christmas in iowa

We headed to Iowa for Christmas this year. It is the first time in a while we have been together on Christmas day. We left a little earlier than we had planned on to get ahead of a snow storm that had begun here at home and to try and beat one that was supposed to hit Iowa the following afternoon. So, we grabbed dinner on the road and headed east. It was the worst trip we have had in a very long time, maybe the worst. About an hour down the road Owen threw up his dinner. Audrey was asleep by 8 but the boys were so excited it was at least 10 before they were out. The storm meant wind and that meant car sickness for me! Around mid-night I couldn't take it anymore and we had to stop so my stomach could settle... that is when the throwing up began. The kids all woke up and stayed awake until around 5am when I finally stopped barfing and we stopped because Mark's highly caffeinated beverage had finally worn off and the nervous ticks that came along with it. We were a mess! We were all asleep by around 5:30 and at 6:10 mom called! So, basically, none of us slept (except Audrey) more than 2 hours.

Thankfully, once we arrived (and just as the snow was starting to fall), we forgot it all because we were so glad to be there. Here are just a few pictures of our fun...



The weekend before New Year's my in-laws came to spend a few days in Waterloo with us. We were so glad to see them at Christmas time and made lovely memories indoors and out...