The Iowa Trip

Cassie, Gabe, Mom, Kim, Mario, Ryan, Aubrey, and I all met at the mall in Iowa City on Saturday. We always meet by the carousel, so that is where kick-off was! Gabe, Cassie, Aubrey, and I went on the carousel. Gabe rode a horse. Aubrey rode a bunny. About halfway through, she had the death grip on me even though I was hugging her the whole ride. I had to unstrap her and hold her the rest of the ride. :) We had some yummy food. I rented Gabe a red car stroller, because he really needed one...It is hard to expect a kid to walk for 2 hours in a mall and not whine. He liked it. I told Cass that I invited Dad, but he needed to go to Missouri. Ryan got a button up from Abercrombie. Mom bought Aubrey a pair of Croc-like shoes from The Children's Place. Cassie got an outfit from Gadzooks. Since the kids were soooo good, we took them to the play area for about 40 minutes. They had a blast. There was one NAUGHTY kid that didn't like to share. He took Aubrey's toy and tossed it. (Where are your parents?!?!) I had to quickly put a stern stop to that one after he pushed Aubrey. If your kid is a hellion and you are no where to be found, I am going to be sure he is not evil to my child! Parents, you know exactly what I am talking about. The play area is not a baby sitter! Enough about that...Gabe went on about every ride there was in the mall...see the pics. All the elders bought nerf rockets for the hotel, so we decided that we MUST leave now to go to the hotel and put these to quick use!

On the way to the hotel, Ryan, Aubrey, and I rode in our truck...Ryan told me that he knew something that I didn't. "Kim and Mario are getting engaged?!?" That probably will happen this year! :D Hmmm...not that. Exactly at that moment, I saw WGA 262. OMG! DAD IS HERE! Haha. Just his style. We quickly parked and stood near the drop-off section to wait for Cass and Gabe. Oh no! They have to walk right next to WGA 262. "Hurry Cass! It is cold! We gotta go use these rockets!" I guess my rambling and rushing worked because she didn't even notice. Haha. We are all waiting in the entrance; Dad is leaning against the wall. So, here come Cass...telling a story as usual. I don't think we really know what she still said to this day, but we were all waiting for her to look right and see Dad. "DAD!" He even surprised me. So, that was a pretty good surprise. It was a race in the room to see who could get their nerf launcher out first and start launching balls. Not easy...packers must zip tie and tape everything. I think Kim and I won since we actually had everything off. They guys has zip ties hanging off their launcher still. Gabe opened his Christmas gift from AJ. He loved it (Cars themed Doodle Pro)!! I think we all love it too! We used it to play hang man all night. We ate at Buffalo Wild Wings. I can't wait until that opens in Rockford! Whew, fun night!

Aubrey wakes us up like clockwork at 8 am. Aubrey tried to get Cass up but wanted her glasses instead. I was on my bed with Aubreys bed between Cass n I. I reached for Cassie's glasses and Aubrey's chest but her face still hit the nightstand. Right on the bridge of her nose! That cry was loud for about 2 minutes. The minor black eyes formed throughout the day. :( At about 8:10, everyone else was up. 8:15, the lady next to us knocked on the door and complained that we were up all night and loud and now this morning! WHAT?! We just got up. We were all still groggy, so we told her ok and shut the door. We had the long lock out to keep the door unlocked but that was forbidden. LOL! I just had to laugh about it. Breakfast is always great there. Fruit, oatmeal, you-make-it waffles, biscuits n gravy, yogurt, muffins, scones, coffee, juices, teas, milk...etc. We went swimming....I waded. :P As always. We ate lunch at Steak N Shake (also as usual). Gabe was screaming. Aubrey was having trouble pooping. We got asked about 4 times if we needed boxes. YES!!! I KNOW YOU WANT US TO LEAVE!!! LET US FINISH EATING!!! OMG! But, we did leave rather quickly. We headed back to the mall. Ryan got 3 pairs of jeans. I got one pair of jeans and a new pair of tennies (which I needed desperately...the holes in my previous just didn't keep the snow out!) The kids played a bit more in the play area. While I was buying me shoes, I asked Ryan to come in and give me his opinion. Kim joined him. Aubrey was being held by a family member. Somehow, no one was watching Aubrey, and a lady walked up to Mario and asked if his daughter was missing b/c she was about 50 feet away!!! WHAT?! How was no one with my daughter? I guess the person that was watching her told Ryan 'here is your daughter', but we both happened to never hear that. Acknowledgement? Debra, I guess I get that from you! LOL. Yes, I was a bit annoyed growing up, but that prevents stuff like this from happening. So, Ryan and I were a bit 'mad'-for another word of choice. My daughter is precious cargo and also part of your family, don't take it lightly. Be sure that Ryan or I hear you if you don't want to hold her anymore. Don't just put her down and let her roam the mall. Bad things happen to cute (maybe I am bias) kids with all the sick people in this world! That is my venting on this subject...just be careful with my daughter. :) After that, we all gave hugs and kisses and parted ways.

It is always good to see everyone and always hard to part ways. We did have a great time...and can't wait to do it again!

Enjoy the slide show!!