Big Announcement

I know Erica has probably announced her engagement to Justin on Facebook, but I took this picture of the cute couple and have now recorded it in my blog.
Welcome to our family, Justin. My oldest grand child is getting married? That makes me really old. Love you guys. The big day is July 9th.

Trippin"

Yes we stopped by Mount Rushmore on a blizzardy Friday morning. Little Kitty was there! This is the best picture we could get on a pop machine in the rest rooms.

Yes this is the real thing, even though it's hard to see. We were there

We stretched the limits of the Cookies apartment. We used every inch on available room, again that keeps us very close. We just had to go to John Wayne's birthplace in Winterset and do a photo shot.

and view the Bridges of Madison County.....

with a cute English garden maze across the street in the park.

The fun never ended. We did make it home just in time for conference and Easter.

Visit to DMU and the big city.

The botanical gardens reminded us of spring, it was even very warm. We all loved it.

Even little kitty.

We got the grand tour of Des Moines University. Doug was our guide. Learning how to do suchers.

Yes that is a pig's feet. The girls were really good at it. Thanks Doug.

The State Capital is in Des Moines, a very old building.

March vacation continued

The beautiful Nauvoo temple which overlooks the Mississippi River.

We ended our little trip at Carthage. So touching and so moving.

More to come.....

March in Nauvoo

We made the three hour trek from Des Moines to Nauvoo, Illinois. After riding 16 hours to get to Des Moines. It was really worth it. The women's statues in the visitor's center garden were made by my cousin, Dennis Smith. This one is one of my favorites.

They had all kinds of activities showing us the 1800 way of life. Bri is part of the rope making event. We saw the gun shop, the brick yard, the blacksmith shop.

We stayed at the Nauvoo cabins and shared fun times there. Just right for all of us. We ate a great buffet dinner, went to a little musical play about life in Nauvoo. We still had lots more to see......

Iowa again?

This is what made me want to go to Iowa. This little one needed a big hug cause Grandma really missed her. Yes prune face and all. She needed to see Grandma

So I invited myself to go with the Andersens on their trek to Iowa. Was it crowded? You better believe it. These girls were such good sports even though we were a little close.

Thanks for letting me hitch a ride. Are we still friends?

March Miscellaneous Madnesss

We look forward to spring, but it is slow in coming, so we do other things to keep our mind off of the weather. Ricky loves to go shopping on the Internet for things he needs? Well this cute little spray tank was an exciting addition to the farm equipment. This is designed to keep the weeds sprayed on the ditchbanks and yard. Yah! Pinewood Derby time for our Cubby. He had a great looking car and had some good races.

Here is an updated photo of our little Cooper James.

I really do like this time of year, get things done in the house and love the good few hours out in the sunshine. We'll be mowing lawn before you know it.