Cousins

Saturday we went to Sioux City to see my cousin Jennifer. She lives in DC but is doing a 12 week internship in Minneapolis and decided to come down for the weekend to see family. We had a great time catching up. If she gets the job at Quaker at the end of her intern she and Stephen have decided they would leave the mild winters of DC and take on the winters of Minnesota!

Plymouth county fair

Tonight son in law and father in law enjoyed the tractor pull, mini rods and wrestling on the main stage. While they did their men thing mom and I enjoyed browsing and buying in the buildings, bingo, hypnotist, and a band. Of course the best part of the fair is the food and we ate a wonderful supper of mini donuts, funnel cake and kettle corn. Steve and I have a favorite fair game of skee ball. He won tonight but I was close;) Were so happy that we get to do and enjoy things together. We had a great time!

Bike Trip summer 2014

Mom n Dad in their luxury accommodations. 

Bike night at Quaker steak and lube in Council Bluffs. This was only 1/4 of the bikes there. 

Our camp site at Lake Manawa state park. 

The men making breakfast over an open fire. 

Our beautiful view waking up Thursday morning. 

Thursday night we stayed at Ledges state park. We went to a bike night in Kelley and then back to the campgrounds for a night cap of some wine we bought at a vineyard in Elkhorn. 

Friday night bike night in Indianola. We were excited to have the Smiths join us. 

We have been planning our summer bike trip with mom and dad for the last 6 months and it finally arrived. The weather was perfect and the company was first rate. We made so many memories that bring a smile to our face and laughs to our belly when we reminisce about our trip. Friday and Saturday nights the Kneifl's hosted us. We went to the four seasons festival in polk city Saturday. I think we are going to love our new hometown. Saturday night we enjoyed a family dinner at the Kneifl's and some visiting at the Millers. Sunday we drove home in some more perfect weather. What a great bike trip enjoyed with our family:)

Catch up

We have many updates to tell everyone about. First, Tyler has been busy working at Fastenal this summer saving money for college. He had good news come from the bigwigs that their audit they had went well. He was very relieved and happy since he counted 90% of the inventory. He will also be transferring to the Ames Fastenal in the fall when he attends ISU where he will work a few hours a week for some spending money. This weekend he went to a concert in Des Moines and hung out with some ISU basketball players. He said it was one of the best days in his life. 

Our next bit of big news is Steve got a new job and will start July 28th. He will be the program manager at Franklin Energy in Urbandale. The company designs, develops and manages energy efficiency programs for businesses and homes across the nation. He will only have a 7 mile commute which he is most looking forward to. 

Then our biggest news of all is Steve and I bought a house in Polk City! We close on August 15th. Although we won't be moving in until the beginning of September. We are going to be doing a lot of renovations for the first couple of weeks so we will be living with the Smith's. We are very grateful to them to let us bombard the guest room for an extended stay. 

The middle of August we will be moving Tyler to college. Then when all the dust settles I had decided I will take a break from nursing and nanny for Everlee and possibly our distant relatives the Millers. Hollie and I had actually decided it quite some time ago but now it will be a reality. I feel like the luckiest wife, mom, sister and aunt alive!  

The summer has gone by so fast and these next few months will surely be a whirlwind also.  

4th of July weekend fun

Steve's favorite new biker shirt;)

The parrots name is chicken legs and he was the hit of the party at the broken throttle saloon. He is a very friendly bird. He even gave me a shake. 

When it was time to go to the bathroom he hopped off his owners shoulder, sat on the edge of the bar and went #2. 

To say we had a blast this weekend is an understatement. Thursday Steve and dad did a mans bike day while the woman worked. Friday we all went on a day trip to Ute, Soldier, Moorhead, and Sgt Bluff. Saturday we headed the opposite direction to Yankton, SD. I hadn't been to the Gavin's Point Dam since I was 12. It was very reminiscent for me. We had so much fun and made so many memories. Our cheeks still hurt from all the laughing we did. What a perfect weekend:)

We all scream for ice cream!

You're never too old to get a cold treat from the ice cream truck! The kid that drives the truck for his summer job is one of Tyler's friends so he drives buy frequently. Tyler is a good customer;)