Iowa Vacation (Part 1)

Last time I wrote, I told of our Harrisonburg vacation to my side of the family.  We were home for a total of 4 days then off to Matt's side of the family in Iowa!

On Saturday we woke up, had a wonderful breakfast, then paced and cleaned the house till my friend came to take us to the airport.  The flights went very smoothly (Roanoke to Detroit, and finally to Cedar Rapids, IA).  We picked up a car and drove an hour north to Waterloo where Matt's mom and dad live.  We had already had quite a day, and we were all covered with airport grime :(  But, when we got to the house we got to visit with Matt's aunt and uncle from South Carolina who happened to be visiting at the same time, and of course visit with his parents!  Matt's aunt and uncle were there to drop off some items that were left for Steve and Sue (Matt's parents) by his grandfather.  When they got this piece of furniture, I bet they did not expect it to come complete with a doll inside...

We had a good evening, a wonderful home cooked meal, and some relaxation where we were finally not moving (either in car or airplane!)

Steve and Sue were kind enough to provide us with a crib at the hotel and also at their house.  Grace slept great the whole trip (it also helped that we wore her out every day, but that is another story).  However, the cribs were not only used as a place for sleeping, our adventurous daughter decided to turn it into a trampoline...that stopped quickly (but not before we snapped a few pictures)

Sunday morning Matt, Grace and I woke early to go to church with Steve and Sue.  It is a smaller church, but it is very nice and friendly.  I also really liked the pastor.  She is a story teller and you have to love a pastor that uses two references appropriately in her sermon to Harry Potter!  I kind of felt like a star at the church, everyone knew we were coming so everyone wanted to say hi and see the adorable granddaughter that they keep hearing about.

Afterward we went to Red Lobster for lunch.  It was during Grace's nap, but no worries...the grandpa mattress is always available!

Well rested from the nap that she had the entire time we were out to eat, we decided to go to the Ice House Museum.  Waterloo is very close to the Cedar River (in fact you cross it many times to almost anywhere).  Well, Cedar River freezes in the winter and many, many years ago (during the days of the icebox) a lot of ice was hand cut (also later done by machines), packed with sawdust (for insulation), and stored to be sold and sent to households.  However, it does not stop there.  They also sold ice from Waterloo, IA as far away as the Indies!  The museum was very interesting and I am so glad that we got to go, but man...for being an ice house, that place was HOT!  I also have to mention that they no longer keep ice in that building.  However outside in the shade it felt better and also provided a chance for some pictures by the river.

Cedar Falls

Soon  after we arrived back to the house Chris (Matt's brother) his wife Katie and their daughter (only 5 weeks older than Grace) finished their long drive from Arkansas to Iowa!  We were very happy to see them, and the fun with the two one and a half year olds was now able to begin!

After a wonderful meal of brats, hotdogs, potato salad, and many other items, it was time to head back to our hotel to get some rest.

That just about finishes through Sunday, Grace is getting cranky so I think I will have to wait to write about the other days and go start the bedtime routine.