A Recap on R&R

Jay is gone... after 15 days of time well spent! We could have gone anywhere for R&R, but decided that Iowa was the place to be for us! We didn't do a whole lot while we were here, but simply enjoyed some down time.

Jay flew in to Waterloo and we met him at the airport. I could barely hold back as he was walking out of the terminal.

With our nephew, Carson

Below are a few of the events we did....

We walked around the University of Northern Iowa, where we both went to college. We felt a lot of pride walking the campus and thinking about all we accomplished while there, along with all of our memories together. Jay also enjoyed feeling the green grass!

This is where we both "lived" our last two years, in the education building.

That night, we enjoyed a delicious sausage pizza from Papa John's. Papa John's was the choice pizza of college students. We had it all the time when in college!

Later in the week, we went boating on the Mississippi River with Jay's family. We went up to Guttenburg and did lots of sking and riding in the boat. It felt so good to be out in the sun and enjoying the beautiful Iowa weather. It was extremely hot, but as long as the boat was going, it felt great! Both Jay and I got up on skiies even though it had been several years.

We spent some time at my parents' farm, playing with Carson and Luke (a boy my mom babysits for). We also went on a four wheeler ride and played with the puppy and kittens.

The first weekend Jay was here, we had a big BBQ for him. We thought it would be easier to bring everyone to us instead of us going out to see everyone! We had delicious barbequed pulled pork sandwiches and tons of sides and desserts. We had the guests bring the sides and desserts so had lots of options to choose from.

Jay gave a presentation about our lives in Germany, the trips we have taken, and what he's been up to in Afghanistan. People really enjoyed it as it gave them a good idea of what's happening.

Jay's family was around for the weekend, so we took some family pictures. It may be awhile before we are all together again.

We took a trip down to Des Moines after the party, to rest up and to visit the Iowa State Fair. Jay hasn't been to the fair much (I took him for his first time a few years ago), so he was excited to go again. We walked around the grounds, watched a cattle show, saw the 4-H projects, checked out the photography, ate an egg on a stick, saw a high dive show, and watched a group called Vocal Trash, which used recycled materials to make instruments. We had a great time, and were even able to relax a bit.

For the last few days of R&R, we did...... NOTHING! We just hung around, played some yard games, visited some friends, worked on some electronics... I don't even know what else. It was so nice to not have a schedule and could do whatever we wanted. We even had a chance to sit on the couch together and watch tv. I have no idea when the last time we did that, even before Jay left for Afghanistan. It felt so good!!!

Jay... thanks for such a great 15 days! I absolutely loved being with you. I can't wait for you to come back home to Schweinfurt so we can spend more time together! I can't wait to do more traveling with you, seeing the rest of the world! Those gorillas will sure like swinging in the trees with us!! Love you!

(Jay wanted to show how big of hicks we are!!)