Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Aunt Nene

Since Dan had to return home to work, my sister, who's a teacher in Minneapolis, graciously accompanied me and the kids on the flight back from Minnesota.  While we really appreciated having an extra set of hands around, not only for the flight, but for the entire next week, mostly we were just glad to get to spend more time with Renee since we don't see each other very often.  The kids definitely bonded with her, and were asking where she was the morning after she left...she'd become a part of their everyday lives!
We took it pretty easy because the kids were worn out from our time in Minnesota.  We did venture out for a few trips to the beach and a day trip to Alexander Springs.  We introduced Renee to some of our favorite Jacksonville eateries, including The Seafood Kitchen, Al's Pizza, and Chick-fil-a (Chick-fil-a doesn't venture that far into Yankee country).  We also set out to cook up some recipes from my 'To Try' folder.  We made Venezuelan Arepas (that I had eaten in NYC this spring), Gyros and Greek Salad, and Shrimp Tacos with Corn Salsa and Minted Sour Cream.

I did a terrible job capturing her visit on film, but we did get the camera out at the springs.  We like to introduce people to what we call 'The Real Florida' when they come to visit.  That way they find out there's more to Florida than Disney, palm trees, and beaches...and sweat.  Going to a spring is our favorite way to blow the stereotypes, but we needed to find one that was kid-friendly.  Dan did an awesome job in picking Alexander Springs.  It had a sandy bottom and was shallow almost all the way across, except for over by the spring where it was deep, cold, and you could snorkel and see the limestone formations and some fish.  So fun!  I wish only it wasn't quite so far away, so we could go there more often.  We're considering making it the destination for our first family camping trip, maybe this fall.
 
General view of the spring. The aqua part is where the spring is.  
All you non-Floridians should check one out sometime!

The girlies

The kids really enjoyed being in some shallow, wave-free water.
Look how clear it is!
Josh had a little too much fun!
But had one more good picture left in him

Thanks for all your help and company, Renee!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Fun in the Land of 10,000 Lakes

After our whirlwind Iowa tour, we headed back to Minnesota to my parent's house.  Dan was able to stay a couple more days, and the kids and I stayed another week after he left.  My grandma came back up with us for the week as well.  It was good to get more time with her and fun to see the kids bond with her.  Brielle would always greet her, "Hi, gra-ma-ma." in her sweet voice.
How many great grandmas can still do this?
 Riding Rawhide - our rocking horse growing up!
(Yes, my parents save everything.)

Josh was in heaven in the basement full of tractors, trucks, and balls

My mom had lots of fun kids activities lined up for us while we were there.  We went to a storytime at their church named "Moose on the Loose" which was perfect for our kids with their imaginary pet moose.  We also went to Como Park Zoo and saw lots of animals, including ones we don't have in Jacksonville, like polar bears.  We played at some parks and went to see a puppet show.
 And of course, we enjoyed lots of delicious food...


 And enjoyed the cooler weather...



Catch me if you can, Gra-ma-ma!

Splashes and Showers

Here's a recap of the rest of our adventures in Iowa.  It was the first time we've stayed in a hotel as a family for a long time, maybe the first time ever with all four of us.  The kids enjoyed the swivel chair, breakfast bar, and swimming pool.  



Brielle is really good with the water wings, but every time the water touches her chin she just starts giggling and can't keep balanced anymore.  It's so funny (and delightful)!
 Hotel Room Fun

On my mom's side of the family, the aunts always host a wedding shower when one of the cousins get married.  For a while there was about one a year (with 21 cousins, that's not hard), but Dan and I were actually the last to get married, so it's been 7 years.  Brielle and I attended the luau shower while the boys went to McDonald's for a Happy Meal and to play on the playground.
World's Largest Grass Skirt
Aunt Shirley, Amy (the bride), my mom, Aunt DiAnn (mother of groom), and Aunt Teddy

After the shower, we packed up and headed back up to Minnesota for more adventures with Tata and Papa!

Sunday, August 01, 2010

Congrats to Nathan and Amy

Next we were off to Des Moines to celebrate my cousin Nathan's marriage. He and his bride, Amy, got married this spring in Maui, but had a reception in Iowa this month, so we were able to celebrate with them and see lots of family in the process.

(Thanks to Facebook for supplying this gorgeous pic)
In honor of the luau theme, Renee and I wore vintage Hawaiian dresses that belonged to my mom when she and my dad were stationed in Hawaii with the Navy in the '70s!
The kids went crazy chasing beach balls all night!
Josh really enjoyed himself at the par-tay! I think it was his first experience with The Chicken Dance - surely not the last. Here's a few videos of Josh breakin' it down...



Life is Good in Ames, IA

All 3 of us in Life is Good t-shirts
Our next pit stop was a brief visit at my alma mater, Iowa State University. We met up with my good friend, Lori, at one of our favorite places to eat - Hickory Park. It just so happened that another college friend, James, was in town at the same time! I hadn't seen James in about 7 years, so it was fun to catch up with him too.
Lori brings a party wherever she goes and had brought tiaras, birthday hats, and decorations to the restaurant (not to mention all the celebratory window paint, body art, and sidewalk chalk awaiting us at her house).  I felt very celebrated!
Dan stayed at Lori's house while the kids napped, and Lori and I went for a quick bicycle tour of campus.  It had been a few years since I was there, and it brought back lots of good memories.  There are new buildings and some things have changed, but at the same time it felt like a very familiar, happy place. 
Photo courtesy of this site.

O we will fight, fight, fight for Iowa State,
And may her colors ever fly.
Yes, we will fight with might for Iowa State,
With a will to do or die,
Rah! Rah! Rah!
Loyal sons forever true,
And we will fight the battle through.
And when we hit that line we'll hit it hard
ev'ry yard for I.S.U.

Greene, IA

We're back in the good ole Midwest for a few weeks for a whirlwind tour. The morning of my birthday we took an EARLY flight (dep 6am) into Minneapolis, met up with Tata and Papa, ate a quick lumberjack breakfast at Ikea, and drove to Great Grandma's house in Greene, IA...all before 3pm! Fun times in farm country were had by all...
Farmer Josh
They have different taste in lawn ornaments in IA!
Workin' hard
Swinging with Great Grandma
Our other swing lover

After a morning of 'working' the fields, we headed out to the Floyd County fair to check out the 4H animals.

In addition to our farming activities, the kids also enjoyed spending time and sharing delicious meals with Uncle Joe, Aunt Lori and twin cousins Sofie and Ryan.  Sofie and Ryan are so good to play with Josh and Brielle and make them feel like one of the big kids.