Trip to Iowa...

We made the long voyage to visit my Mom & Dad in Iowa a little over a week ago. The drive went as well as we could have hoped even though it takes about 2 hours longer from Buffalo than it did from Denver. It was great to see my parents and the girls loved every minute.

We were able to attend the Iowa State Fair while in town. The girls really liked riding the bus (park-n-ride), seeing all the animals, and riding a few rides. I have lots of great memories of hanging out at the fair with my friends in high school...especially all of the people watching and eating that we did!

The food at the fair is incredible...everything from your regular corn dogs to deep fried butter (yes, a stick of butter) on a stick. We opted out of the butter novelty items, but had our fair share of artery-clogging delectables. :)

In addition to all of the regular livestock and show animals, there are quite a few novelty critters on display. The girls loved the ostrich!

There are also contests for the biggest (enter name of animal, vegetable, or fruit). The largest bull weighed nearly 3000lbs. and was unbelievably huge. However, I thought the smallest bull was by far cuter:

As we were browsing the FFA and 4-H animals, Sarah Palin's entourage came travelling down the same aisle. I'm not a huge fan, so Joe & I just pushed Maya & our gigantic double stroller out of everyone's way and stood to the side as they passed. My Mom & Dad had Gabi and were able to shake Sarah's hand. She apparently asked Gabi her name and told her she was a beautiful little girl. (Tell us something we don't already know! hee hee!)

The rest of the time we just hung out at the house, including eating lots of yummy food, playing, and doing sparklers! Joe & I were also able to do quite a bit of shopping for the house while Mom & Dad babysat, so that was nice.

On the way back, we stayed the night in Lincoln at my Grandma Dot's house. It was nice to spend some time with her and with my Auntie Virginia, Uncle Gary, and cousin Allie. My Uncle Gary and the girls hit it off for sure and there were lots of giggles throughout the evening. :)

I'm back to school now and wondering how I'm going to survive all of this. It seems like the minute I went back to work, everything else needs my attention (mostly our new house in progress). I should have planned that a little better....:) So far, the girls are doing great with the new schedule and I'm loving my new school. I could go on and on about how much better it is than my old one, but I don't want to make my teacher friends in Denver jealous (just kidding) and I also don't want to jinx it!!

Lots of love to you all, Joe, Tara, Gabi & Maya