CAMPING!

Living in another country has many positives but sometimes there are somethings that we really miss about living in the United States.  One of those things is camping.  For the past year, Jojo has been asking us to go camping.  I think he has gotten the idea from some of the books we read to him.  During our time in Iowa, Jon's mom was able to set up some time for us to go camping.  She called some good family friends who own a big RV and they helped out in getting a camping site and even "borrowed" their son's pop- up so we would have something nice to sleep in.  So, we took a little trip across the border to South Dakota and head to a campground called "Jellystone", home of Yogi bear.

If you look closely at this picture you will see a figure taking a nap.

Here we are enjoying a meal.

The clouds and the sun cast a purple dye in the sky.  It was real beautiful.  

Fire Station

We got to take a tour of a fire station during our 

time in Iowa.  A friend of ours is a fireman and

he gave us an amazing tour.  The boys just loved

it. I also learned a lot of interesting facts!

Jojo now says he wants to be a fireman!  While Ed 

was dressing up in his gear, Josiah stood there with 

his mouth wide open and in total awe!  

Days 190 - 196

DAY 196

There is no way I was missing Cracker Barrel!  It is on my top 

10 things to do in the Midwest!

DAY 195

Corn!

DAY 194

This is the house Jon's parents built in South Dakota.  Whenever we 

make a trip to South Dakota we always have to drive by for a bit of

nostalgia for Jon.  Jon lived here for a big chunk of his grade school 

years and one year of jr. high.

DAY 193

Grilling some brats!

DAY 192

Morningside Baptist Church

This is Jon's home church.

DAY 191

Yes, I can say I've seen it all now..........ice cream for dogs!

DAY 190

Getting a tour of a fire station!

Tempest

We got to hang out at "Uncle" Mikes recently and enjoyed a yummy BBQ and swimming at a neighbor's pool.  "Uncle" Mike is one of Jon's closest friends.....in reality they are a lot like brothers!

Mike recently bought a Tempest and has had it restored.  Nathan, who is a car enthusiast, absolutely loved hanging out in the car.  I think if the keys would have been in the engine he would have raced off in the car!

A Conversation With Nay Nay

This past Monday evening Nay Nay and I had quite an interesting conversation.  It went like this:

N : "mommy, I want "yiy-phone"

Me: "What?"

N: "Yiy-phone"

Me: "An iphone?"

N: "Yah""

Me: "Who are you going to call?"

N: "My fwends"

Me: "Who are your friends?"

N: "Lyola"

Me: "Lola?"

N: "Yah, cute Lola"

Here's a picture of Nay Nay with cute Lola:

Palmer's Candy Shoppe

Last week we got to go to the candy shoppe.  Palmers has been around 

in Sioux City, Iowa for over 125 years.  Actually Palmers has the longest

span of family ownership and management of any candy company of it's 

size in the U.S.A.  When we are in Sioux City, Jon's mom tries to think

of fun and different things to do during our visit so we thought we'd go to

the candy shoppe, look at the old machinery, sit in on a little "tour", and buy

some candy.  Unfortunately, our day didn't turn out so great because Jon's

mom passed out and the ambulance had to be called.  She was taken to the

local hospital and had a bunch of tests done but they didn't find anything wrong

with her.  It was kinda scary.  She says she doesn't plan on setting foot in 

the candy shoppe any time soon.

Nathan had his eyes on these sticks for a long time.

Jojo wanted melting chocolate..........I had to explain to him that 

we could only use that for baking.

Days 183 - 189

DAY 189

Visiting Palmer Candy Shoppe

DAY 188

Isn't this such a cute house?  This is our dear friend

Diane's house and we got to spend a wonderful 

evening with her and her family.

DAY 187

Yes, we saw Toy Story 3 and it was adorable.  And yes, I cried.

DAY 186

My mother-in-law has a mulberry tree in her backyard and the 

berries are sweet and delicious.

DAY 185

Celebrating Nathan's birthday and 4th of July.

DAY 184

Jon's friend got a classic car and has been working hard on it.

DAY 183

Happy Birthday Nay nay!

The Tide Pools

After spending some time at the monument and the lighthouse we took the little drive down to the tide pools.  I absolutely love the beach.  It is truly my "happy place".  This is where I am the most comfortable. I love everything about it but one of the best things about being by the ocean is seeing God's handiwork displayed in the crashing waves, the brightness of the sun, the vastness of the ocean, and beauty of His sea creatures.

Happy Birthday

Our "Nay nay" turned 3 last week.  We can't believe it.  He is such a little spitfire and makes our life a little more wild.  He has such a big personality and we praise God for him every day.

1 month old

Seriously, whose dark Indian  cute baby is this?

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

Days 176 - 182

So, I am a little behind on my project 365.........trying to catch up!

DAY 182

Day 182 was our 10 year anniversary.  We celebrated by going to a new restaurant in Sioux City called Eldon's.  It was so delicious but even better was spending time with my amazing husband!

DAY 181

Outside in Grandma's backyard and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.

DAY 180

Welcome to Iowa.  Yes we made it to Iowa.

DAY 179

Goodbye to California and to Grandma Maria's pretty flowers.

DAY 178

O.K., so I didn't take this picture, nor was I even present while

this picture was taken but this is Gustavo and Melissa.  We have

really enjoyed getting to know this great couple.  Actually I've known

Gustavo forever but have never taken the opportunity to really get to know

him even though I know everything about him since his mom and my mom 

are best friends!  Anyway, since I didn't go to Resolved, Jon got to hang

out with them quite a bit!

DAY 177

RESOLVED!  Do, I really need to say anymore?  I cheated though

on this picture because I didn't take it and I didn't even go to the 

conference.  Jon had a great time though while I stayed behind

with the two boys.

DAY 176

Yes, this is a picture of my mom's new television in the bedroom where

Jon and I get to sleep.  I love Friday nights because there are a ton of

wedding type of reality shows on TLC and I am a big sucker for them.

The Lighthouse

I absolutely love lighthouses and even though this lighthouse doesn't necessarily look like the long towering lighthouses, I do love the whole idea of being a lighthouse keeper.  Maybe I'm romanticizing it a little but I think it would be kinda cool.

This lighthouse was built and 1854 and had eleven different keepers.  The lighthouse functioned from 1855 until 1891.  Unfortunately the location had a serious flaw...........fog and low clouds obscured the light.

My theologian husband loves lighthouses because he says they are excellent sermon illustrations.  Here is a quote we found inside the museum of the lighthouse:

"I can think of no other edifice constructed by man as altruistic as a lighthouse.  They were built only to serve.  They weren't built for any other purpose....."

George Bernard Shaw

Point Loma

One thing that Jon and I really enjoyed about our trip to San Diego was being able to explore different sites without the boys.  I think they would have enjoyed some stuff but they get bored easily so it was fun to take our time and explore.  This morning we made a short trip to Point Loma and saw the Cabrillo Monument.  Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo was the first European to set foot on the west coast of what is now the United States.  The weather was gorgeous this morning and we just enjoyed looking out over the ocean and soaking up the sun.

This was a military ammunition and cargo ship.