house but what we didn't plan on was bad construction and being pulled over (more on that later). When we got to Washington, the Amish country store was closed and the shops were getting ready to close so we decided to stay overnight and spend the next day there. The boys had a blast playing at their favorite park in Washington and my mom and I enjoyed the Amish store and quilting shops and some really great food. We also stopped in Pella for some great Dutch pastries. Aunt Phyllis joined us the next day for a trip to Winterset to shop at Fons & Porter and Ben Franklin (of course). We also went back to Jamaica (my mom missed the first trip) and rested up a little before starting our trek home.

Days 15-17: Our journey home included a trip to Villisca to see Don & Jill (and pick up some duck decoys for Tom) and a stop in Butler, MO. We, of course, arrived in Villisca later that what we thought and stayed longer than we planned but it was great to see family (and play at the park). We then headed to Butler to see our cousin Karen, her kids and their families. I hadn't seen my cousins since I was 9 so it was fun to meet them again and see their kids. We ate dinner with Karen and then stayed and visited with them until almost 10:00pm. We then headed back to Stacy's house for the night. We visited with Stacy, Aaron and Isaac Sunday morning and then drove to Dalhart, TX for our final night on the road. We were on our final stretch and everyone was itching to get back home. We made a couple of unplanned stops but overall the trip home was as uneventful as the trip going. Though we had a great time while we were gone it was nice to be home again, though I could do without the 115º weather that met us when we arrived!

Still Trying to Catch Up

Well, here I go again. I'm making another attempt to catch up on blogging and this time stay caught up. I'm not going to promise anything but my goal is to update once or twice a week starting now!

Trying to catch up

Well it's been forever since I've posted anything so I'll try and catch up here in the next few days. I will spread it out a little to give everyone something new to read every few days. So here goes, the first of many posts...

The big 4 0 - for Chris that is

I can hardly believe that Chris turned 40 this year. We can't be that old can we?

Chris has been planning his big 40th birthday bash for a long time and with the help of some great friends he had what he said was the best birthday ever.

Chris reserved the Family Life Center at church for two reasons: Basketball and the size of his guest list. There were over 100 people on his list and he had such a great variety of activities planned that everyone found something to do. He had basketball, including a free throw contest, volleyball and dodge ball for the adults and movies,board games, things to color and the playground outside for the kids. There was of course a lot of food and socializing but I think the best part of the night was the Dodge Ball game. They let the kids play first and then adults played a few brutal games. I toyed with the idea of playing but thought better of it after watching a couple of games. Being a spectator wasn't necessarily the safer option but it was definitely entertaining.

I am so glad that so many of Chris' friends were able to come and share this special occasion with him. After looking at the pictures it seems like everyone had a great time. To see the pictures click here.

Pay it Forward

The Rules

1. Be one of the first three (3) bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first 3 bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your three friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought that count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love! If you are not one of the 1st three commenter's on this post, you can still play along. Post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

p.s. I just wanted to spice the post up a little so I added a splash of color to some of the words.