Trip Back to Iowa

Weekend full of . . .

FAMILY
Although Grandma Dyke wasn't sure who any of us grand kids were at first, it took only five minutes or so of talking before she came around and was awake enough to remember us. Mentioning strawberry shortcake helped too. For someone who doesn't eat much anymore strawberry shortcake sure did hit the spot!

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
Friday night we went uptown to our cousin's 30th birthday. Megan and her folks were quite surprised to see me there since they didn't know I would be in town. I was also able to see a lot of old high school friends and catch up a bit. Besides being exhausted from our long drive all in all it was a great evening.

Saturday was all about Jayden and Billy. The girls went to "Night at the Museum 2" and the boys to "Terminator Salvation" up in Council Bluffs. It is a wonderful movie theater with a great atmosphere. Honestly, it is the coolest one I have ever been to. Not to mention $4 matinee showing before noon!! Afterwards, we went to the Omaha Humane Society. It's a mansion of sorts, for animals waiting to be adopted. Matt has never seen one quite like it. Although we weren't planning to adopt anything, it was humbling knowing that the animals we saw would be saved, thanks to all the hard work of the volunteers, the humane society, and the donations made to the "no kill" shelter. Later that evening we grilled out, opened gifts, and ate some delicious birthday candied apples compliments of the Sullivan family(thanks guys)!

GUITAR HERO
Guitar Hero Aerosmith, was Billy birthday gift from Matt and I. Of course we had to have family Guitar Hero Night!

ANIMALS
Too many animals!! Beside what we saw at the Omaha Humane Society, we had a number of pets to keep us company over the weekend.
Toots (beagle) and Jasmine (cat) kept us entertained much like our own dogs back in Illinois. Although I do not have any pictures of Mariah (Billy's Lab) we did meet her at the front door Monday as we were saying good bye. She escaped from her kennel and came up front to play with Toots. After wrangling her and getting a leash on her we headed toward the back to for a drink of water. Mariah is just like our Xena, she was so hot that she decided to dig and splash around in her water dish instead of drink. If we ever got Mariah and Xena together, I think they'd have a blast!

Bobo (schnauzer & Jayden b-day gift when she turned 3) was actually clean for once and was allowed to cuddle up on my lap. Tinkerbell (a.k.a Tink & "Hard Ass") wasn't as feisty toward Matt as she usually is. Weighing in at no more than one pound, Tink is dominate over all the big dogs in the house. Tank (boxer) was singing to Matt Monday morning before we left. Chloe (American Bull Dog) is the new member to Jayden's clan. Although she is only 4 months old, she is nearly the size of Tank. She still has a lot to learn, but she is one beautiful dog!

Thanks to you all for sharing your secondary children with us. They reminded so much of Halo and Xena, it made being away from them a little bit easier! :)

EXHAUSTED EVENINGS

As always, Matt and I tried to pack in as much as we could in the short amount of time we had. I guess Mom and Jayd just couldn't cut it!

HAIR CUTS & COLOR

Billy was first to get his shaggy curly mop cut. Then it was my turn for some color and few strategic highlights. Lastly, Jayden twisted her Mom's arm into coloring her hair red (looks like a dark brown with hint of red.) Yes, she wanted to be like Aunt Nicki! How on earth could you blame her?! ;)

ENTERTAINMENT
Jayden filled every waking moment with some sort of entertainment. She says the funniest things, has a million and one faces, is the most flexible and limber child I have ever met, and is so lovable. Yes I'm just a wee bit biased. What can I say, I love her to pieces!!

. . . time well spent!