Annual Trip to Iowa

Eating some "acorns" for breakfast.  Charlene always comes up with really neat food for the boys to try.  The acorns were donut holes dipped in nutella with sprinkles on top and a pretzel sticking up.  They loved them!

Luke and Liam remembered this toy from previous years and it continues to be a big hit!

Charlene had lots of fun projects for us to work on

 

Charlene also helped us to mend some holes in a few things since Mommy doesn't do much sewing.  Liam's infamous dog went under the needle for a bit to mend a hole.

Luke loves to play memory and he is really good.  Just ask Grandma.

Uncle Tom helped the boys build a train

We took turns being the conductor and blowing the whistle

All Aboard!

This picture was taken by Aiden's teacher at school.  Its a little blurry because its from a cell phone, but here is Aiden the geologist!

We made our 3rd annual trip to Iowa over the weekend.  Apparently the Hawkeye football team is not having one of its better seasons so tickets were cheap and John and his Dad were able to enjoy a game in early November with temps in the 70's!!! 

 

Meanwhile, back at the home front, the boys and I were excited to see what all Charlene had planned this year.  We did a few crafts in the morning including making turkeys and some pictures with all types of stickers.  Charlene helped us mend several of our stuffed toys with holes and even a pair of Luke's jeans.  Grandma and Luke enjoyed several games of Memory while Liam and Aiden ran around "repairing" things in the house.  On the way to Iowa, the boys asked about the jack hammer toy above (the one Aiden is playing with), which has become a favorite for them.  We rearranged the Thanksgiving decorations in Charlene's house, tested out the foot rest on all her reclining chairs, and we "repaired" everything in the house with her tool set.  Thankfully, I am pretty sure nothing was permanently damaged.  We had acorns and breakfast cookies followed by fish shaped sandwiches for lunch.  After lunch, we made it to a local park and had a great time outdoors with the nice weather.  Later in the afternoon/evening, we decorated cupcakes and played with more toys until John and his Dad returned from the game. 

 

Another highlight for the boys was staying in the hotel.  Liam called it a "ho and tell" like "show and tell."  As we were leaving on Sunday, the boys thought we were going back to our "ho and tell house" rather than our house in Minnesota and they were pretty disappointed when we told them it was time to head home.  They negotiated and tried to convince us to leave them a few more days.  Apparently, we never do anything fun at home?  After some naps and a good night of sleep, we were good.  Glad they enjoyed seeing everyone and we appreciate all of Tom and Charlene's hard work to feed and entertain us!  See you next year!