Iowa bound...again

We had plans to head back to Iowa for the weekend for the 5th and final Gran Gable bike ride but headed back earlier than expected. The kids and I headed back Thursday to celebrate the life of a friend who passed away from cancer.  It was a beautiful service but so painfully difficult. 

I found one nice shirt that fit Willie for the services.  He looked so handsome.  Grandma D, the kids and I went to dinner afterward and drown our sorrows of a life ended too short in french fries and ice cream.

On Friday, Grandma D, the kids and I headed to Iowa City to pick up our packet for the bike ride.  We went to the mall so Cater and Grandma could do build a bear for her birthday.  We ended up in the sports store and spent a lot of money on a coat, long sleeves and pants for a little boy who seems to have sensitivities to clothing related to cold weather.

We've made huge progress and he will wear a long sleeve shirt. He's coming around on coats.  Pants are still an issue. Let's not forget the Shorts Fairy had to come on December 1 last year to remove all of his shorts and t-shirts. We are in October. I feel like that's winning.

Chilly Sunday morning for a 56 mile bike ride.  It was a great day.  My friend Keith (who rode RAGBRAI with me) joined us at the last minute. He was a great unexpected surprise addition to the day.

After dinner we met up with our children, the five Brady's, and the three members of Keith's family for lunch before setting back home.  If you add that up it's seven kids and six adults.  Not one break down by a kid or an adult.  It's a record.  

More this and that...which is essentially what life really looks like

Cate is a maniac.  That's all I can say.  

Cate turned three which means she had her first dental appointment.  The dentist said the brushing is going pretty good and she doesn't see any concerns.  Cate was a little apprehensive of the dentist and her tools but she was cooperative.

And that's Cate.

An after school treat at the ice cream shop is everyone's favorite.

Willie and Cater selfies.

Outfit #3 for Halloween options.  The other options are Pirate Princess and Candy Girl.  Cate's probably going to steal Candy Girl.  Unless she ends up as a hand me down Kangaroo.

Fun playing on the gym equipment after school before we have to leave every day.

Serious business taking place in the circle room.

Tater and her BFF.  She is dominating school. We haven't had conferences but she loves it. She loves going and seeing her friends every day.

I was digging through the basement crawl space looking for old documents and found this gem.  It's the homecoming king crown Andrew received in high school. I decided we didn't need to keep it in hiding any longer and brought it out for the kids to play dress up with.

Who doesn't want to be the king kangaroo? I mean seriously. 

More kid selfies. 

Will watching a slideshow of pictures on the iPad while killing time while Miss M was at dance class.

Cater and her babies.  She loves them. She loves to wear them in her baby Ergo that Aunt Jessie got her for her birthday.

Pumpkin Patch or Bust!

I made an executive decision to go to the pumpkin patch the day it opened.  

It was a Friday and we had Miss M's best friend for the night. 

I had to get Miss M's friend from her school then rush back to get Miss M off the bus.  

It was a tight turnaround but we made it.  The kids were so excited to see each other and show each other the contents of their book bag. 

Andrew came home from work early and we set off. 

The beginning of our adventure.  It was the best night.  There was no one at the pumpkin patch and we got to do all the rides, do them repeatedly without getting off, and not have to wait in any lines.

Frogger ride was a hit.

The Honey Pots also went over well with kids of all ages.

The kids got the coveted engine car where they were able to ring the bell repeatedly and drive everyone crazy.

This frog hopper ride was not a fan favorite for my children.  Willie was brave enough to get on the ride but screamed to make it stop.  You can see how unimpressed he was with the ride compared to the other children.  He didn't ride it again.

We had slide races.  I think the kids cheated and started before we said go!

The corn box was an expansion from last year. It's crazy how much corn there is in one place.  It's even crazier to see how much dust and extra corn pieces came out of the box with the children.  I found it in the washing machine for days.

They loved pretending they were dying in the corn.  It was creepy and gross.

The game of burying an entire human was also very popular.  This could be why I found corn in my washing machine for so long.

This was a new ride at the pumpkin patch. It was a spinning roller coaster. Andrew is riding by himself probably while Anwen and Willie rode together.  Once again, Will was so brave to want to ride when Miss M was too scared looking at it.  He again kept screaming for the ride to stop. Anwen was kind enough to recognize his fear and hold his hand to try and make him feel less scared until the ride ended.  Anwen went on to ride the ride a few more times by herself.  She's much more daring than any of my kids.

A family picture while Anwen rode the spinning roller coaster cow!

Please just look at that hand on hip action.  Wow.

We rode the ponies.

I think the first day at the pumpkin patch is definitely the way to go for future consideration.  The updated stable where the animals were was clean and not stinky.  The kids fed the animals so many carrots.  Miss M was obsessed with the goats.  

Will wasn't scared of any of the animals either.

We went to the last pig race of the evening.  The kids got to jump up and down and make a scene to get called on to represent/cheer on an assigned pig for each race.

Willie was selected for one of the races and his pig happened to win. He won glow stick necklaces. The kids thought they'd won the lottery.

We had about a half hour to burn before the pumpkin patch closed down for the night so we rode a couple last rides together and called it.  We rode a huge swing back and forth.

I surprised them and rode the frog ride. The last ride of the evening. I am not big into riding rides b/c they tend to make me motion sick.  I didn't fit into the seat very well but we made it work. Will was tired so it was girl time!

We came home. Threw the kids into bed dirty (probably...who can remember small details after such a fun filled evening) and fell into bed ourselves.  The girls woke the next morning and were busy with their new 1000+ piece jewelry making kits I had bought them from Costco.  They were entertained but I wasn't impressed with the 1000+ beads rolling all over the floor.