Girls Trip to Denver

Back in August I was lucky enough to travel to Denver to visit my best friends from college.  Anne, Amy and Megan flew from Chicago and me from Des Moines to meet up with our friends Jane and Emily who live in Denver.  We had such a great trip catching up, enjoying the awesome Denver scenery, drinking wine and a little hike in the mountains which ended with a hail storm! 

Amy, Jane, Anne, Emily, Megan and me.  Emily is 30 weeks pregnant with twins! 

The beginning of the hike.

It is amazing how much cooler the weather is up in the mountains. 

I took this picture for Henry.  He was very excited I was going on a trip to the mountains.  We promised him we would take him there some day. 

During the hail storm.  I am at fault for this one - we saw the cloudy skies but me and Anne decided to keep on climbing up.  Great idea until we got hailed on!!

My roommate from college Betsy lives in Denver and saw a post on FB that I was in Denver.  She called me and we were able to meet up!  She ended up living just a few minutes from Jane.  Such a small world!

Jane's awesome husband Steve cooked for all of us girl's on Saturday night.  We hung out on Jane's back patio all night drinking wine, laughing hysterically, cooking smores, and playing a little King's Cup!  Whens the last time you played that game??   I didn't fly out until 7pm on Sunday night so had all day to just hang out.  We went to a beautiful park by DU and layed around reading gossip magazines enjoying the 80 degree sunny weather.  Absolutely perfect!

A big thank you to my awesome husband who watched our kids all weekend long.  It was a much needed girls weekend for this momma and I had so much fun.  XO4L:)

My Little Sister Gets Married

My littlest sister got married the first Saturday in August.  The last of three girls to get married off.  My dad's wallet is now much heavier - but it was bittersweet since all of his girls are now married!  It was such a perfect day - with one minor hiccup - the power at the church went out due to a big storm that moved through the area an hour before the ceremony.  I was so proud of how calm Brianna handled it.  She did much better than I would have.  She kept her cool, and decided to just move forward in the dark, which ended up being very romantic with the candles.  The biggest concern was the pictures - but as you can see below - you can even tell!

I LOVED my dress!!  The color was just beautiful, and the yellow shoes were the perfect touch.  Absolutely loved the colors together.  And the shoes were comfortable, which is even better.  And I have already wore them since the wedding - a big plus!

Shoe line up.  Brianna let all the bridesmaids choose their own shoes, as long as they were yellow. 

Salwey family pic turned out great!

Four maids and the beautiful bride.  All Brianna's sisters now. 

Stenberg family picture. Isn't my grandma just beautiful??!!

Sisters:)

Sisters and their plus one's.  All 6'3" and taller. 

Our kids did such a great job!!  They were honestly on the verge of breakdown two seconds before they went down the aisle, but somehow pulled it together and did better than anyone expected!

My little stud.  Adorable sign that Brianna made herself.  Another great idea from Pinterest.

The weather forecast predicted 100% chance of rain the entire day, but somehow the rain stopped right after the ceremony and allowed us to take all the pictures outside that Brianna had planned. 

Cute pose!

The only family pic we got that day....

We made it to the reception, which was the same room Andy had our wedding reception in!  The kids were the life of the dance party. 

I don't think I ever left the dance floor...

Me and my buddy. 

Such a perfect day for Brianna and Brian.  They are perfect for each other and I'm so happy for them!!  Love you guys!!

Iowa State Fair 2012

My favorite time of year has already come and gone.  The Iowa State Fair!  The fair gets more fun for the kids each year as they grow a year older.  Hannah was able to partake in all the events this year - compared to Last Year at the State Fair, or even more, The Year Before That.

We took the kids twice this year.  One time just our family, on a random, beautiful Tuesday night.  We rode the bus there, which I think sadly was the highlight for the kids. 

They each got their own big people seats.

This pic was on the way home - Hannah's Cheetos face.

The kids climbed on every.single.tractor.  This is on a life sized Gator.

Little Hands on the Farm!

This year the tractor rides had a wagon, hay bales, and gas tank to pull behind. 

Hannah could do the tractor ride this year - with daddy's help.

Milking the cow.

Sorting all of the foods at the end.  Hannah even took out the foods that didn't belong that other kids had misplaced and put them in the right bins!  She must take after her Papa.

They kids got all tatted up.  Showing off their Hawkeye tats. 

Then on Friday night we met my family at the fair after work. 

Round 2 of Little Hands on the Farm.  The kids each picked a rubber pig - which they ended up keeping at the end by mistake.  We thought they were to keep, and learned that the next day. 

Picking out his crops for his basket.

Friday night was a little busier than Tuesday night, so they had to wait for tractors to ride.

Tractor ride.

Henry did such a good job - those tractors were heavy!

Food time - Brio eating chicken on a stick.  

Showcasing my dad's awesome photography skills!  (Inside joke)

We love watching the big Clydesdale horses each year. 

And another favorite - the big Elk. 

The weather was absolutely perfect for the fair this year - such a nice surprise.  Now that the fair is over means fall is on the way - and with fall comes football!!  I know our house is excited about that - is yours??!!



Summer Fun 2012

What a great weekend we had!  Talk about packing an entire summers worth into just three days!  Friday night we left work early and met my family at the Iowa State Fair.  It was our family's second time going, but the kids loved it just as much as when they went on Tuesday night.  Then on Saturday morning, we packed up our cars and headed to Adventureland.  We got there right as the gates opened to try and beat some of the rush, which turned out to be a great idea since the weather was absolutely perfect, making Adventureland a popular destination on Saturday.  We stayed until a little after 1pm, which was the perfect amount of time for this family. 

We started with the balloon ride.  Both kids loved it.  The parents - not so much.  Spinning rides are just torture the older you get!!

Then we hit up the lady bugs.  The kids loved being able to drive it themselves.

Hannah, such a big girl.  She got to go on rides all by herself this year!

Driving in my car. 

Now that Henry is a few inches taller this year he got to come on some more rides with us!  After some coercing, I talked Danielle and my dad into coming on the ride with us.  At the very end with the waterfall my dad pushed off and saved Henry and me, but soaking Danielle.  She is such a trooper:)

Henry loving the big boy rides!  The other awesome thing was we got there so early that we only had to wait about 5 minutes to get on.  We all recalled coming in the past and having to wait at least an hour to get on this ride. 

Since we, well mainly Danielle, was already wet, we figured we'd attempt the log ride.  Surprisingly enough, Hannah could go on this ride too!  By her look in this picture she isn't so sure, but she loved it.  She also didn't get soaked like Henry and Danielle did...

Love this picture of Danielle covering Henry.  She definitely gets Aunt of the year award. 

Hannah LOVED it!!

The kids hit up one more ride and we took a break out at the car for a picnic lunch.  Luckily I had a dry shirt in the car that was in the Goodwill bag that Henry threw on.  Note to all - bring a dry set of clothes and shoes for your kids when going to Adventureland.

Hannah and Grandma Deaner in their matching purple shirts.

We went back in the park for about an hour, hit up the train, carousel, and a few other rides. 

Papa couldn't resist the Snickers ice cream bar. 

Another ride that I was shocked there was no height minimum (as long as accompanied by adult) was the Gallion. I made the mistake of taking Hannah....she kept her head on Danielle the entire time.  She didn't cry until after we got off - but I felt terrible!  Henry went on it last year, so I figured she would be ok...guess not....maybe we will try again next year. 

 

Check out that lip.  

We ended our Adventureland trip with some Infant Ocean, and of course, me, Danielle, and mom's favorite - Tilt a Whirl.  Henry came on the ride with us and laughed so hard, maybe not as loud as I was screaming though....  A family favorite. 

The kids fell asleep on the ride home and slept well that night.  I definitely recommend Adventureland for a fun family trip.  Though I would not recommend taking your 2 year old on the Gallion....and I would also suggest going during the week since the lines do get pretty long on the weekends. 

Hope everyone had a great weekend and got to enjoy the perfect weather!!