A few months ago I realized that Grandpa Mark was shaping up to be the only grandparent that didn't have plans to visit us in Iowa this summer, and he wasn't about to be known as the last-place grandparent. He came to visit at the beginning of July! Laney immediately approved of his arrival.
And so did all of the kids- Grandpa Mark makes everything fun!
Emma knows a good thing when she sees it, and immediately committed Grandpa to help her build a bookshelf in a week.
They almost finished it!
It sure is nice having grandparents around.
Grandparents know how to tell great stories and appreciate the beauty of nature.
Grandpa was here on the last day of Leah's science camp, which we spent hunting for nature treasures at the lake.
And that evening we headed to our very favorite patritioc tradition of the year- Yankee Doodle Pops!
Emma talked Grandpa into a mini-date to grab some lemonade.
It was a perfect night this year.
My favorite part was cheering along to the Armed Forces Medley with my Army soldier dad standing up! We think of Grandpa Mark and Uncle Bubba everytime we hear this song.
This is one of the teen groups playing one of many games that night to pass the time until the concert and fireworks started.
I just love this tradition. We have made so many happy memories at Yankee Doodle Pops.
4th of July was filled with a BBQ lunch with our WDM friends (Grandpa made a new bestie), kayaking, paddleboarding and swimming at Blue Heron Lake,
backyard games and Jell-o jigglers,
and a low-key dinner around the fire.
We decided at the very last minute to uphold our usual tradition of heading over to the WDM fireworks, and we found a spot and sat down just as the fireworks started exploding. We were on the opposite side of the display from most of the crowd, so it felt like we had our own private fireworks show. (I do not know why I felt inclined to bring Laney, she she did okay but she did not like the super loud booms and spent the whole time trying to burrow deeper and deeper under the blankets. Note to future self: she'll be just fine at home, just like she has been every other year.)
We took Grandpa to the good old Iowa Historical Museum, where the boys pointed out General Sherman and Grant,
and we went on a date to the jazz club that night. Great music, mostly great drinks.
The next day was the absolute highlight of our visit- a daytrip to the Field of Dreams! Grandpa has been itching to visit since we moved to Iowa, and this year we finally had the time and the appreication of the site. We watched the movie one night and there were more than a few tears dropping by those who actually understood the meaning of the movie. "Is this heaven? I think it is." is my new favorite quote from the movie.
It was extra hot out, but we still enjoyed the ghost comedy game that the players and cute little kiddos from the crowd put on.
Yep, even I ran all of the bases.
The players signed our pictures and baseballs!
I'm not sure that we ever would have made it up to the Field of Dreams on our own- visiting with Grandpa was the perfect way to do it!
And since we were close-ish, we decided to stop by Maquoketa Caves for a quick hike. Noah has declared this his favorite place in Iowa and is eager to get back there again for even more cave exploring.
I guess it makes sense that he doesn't remember much of this outing from 2016. The last time we were travesing these stairs he looked like this-
Time to revisit some favorites!
Sunday afternoon we took Grandpa to the temple site-
I can never get enough of these four and their little pow-wows.
Monday was a back-to-business kind of day with the kids starting their pollinating jobs, Emma babysitting and an ear appointment for Jason. He took Grandpa out to his farm, and before we knew it Tuesday was here and it was time to say "See you soon!" to our fourth and final grandparent visitor of 2024. Thank you for coming to visit us!
