The Road Trip to Iowa (x2)

Playing in the Park

April was a BUSY month. We started the month by making the drive to Iowa for Jim's birthday party weekend. This year Shari decided to just have it be immediate family.  Guy and I thought it would be fun to make the trip and see everyone, especially since Amy and Alden were coming up from Mississippi. Guy was able to use his 980 and have that Friday off so we also didn't miss out on any vacation days. We left after Guy got off work on Thursday and drove all night to Chillicothe. Guy, forgot to tell his mom when we would be arriving (and he didn't know where the house key was) so we slept in the car for 2 hours while we waited for everyone to wake up. Finn wasn't to thrilled about sitting in a parked car. He did do a great job watching Guy and I as we slept. We were sad Sam, Amber and family weren't able to come down but we were glad we got to see everyone else from the area. The family all showed up Friday afternoon. Some of Guy's siblings and his nieces and nephews weren't sure if Finn was the same dog we had since he was much bigger now.

Friday night we busted out the ice cream and a few close friends came over to celebrate as well. It was nice to be able to spend time and catch up with several people. On Saturday the weather warmed up and so we were able to spend a good chunk of the day outside in between watching sessions of conference that is. The men worked on improving the antena and I took the kids to the park in the afternoon. The little boys and Finn had fun chasing each other back and forth. The little girls thought it was great when Finn helped them dig in the sand. While the men were at the Priesthood session of conference the women and kids went and got grahams ice cream. Guy and I both miss being able to get Graham's. We haven't found an ice cream place we're really fond of down here yet. Hopefully we can check out a few places in Dallas.

On Sunday we made the long drive home. We were blessed to be able to stream conference on the drive so we were able to hear all the sessions. I thought it helped the drive go by faster as well. We got home at a decent time so we were able to unpack and walk Finn before going to bed. We found out a few days later that my former bosses' wife (Janell Palmer) wasn't doing well and that she was deteriorating quickly. She had been suffering from multiple myeloma for about 2 years. A week after we got back from our first trip to Iowa we found out that she had passed away and that her funeral would be the following weekend.

Please can I be out of this car

I had said from the beginning that I wanted to go to the funeral whenever she did pass if it was a feasible option. Guy wasn't sure if we wanted to or not so he went around and around about joining us or not. Ultimately he decided to go with, so we loaded Finn and left early Friday (Good Friday) for Iowa. We wanted to beat the Easter weekend traffic so we left at 3:30 am. It was a long day but it was nice getting to Ames around lunch time. We stayed with my grandparents. They were thrilled to see how big Finn had gotten. It was crazy to see how much Ames has grown in almost the year we've been gone. It was fun to drive around our old stomping grounds.

Friday night we met up with Kirsten and Scott Radke (again) and went to Jethro's for dinner. Man, I had been craving some ribs and it HIT THE SPOT! I really should find out how to get the BBQ sauce. After visiting with them we came back to Ames and went to bed...exhausted from the long day.

Saturday was Janell's funeral. Guy's brother and family came up from Missouri for the funeral. It was nice to see them again. I enjoyed seeing some of the people I had worked with and around at the lab who came for the funeral. Kind of like a mini reunion. It felt a little bit like coming home. The service was lovely. Each of the girls spoke for a little bit. They also had Janell's former consolers from her Relief Society Presidency participate. I also enjoyed being able to see and chat with Mitch (my former boss) for a little bit. After the service we went to lunch with Pete, Emily and family (Guy's brother) at Hickory Park (another Iowa classic). It was nice visiting and catching up with them again. We visited some more with my grandparents. And then that night went and had Mexican for dinner.

Easter Sunday started off early. Finn got lose from Guy and I and went and jumped on Grandma waking her up! Sorry grandma! We left shortly after that since it's a 12 hour drive from Ames to Texas. So the bulk of our Easter Sunday was spent on the road driving. It was a short trip but it was nice to be able to see lots of friends and family. Even if the circumstances weren't great.

Sir Finnegan's birthday

April 27, 2017 was Finn's first birthday! Happy Birthday to our little fuzzy butt. We celebrated his birthday by taking him to the vet for his annual shots followed with a trip to Petco for a new toy and birthday treats. For his birthday he got a stuffed shark and a stuffed bone. One of his favorite things to do is play agility. He's now in the intro class. Every week I take him to Dallas for an hour where we tries to master the different obstacles. At the time of his birthday his favorite was going through the tunnel. Now though, he likes the cat walk a little bit more and is starting to enjoy the teeter tauter. His new chore is helping take the clothes out of the dryer. At his annual exam he weighed 55.5 lbs. We figure he's done growing. Now we're just waiting for his long coat to come in. Typically that can take 2-3 years. Based on our online research about coat growth we figure his will probably be closer to 3 years before all is said and done. We bring a lot of joy into our lives!

"Why can't I sleep here with you?"

Guy's 27th Birthday

Guy was in South Carolina at a work conference over his birthday so we waited until he got back before celebrating. He went out with a few of his co-workers on his birthday to get pizza for dinner. He also had ice cream. The day after he got home we had Aldi pizza and PB cake with ice cream for dessert. For his birthday he got: money, socks and an RC car.  We also watched a movie that night. He said it was a nice laid back day and he was glad to be back after the trip.

I call this "a boy and his dog"

American Hockey Game

Towards the end of March, there was a REACH event with International Paper. We went down to Allen, TX (suburb in the DFW metroplex) and attended a hockey game between the Allen Americans and the Wichita Thunder. The arena was surprisingly nice, especially since the team is a minor league team. We had great seats for the game! The American's are a really good team. They're trying to three-peat for the Kelly cup. I think the announcer said that if they won, they would be the leader for the league. They won 4-2! That night was also choir night so we got to see several different groups preform in between each period. We also got to see several fights break out. Who doesn't like hockey!?!? haha. We had a great time and will probably go again sometime in the future.

Before the game, Guy and I went to TJMaxx and bought a few things. We also stopped for dinner at Mooyah. The shopping complex had a whole bunch of stores in the area so we just parked and walked to the stores and then to the arena when it was time for the game.

Puppy Sitting

At the beginning of March one of Guy's coworkers asked him if we would be willing to puppy sit for her puppy, Bear. Bear is an 11 week old lab (german shepherd?) mix. He was SO cute! We had him for a week. Guy was able to see what it was like to have a little puppy around. When we got Finn, I took him back with me so Guy didn't get to see the young age very much. Finn had fun playing with the little guy, but they were both so rough together! They'd be outside playing non-stop and then I'd have to put them both down for a nap after wards. I didn't get much done when we had them, but the nice part was they wore each other out. One of the days we had them, a friend from church brought her kids over and they got to play with them and keep them entertained. Hopefully Finn and all the energy didn't scare them too much.

Here are some pictures that we took of the two boys playing.