Chilly Days in Iowa

 
 
 
 
We really can't complain about the weather on our recent trip to Iowa. The first day in Omaha was cold, but then things warmed up once we got to Des Moines. We had a good visit with Grandpa Stubblefield and took him out to dinner. I doubt he recalled we were there, but at least we got to check up on him and extend our love.
We did some interesting things, while visiting Josh and Courtney. Grant Wood's painting "American Gothic" was on loan to the Des Moines Art Center, so we made a trip there and got to see the original work of art. There were some other great paintings on temporary display depicting rural life in Iowa. I really liked it! Saturday we went to Tristan's swim meet in Pella. Pella is a quaint dutch community about an hour drive from Des Moines. It is a lovely little town and boasts Pella Window factory. We visited a few cute shops in between Tristan's races and had a big lunch at the Pizza Ranch. Sunday, of course, was Delaney's blessing day. She cooperated great for the actual blessing, but was not happy when it was time for photos. We also went to Jordan Creek Mall, and they have a great play area for kids. Thanks to Josh and Courtney for being such wonderful hosts. And thanks to Asher for letting us bunk with him. He wasn't feeling well our last 2 nights, so I kicked us downstairs, so Grandpa's snoring wouldn't bother him. As you can see - Asher and Grandpa were best buddies and took a Sunday snooze together. From the minute he saw us in his room the first morning, he called grandpa "daddy." He even hung outside the bathroom door when grandpa showered and called for "Daddy." And, of course, Dacia was so excited to see us, and reverts to bad behavior when Grandma is around. I am a bad influence on her!