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.