Nana and Papa Barnes come to Iowa

A few months ago Brett’s parents let us know that they were planning on coming out for a visit.  We were all so excited to have them come for a visit and to show them where we live.  They started driving General Conference weekend on Saturday morning.  We were going to meet them in Sioux City on Sunday but that  didn’t happen since I got really sick that day.. Blech..  That’s another story.. So they stayed the night in Sioux City and drove to Peterson the next morning.  The girls and I were outside when they drove up the driveway.  It was so fun to see how excited the girls were to see them and to hear their screams of excitement…  We helped Grandma and Grandpa get settled put Kimber down for a nap and then Brett and I left to pick up pizza in Spencer (25 mins away).  We figured it was a good chance for the girls to get some quality time one on one with the Grandparents. 

After we ate pizza and visited for a bit we decided to drive up to Lake Okoboji (about and hour drive from us).  It’s a cute place that kind of reminds me of Steamboat Springs a little except it has a big lake and not in the mountains since there aren’t mountains in Iowa but you get the idea.  We stopped at one of the docks so that the girls could get out and explore.  They had a lot of fun running up and down the dock which freaked me out but Brett stayed right with them so if they did happen to slip he would be right there to catch them.. Eeek!  Cold water that would not be good.. Scary for Mommy..  Grandpa helped the girls find some sticks so that they could practice casting since we were going to go fishing the next day.  They had fun waving the sticks around in the air and then finally threw them into the water.  Then it was time to eat again.  I had heard that this restaurant called Minerva's was really good so we went there for dinner.  It turns out that it was Soooooo good.  Yummy!!

The next day we found a place that we could go fishing it was again up around the Okoboji area.  It was a little windy that day and the farmers were out harvesting the corn and soy beans so there was dust blowing over from that.  Madi and Grandpa sat at one side of this pound and Brett and Kimber were clear over on the other side.  I think they had a good time hanging out and watching the little floater thingy on the fishing line float across the water (sorry I don’t know my fishing jargon).  We didn’t catch anything which is probably a good thing since I’m not exactly sure how that would go over with the girls..

      

Wednesday Grandma and I had planned to make a mini Thanksgiving(ish) dinner.  It still takes pretty much all day to do a slimmed down version of Thanksgiving.  While we were busy cooking the guys were outside cleaning all the junk out of the school house.  The girls played outside while the guys were working so they were just happy as could be.  When Brett and his Dad were finished they walked with the girls down to the park.  Dinner was great I just wish that I didn’t feel so icky so that I could have enjoyed it more after all the work we put into it.  Oh well everyone else loved it.

That night we all sat down and watched Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.  The girls love that movie and since Grandma and Grandpa hadn’t seen it Madi picked that one to be what we watched. 

On Thursday Brett and his Dad were planning to go into Sioux City to have a jam session with the guys in the band and Grandma the girls and I drove down as well and spent the day shopping.  Grandma was just having so much fun shopping for girls for a change.  We had a great day hanging out together.  We met up with the guys around dinner time and went to eat at Texas Roadhouse. 

After dinner we drove to the hotel where Bud and Mitzi were going to stay the night so that they could head home to Utah in the morning.  We were sad to say goodbye to them the time felt like it went by too fast but we are all excited for them to come out to see us next year.  The girls are still talking about how every morning they would go down into the room and climb into bed with Grandma and Grandpa.  They really loved every minute of the visit.

Trunk or Treat

Tonight was the Trunk or Treat at church.  We had a great time.  We have had crazy CRAZY wind the last couple of days so they had the Trunk or Treat in the gym.  At first the girls were scared to go and join in the fun.  There was Halloween music playing and Madi says, "I don't like the music."  it worried her a little.  She hid behind me and that girl is strong cause I tried to get her to come out and I couldn't.  After a little coaxing and a little time the girls warmed up and tried out some of the fun things there were to do.  One of the fun tables was a dry ice and soap mixture that blew bubbles.  Madi watched it for a little while and then finally decided that she wanted to try it out and she loved it!  They had a piñata hanging from the basketball hoop and they were excited about it but when Kimber saw the bat that she would have to swing she almost started crying.  They both got a pumpkin painted on their hands they both thought that was pretty awesome.  I think it's safe to say that their favorite part of the whole night was the Trick or Treating and then eating the candy.  After it was all over and we got home the girls were both so tired out they almost didn't have enough energy left to change into their pj's but with Dad's help we got it done.  It was a fun night and worth the 50 min round trip drive.  We just wished that Brett could have been there with us and not stuck in his meeting at work... Bummer...

And I dressed up in Brett’s army fatigues but there isn’t a photo so you’ll just have to use your imagination..