RAGBRAI 2018

RAGBRAI, for those of you who aren't familiar, is a week long bike ride across Iowa.  It technically stands for Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. There is a new route each year, starting somewhere in Western Iowa and ending in Eastern Iowa.  It's a fun race, not a competition.  Bikers of all adult ages and skill levels participate in the week of fun.  Every night there is a 'host' town where all the riders camp {or stay with friends}, party, rest, etc.

This is the second time Adam's band has been asked to play, so I took the kids for the early part of the night.   

The next day RAGBRAI came right through our little town.  I had the day off {had to get my car repaired from a little snafu} so the kids and I headed to check it out for a bit. The weather was perfect for biking this year {some years it's been in the 100's, others pouring, etc.}  I rode one day with my sisters in 2015, but I'm getting the itch to try to ride the entire thing sometime...

Thanksgiving 2017

It was so hard to go to work this morning after a great Thanksgiving weekend!  I feel like I always look ahead to the weekend and think about how much time I'm going to have and before I know it, it's Sunday night and I'm hopping into bed thinking about how fast it went!

The ONLY photos taken this Thanksgiving...sigh.

Highlights this year included starting the weekend at noon on Wednesday, listening to Past Vertical on Wednesday night, enjoying Adam's fried turkey, my mom's potatoes, and my sister's scotcharoo bars.  Looking through the ads on Thanksgiving afternoon followed by shopping with my mom and sister all day Friday is always a favorite.  This year Adam and my dad surprised me by organizing the garage and making room for both of our cars -- living in Iowa this is a definite perk before winter!!  Saturday I took down my fall decor and decorated for Christmas {everything but the tree}, saw Wonder with my mom and sister, and Adam and I went to our friend's 40th birthday party.  And Sunday we found out my sister and her husband are expecting a GIRL!!

Such a fun weekend.  I feel so blessed to celebrate with a group of loved ones -- I definitely don't take the for granted!  Especially since today marks 2 years since Murdocks death & we have a friend that's been in the hospital all weekend.  Life is so short!  On a happier note, Lola turns 6 months on Thursday, my niece has a dance team competition in Des Moines on Friday, & the kids and I are spending the weekend with my parents while Adam's deer hunting with his dad.  Now, if we could just get some snow already... ;)

Past Vertical at the Farm

I missed Adam's band gig at the Balloon Festival since I was in New York, but here are a few photos from his band gig at the farm.  Cully was pretty excited to go on stage and play the drums during a set break.  Jordyn surprised me by getting on stand at the end of the night and dancing like crazy by herself do the set break music in front of everyone else.  Definitely not shy! :)

Labor Day Weekend {the Iowa game + Labor Daze country fest}

Labor Day weekend was a fun, whirlwind of activities this year! :)  The kids and I started the weekend off early, by heading to the Lake House on Thursday afternoon.  I unpacked everything, decorated for fall a bit, and took the kids into my inlaws because they offered to watched them while I had a photoshoot {this one}.  When I went to pick them up, they {mainly Jordyn} insisted on sleeping over and Grandma & Grandpa's, so I ran back and get them jammies and left them until morning.  I went home and slept until 7a.  Ahh!

Friday morning I got up and quickly mowed the yard before running into town to grab the kids.  When we got to the lake, my friend Jess & her boys were there to hang out for the day.  I took a few photos of her youngest and then the kids played in the rock piles at the lake {perks of a small town!  Thanks Joey!}  After that {& the epic meltdowns from my children when I made them leave!} we grabbed Subway for lunch, took them for a quick Ranger ride, & out for ice cream before they headed back to Des Moines.  They kids and I went back out to the lake and I edited while they napped.  After naps, we had a lemonade stand before I took them back to my in laws so I could do another shoot before meeting everyone in town to watch my oldest nephew {Keaton, freshman} play in the football game.  They smoked the other team & the kids got to go on the field after the game, so it was a total success! ;)  We came home, put the kids to bed, prepped food for the next day, and went to bed just after 11p. 

shirt c/o ThePrintedPoppy

We got up just before 5:30a on Saturday to finish getting everything packed ready to go, before dropping the kids off with my S&BIL, so we could go to Iowa City for the Iowa game. We tailgated and then took the bus to the stadium for the 11a game.  It was hot, but not nearly as hot as two years ago.  We had great seats, really close to the cheerleaders. Adam lost his voice from this little number.  After the game, we packed right up and headed back to the lake to pick up the kids in time to make it to our oldest niece's {Vanessa, college freshman} first college game.  She dances {& competitive cheer} for William Penn.  By the time her game started, the weather was PERFECT, paired with the fact that the bleachers near us were almost empty and the concessions being just around the corner, made the 3{!!} overtimes possible for our kiddos. :)  

The next morning we slept in as long as our kids allowed and lounged around until we went to watch Adam's band at Labor Daze country music fest.  It was another HOT day, but we still had a blast!  My parents and sister & Myles joined us.  Later that night, my parents took the kids home, bathed them, and tucked them into bed.  We lasted until 11p and called it a night ourselves.

Monday was spent out on the boat, enjoying what could be the last nice weekend of summer.  Adam and my dad did install the mount to hang the TV, which is noteworthy {Adam got it from my parents for Christmas last year} :)