"Twinkle, Twinkle, Traffic Light" {Iowa Part 2}

The summary of our WONDERFUL trip to Iowa continues...enhanced with photos of thee two cutest little girls around (opinions of the writer will here forth be stated as fact)!

Day 7:

Friday was another day of March Madness...where one could find my husband glued to the recliner in his parent's living room with a big smile on his face.  I think the most nerdy thing about him is his obsession with sports, particularly the Cyclones.  I don't think his kids stand a chance of attending school anywhere but there if they know what's best for their relationship with their father. ;)

At any rate, I was not about to spend all day with my eyes glued to the TV, so I used the time (and built-in babysitter) to spend more quality time with friends.  Anna F. & I got up and headed out to Cafe Milo for some muffins and coffee.  We then went back to her place so I could see her recent designs in her house (she's a home designer for Redeker's Furniture, so she naturally has top of the line stuff and great taste in room layouts).  Anna and her husband were married the same summer as us and traveled the road of the first year of marriage together with us and 3 other couples.  Having Christian women in the same stage of life as me during my first year of marriage was such a blessing (not because marriage was hard; it was quite easy back then, but because you always need friends in the same life stage you are currently in.  fact.)!  I will forever cherish those relationships, even if all 5 couples are now living in different cities.

I came back to the house for lunch and then it was off again for another great workout and chat time with miss Carley.  It was SUCH a blessing to have the opportunity to workout while I was on vacation.  Going 12 days without working out and eating so much delicious food would have completely done me in.  Thank you, thank you, Mrs. Hoben!!! ;)

Friday night was filled with excitement as we gathered around the TV to watch the Cyclones play in the first round of the NCAA tournament.  Much to our delight, they won big, so we were able to relax throughout the game.  One of my favorite things about spending time at the Weiss' is that Rhonda is a snack queen, and always has fabulous spreads of food out.  I choose to have zero self control while I'm at her place and eat into oblivion, enjoying every bite!  We all had our Cyclone gear on, including our sweet girlie.  Just wait until next season when she can fit into the cheerleader outfit she got!!

Day 8:

Saturday morning was another work out with Carley (yes, we were on a roll) and then a quick shower, coming downstairs to see Brian's Uncle Dick and Aunt Crystal.  They had come to visit their great-nieces and celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary with us.  25 years. I wonder what Brian and I will be doing 21 years from now? ;)  They also brought Carly her first ever Easter basket...filled with books and eggs containing her favorite candy, M&Ms.   Little did they know that those Easter eggs would be our primary source of entertainment for Carly during our flight into the St. Petersburg airport on our way home. 

Shortly after they arrived, Aaron, Kelly & Cora (Brian's brother and his family) graced us with their presence.  They live in Chicago and sweet 3-year-old Cora had just experienced a loonnngg drive filled with anticipation to see her G&G and also play with her baby Carly! I cannot begin to tell you how sweet it was to see her come inside and immediately grab Carly's hand and escort her into the play room.  We get to see Cora 2-3 times per year, and each time she just gets sweeter.  I am so happy that Carly has a girl cousin so close in age...I'm sure they will be good friends throughout their childhood and teen years. 

Cora has a sleeping buddy named Zebra, who was the inspiration for Carly's sleep buddy, Monkey.  Shortly after they had arrived, Carly fell down and began to cry.  Cora's first thought was to run and get Zebra to comfort her...a sign of true love.  Cora would also sing to Carly whenever she was upset (mostly those diaper changes) and did a fabulous job of it.  You can watch a video of Cora singing the coolest song ever, "Twinkle Twinkle Traffic Light," to Carly here.

Saturday evening was filled with a delicious dinner from an Ames must-eat, Hickory Park, and lots of play time.  Carly followed Cora around and wanted to do whatever she did, whether it was play with toys, eat snacks or sit on G&Gs lap while playing piano.  Such precious memories.

Day 9:

Palm Sunday.  The crew got up and headed to church along with those two cute girls in their Easter dresses.  

This is how they really felt about the photo shoot ;)

Since Brian works on Sundays, we pretended that Palm Sunday was Easter, and proceeded to take a family picture to commemorate the occasion.

After church we were joined by Brian's entire extended family on the Meyer side (minus 3) who all arrived in their Cyclone gear ready to cheer ISU on during the second round of the tournament.  Little did we know that our moods would be sour for the rest of the day due to a terrible (and unfair) loss.  It was a great, game, though, with a lot of cheering, standing, jumping and sweating!  Even though they lost, we were able to muscle through and take a family photo.  We also snagged one of the 4 great-grandchildren on Brian's side of the family.

"On the count of 3, everyone kiss Carly!"

After the family left, we all had a relaxing afternoon, filled with more basketball.  That evening Aaron, Kelly, Brian & I were able to sneak away and enjoy a quiet dinner at El Azteca, another restaurant Brian & I generally dine at while in Iowa.  It's fun to get parent advice from them and swap stories about our strong-willed little girls.  I'm glad they get to pave the way! ;)

Day 10:

Monday was a pretty chill day, spending all morning and most of the afternoon with Anna G.  It was a bummer to have to skip out on such great family time, but Monday was the ONLY day Anna was free during our 12-day stay (she was in Mexico most of it), and I couldn't go without spending time with my best friend.  We spent the day chatting away, not free of laughter and tears.  She is such a woman of God and certainly ministered to my heart and spoke truth to my mind.  She's one of my greatest prayer warriors and will forever be a great friend.  Here's a photo of us being silly and hot-tubbing at her parents house in the freezing cold weather, and one after we got back to the house.

Mid-afternoon I met the clan at Reiman Garden to take some photos of the girls in the Butterfly Habitat and let them run around in what felt like "outdoors."  It was really warm and felt just like home.  Carly enjoyed walking around and looking at the plants.  She was interested in the butterflies but it was hard to stay focused on such a fluttery little thing.  We got some pretty cute photos. :)

Cora got to hold the butterfly!

Those blue eyes strike again!

This one is pretty precious...love the pink flowers!

After dinner Monday evening, we all relaxed in the living room with one eye watching our sweet girls play and the other on the new season of The Voice.  Carly began entertaining herself with pretend play by taking a play spoon and cup and stirring it up and then drinking it.  It was really fun to see her play in that way and entertain herself for her longest span of time so far in her little life.

Day 11:

Tuesday morning everyone was up and out the door early, all headed to different locations.  It was back to work for G&G, off to Chicago for A,K&C and off to Des Moines for us.  Brian flew out of DSM back to Tampa so he could get a day of golf in while Carly and I spent a couple more days with my folks.  Most of the afternoon I just hung with my mama.  We laid low at the apartment while Carly napped, then headed out for a little bit of shopping.  Tuesday evening Tiff and her boyfriend, Luke, joined us for dinner and then we all watched another episode of The Voice.

Day 12:

Carly got up super early, so we wiggled Grandpa's toe to wake him up, too!  We had taken over Aunt Tiff's room, so to avoid waking her up in the living room, we decided to run to the brand new and largest Hy-Vee in the world for breakfast!  Carly had a feast and enjoyed walking around the store.  It was super fancy and had foods no other Hy-Vee carries.  Pretty neat (but a little over priced to compensate for the luxury). 

Next he dropped us off at the Gerber's house and we spent the next 4 hours playing with Lindsay, Eli (22 months) & Micah (5 months)!  They are super sweet boys and it was a blessing to get so much time with them!  Carly really enjoyed copying the movements of Eli and enjoyed being in control of Micah.  She was trying to be nice but ended up just bonking Micah on the head.  He took to it pretty well, thankfully.  Eli & Carly had fun clapping together and played a fabulous duet on the piano.

Dad picked us up and we headed to my Grandma's house for the afternoon and evening. Uncle Trey joined us and then we headed over to my great grandma's house to spend some time with her as well.  97 years old and "sharp as a tack!"  She is a delightful woman and enjoyed watching Grandpa chase Carly around the house.  Here is the sweetest video of Carly sitting on Nana's lap.

We are incredibly blessed to have 5 generations living at the same time.  Nana is a wealth of knowledge and has seen our world change for more years than most of us combined!  I always enjoy hearing her perspective and stories. 

It was back to Grandma's for dinner and then off to the apartment for our final night in Iowa.  That night we found out that my Grandma had come down with a terrible stomach flu (probably caught it from the preschoolers she teaches twice a week) and we all began to pray real hard that we, especially Nana, wouldn't catch it.  Praise the Lord none of us did!  Grandma was sick for days and even had to cancel Easter, but she's doing better now.  No fun at all!

Day 13:

The flight back to Florida was a bit rough/exhausting, but we made it through.  The descend into St. Pete was really hard on the ears, and Carly kept sticking both fingers in her ears and just screaming!  My ears hurt pretty bad, so I knew she was uncomfortable.  I begged her to drink her water and tried every snack I had in my bag (I ran out of M&Ms too early...) so she would swallow, but she just refused.  I ended up pulling up my shirt and nursing her...and even that was a bit of a fight!  She was fine once she decided to take it, though.  Poor kiddo!  Everyone around us felt super bad for her and all commented on how hard it is to travel alone.  People were asking if they could help and I wanted to say, "ya, you can help by not starring at us and making me feel embarrassed!"  I, of course, just politely declined. :)

We had a really wonderful trip!  Being that often times it can be very stressful and bad-habit forming, it was absolutely delightful and the perfect break from real life.  We have adjusted back to our normal lives very well (including Carly sleeping through the night again) and are enjoying the fabulous Florida weather.  Thank you to everyone who made an effort to see us and host us, brought us gifts, loved on our little girl, let us borrow baby gear/toys and made us meals.  We LOVED our time and are already looking forward to another fun two weeks the end of June and into July!  See you then!!! :)