20 Years!

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."  - Mignon McLaughlin

This year was a smash! 

"Marriage is finding that special someone to annoy for the rest of your lives." - Rita Rudner

Also, it feels like this was just yesterday. Or maybe just a few years ago. 

"Great marriages are built day after day, brick after brick, over a lifetime." - Dieter F. Uchtdorf 

The Best Date Ever!

This little cutie definitely grew five inches overnight- we had to measure to be sure, but it's true!  Noah is officially FIVE feet tall now! What a cute little elephant he is too.

 While the rest of the family was in Nauvoo for a youth temple trip, Noah and I enjoyed an epic SaturDATE!  First a delicious lunch at Gateway Market, 

then over to Gray's Lake for a bike ride!  Don't be fooled by those stormy skies, this was the day after the tornados and the weather was lovely! Plus, if we waited for blues skies and sunshine to do anything in Iowa we wouldn't get outside for half of the year. 

Across the bridge and downtown we went! We only had to stop a few times to consult our map since we were checking out a new path.  We crossed over two rivers and lots of bridges on our way. 

We biked over to the cutest ice cream shop, where we played games and chatted away the afternoon, 

until we looked at the weather app and realized we needed to get back on our bikes and back home before the next round of spring weather hit. 

We made it back to the car just as the first raindrops fell, and we made it in plenty of time to watch this night's performance of Cinderella- this time all the way through with no tornado disruptions! 

We are all looking forward to next year when Noah is in the church youth program and old enough to attend the temple with the rest of the family, but I'm sure going to miss these days when it's just him and me enjoying some quality one-on-one time! Noah is a fantastic companion and friend!

After a Tornado

While Daddy and I were enjoying a great date night at Leah's second performance of Cinderella, these cuties were chilling at home. 

There have been all kinds of storms and tornado warnings this spring, but we didn't realize this beast of a storm was heading over from Nebraska and aiming to change our evening plans.  

 It was not a great night for our family to be split up. Just as Cinderella and Prince Charming started dancing at the ball, the play was stopped and everyone was sent down to the wrestling room in the basement of the high school. It was hot and sweaty down there, but we were reunited with Leah and we were able to talk to the babies back at home and track the storm well enough to know that a tornado was touching down in our neighborhood.  And then all we could do was wait. 

As is the case with most storms that roll through Iowa, the worst of it happened somewhere else.  The babies were brave and huddled up in the exercise room until the storm passed.  As soon as we were released from the wrestling room and realized the show would not go on, we headed home.  I drove Leah's car and followed Daddy's truck, but all was well. We had to wait on the hill for the power lines to be cleared from the road, but all was well. 

This information tells me that the tornado was the lowest possible intensity, was only on the ground for 3 minutes, traveled just over a mile, was about the width from home plate to first base on a baseball field, and traveled at 80 miles per hour, which is faster than we ever drive around here, even on the highway.  The map tells me that the tornado was less than 100 yards from our house while my three babies were home alone, tucked into the basement. The blue line path of the tornado cuts right over "Shark Lake" which our house sits right next to. Miraculously, this tornado didn't hurt a single house or person in it's short but destructive path. We can't say the same for the other 23 tornadoes that ripped through the state this night. 

The next day, when the sun was out again, we saw some of the damage that this pesky little storm caused. This is the route of my daily walk with Laney. 

These trees look like they were just pushed over. 

These trees, so lovingly cared for by their owners, are just gone. 

And the bittersweet truth is how beautiful the world always looks after the storm.  We all just carry on because, really, what else can we do?   

Braces for Emma!

Highly anticipated, long awaited, Emma's turn for braces has finally arrived!  Her official before picture- 

although I sure like this one too- 

and after the braces were put on.  

She's adorable!  But the novelty quickly wore off.

Poor Emma suffers from canker sores like crazy, and the braces completely ravaged her mouth for about two weeks.  We all called her the Mute Cebu because she would not talk, wouldn't smile, and barely moved her mouth at all for days.  We all missed our Miss Emma!  

Getting braces on definitely dimmed her spirirts for a few days, but she has come back again! She's back to singing, talking, laughing, eating and has done a great job so far of learning how to make time for flossing, checking for stuck food and avoiding anything too sticky.  I have a feeling she's going to love looking at the the before pictures... someday!

After It Rains...

 We have had so many cancelled plans recently because of rain.  And other nights, plans that stretch long and run into other plans.  And sometimes, we have little kids who are stuck at home waiting for their parents to come around after the big kids plans are over.  And when that happens, the little kids and I escape to the arboretum, even if it's just for a few minutes before the sun dips down behind the water and we have to call it another day. And that turned out to be exaclty what the three of us (plus the pup!) needed on a busy night in the middle of a busy week. 

Grandpa Art Came to Visit!

 This is the spring of visiting grandparents!  Grandpa Art came out for a visit earlier this month, and we kept him quite busy while he was here. Friday night, after a delicious dinner at The Chicken, Jason, Grandpa and Leah headed downtown for tailgating and an I-Cubs game. In general the photo documentation of this trip was a bit lacking, but Jason did send me a picture of the back of some heads!

A rainy Saturday morning switched up our plans and cancelled Adam's baseball game, so Grandpa joined Jason and I in the dedication ceremony of a pioneer baby who died along the Mormon Trail. That was a sweet experience for us to participate in, and Jason did a lovely job with the dedication. 

Our ward is doing all kinds of High Adventure preparations this spring, and we spent Saturday afternoon hiking at.... you guessed it- Ledges!  I think we went up and down about 500 stairs, and Grandpa Art took them all like a champ!

We were all good and pooped after the hike, so we spent the evening celebrating May the 4th by watching Star Wars Episode 3. 

Sunday we went to church and then enjoyed the fruits of a weekend of labor, from seperating beans- 

to refrying said beans and making a vat of pork green chili, we feasted on burritos!  Appropriate because it was Cinco de Mayo, even more appropriate because the food was made by our Mexican grandfather!  Good food and good memories unlocked for Jason. We invited some neighbors and the missionaries over to help us eat all of the food. 

There has been a good deal of rain this spring (yay!) but Sunday evening was dry and the perfect temperature, so we built a fire and enjoyed  hearing fire chief Grandpa Art's stories. 

Monday morning we sent the kids off to school, enjoyed breakfast at The Breakfast Club, and thought we were saying goodbye until Grandpa's flight out got delayed... three times.  There were high winds in Colorado that were heading toward Iowa, which gave him just enough time to learn how to mow our lawn.  But eventually he made it out and we are looking forward to seeing him in Utah at the end of the summer.