Lagoon Fun

Back to the updates! So after we left dear old Iowa and drove the 22 hours it took us to get home, we decided that the girls needed to do something fun since it had been such a long drive and such a huge change. Lucky for us my dad's work had their Lagoon day the Saturday after we arrived home. We took advantage of it and went. Everyone had so much riding the rides, well everyone but me seeing as I was almost 7 months pregnant. I had fun watching my girls have fun though so it was all worth it!

Makayla took her little sister under her wing and showed her what to do!

Riding Bulgy the Whale. One of my favorites when I was young!

I think these little boats were Lucy's favorite! She loved ringing the bell!

Taking a ride on the miniature Tidal Wave 

This is the miniature ride that shoots you up in the air and then drops you. Makayla did not want to go on it, she was a little scared. We knew she would love it so we insisted that she try it. After a lot of convincing we finally got her to agree to try it. Look at her face before, she was not happy! 

Look at her face after, she LOVED it!

Lucy wasn't a huge fan of having to be driven around. By this point she was a pro and wanted to do all the rides herself. 

All the fun finally wore her out! Notice the diapers we used for a pillow! Hahaha!

Finished off the trip with a ride on Rattle Snake Rapids. They were soaked after! We had a really fun day! We are so excited to be back around family so we can do fun things like this all the time!

Goodbye Iowa!

GOODBYE IOWA! 

It was a lot harder than I thought to say goodbye to this place. I think I cried more than I thought I would and that made me realize how much I grew while living in Iowa.

 Thanks for the memories!

Family picture in front of our Iowa home!

I had to get a couple of different shots of the house we called home for 3 years!

Dance Recital June 2012

Makayla has been talking dance for the last little while and had been enjoying it. She has already participated in two other recital so this was her third and final one here in Iowa. It happened to be the last Saturday we were there. It was a crazy weekend with my family coming into town, packing the moving truck, and saying goodbye to what we have known for the last three years! 

It was kind of nice to have a break from moving stuff and get to watch this cute girl do something she loved to do.

Before the show! She loves this costume and was so excited to wear it and preform for everyone!

Another plus of this recital was that she got to do it with one of her best friends, JayLene. It was so fun to watch these two! 

They were literally the stars! 

(At least I think they were!)

She didn't want to smile for any pictures, she was having a moment, and the only way I could get her to smile was to let her pose how she wanted to and this is what she wanted to do. She is such a funny girl sometimes!

Free dancing!

They were so cute up there doing their own thing!

Makayla and her dance teacher Miss Kate! She was so good with the girls and Makayla just loved her! We are sad to leave her behind!

JayLene, Miss Kate, and Makayla

She got spoiled!

Lucy just had to get up and dance on the stage too. She loves to do what her sister does!

I just can't get enough of these two! 

This is one friend Makayla will really miss!

Alaska....Really?

John Deer

John Deer, another of Iowa's claims to fame! Ok well it really is Illinois' claim to fame, but hey we were close enough to claim it too. We took Uncle Eric, Aunt BreAnn, Grandpa and Grandma too see the huge tractors and had fun climbing all over them!

Uncle Eric and Makayla 

These tractors were so big it was crazy! I can't believe all of them could fit in one tractor cab.

Front view with Caleb in the mix this time!

Two cute girls, one huge tire!

Makayla taking her sister for a ride! 

Lucy, Makayla, Uncle Eric, and Aunt BreAnn!

Lucy, Grandma, Makayla, and Grandpa!

This time Makayla took Grandma for a ride!

She is a natural cow milker! 

So is this one!

These tires were huge and made these girls look so tiny!

Now whenever anyone talks about John Deer stuff we act like we know everything about them! We are experts if you must know! Thanks Iowa for making us so smart when it comes to John Deer stuff! 

Last Trip To Nauvoo With The Family

One of the highlights of living in Iowa was, and no I am not going to say the the weather!, being so close to Nauvoo! The spirit there is always so strong and it has made me have such a greater love, respect, and understanding of what our pioneer ancestors went through! My family was coming out to help us pack and then drive back home, so we had to make one last trip to Nauvoo.

My wonderful family, minus one brother, at Carthage Jail. 

We missed him dearly, but still had a great time!

You will notice that Makayla has a bag of ice in her hand in all the pictures we took this day. Well let me tell you about it. We were just getting ready to leave and pick my dad, brother, and sister-in-law up at the airport when she picked up a hot soldering iron in her bear hand. it burned her pretty bad. She tried so hard to be tough and she was as long as there was ice on her hand. It was a trying day, but she wanted to enjoy seeing Cartage Jail so bad that she did her best to not let it bug her! She is such a good girl, most of the time!

I hope my girls are as close as these two men were!

Lucy LOVES getting pushed in her stroller and it is a good thing because she is one slow walker!

Makayla posing on out walk down the Trail of Hope!

Nauvoo Temple from the Trail of Hope

Family picture in front of the Mississippi River.

Makayla and Uncle Eric trying to recreate the statue

Grandma and Grandpa with the girls. 

We are so glad we got to spend some time with them in Nauvoo! They are the best!

Aunt BreAnn and Uncle Eric with the girls.

Lucy and Makayla ADORE these two. I sometimes think they would rather be with them than with us!

I have two of the most beautiful and fun girls in the world!

(Soon to be three! That is crazy to think!)

Lucy would touch this horse at first she was so scared of it, but with some coaching from Eric she got up the courage and did. She thought she was so cool after that!

Nauvoo Temple at night! I love this place!

The name says it all!

Just relaxing in the wagon!

Lucy and this statue were just the same size. She loved it and was dancing, hugging, and even kissing it. She is so cute!

I am really going to miss Nauvoo, but I am so glad we had the opportunity to live so close. It is something I will always treasure. I feel like one lucky to person to have gotten to spend 3 years living so close to a place that has so much history.