iowa

This past weekend Matthew and I drove to a tiny town in Iowa. The weather there was rainy and cold and icy in spots (my least favorite road trip weather). We stopped in Cameron, MO. and stumbled upon an old Victorian home that was turned into a very cute bakery/cafe and apparently they had a winery upstairs (didn't have time to see it). We had the best breakfast out that we have ever had... fresh, healthy and delicious... oh yea and we got a ton of food and it was only eight bucks which just makes it more fun. It was such a nice way to start the drive and set a fun tone for the rest of the trip. We ate lunch and hung out with Matt's extended family, learned how to play cribbage, and just relaxed the rest of the evening. Sunday we woke up to fresh air and sunshine. We decided to drive to Nauvoo, Il. they are famous for their fudge (the shop was closed) winery (very cute and located deep in the woods past a gorgeous campground) and a historical Mormon site. We spent the morning exploring, got really close to 4 huge golden eagles (beautiful!) and eventually made our way back home. The dogs were very excited to see us and it feels good to be home. But, wow!! What a fun weekend!

christmas time

christmas has lasted for about two weeks for us... which has been amazing! we started last saturday, the 20th at matt's mom's house for her famous dinner... um, i call it jambalaya only because i like saying that word. she cooks a big pot of corn, potatoes, sausage (i think?) and the largest shrimp i have ever eaten. she lays out a table cloth, and then pours it all out in the middle of the table. it is a messy, delicious family style of a meal. wednesday we spent christmas eve at church, then to my sister's house for a lovely meal, and a few gifts. thursday was a perfect christmas day because i was in my pj's the entire day. played a few intense games of ping pong, ate even more good food and opened the rest of our gifts. it's fun having a baby (kestan) around crawling over all the bows and boxes.. which he loved way more than any of his actual gifts. friday night we had dinner at my sister's again but this time we celebrated with my dad and his wife. and a new game called "imaginiff". imagine if my dad was a kind of car, which would he be? (multiple choice answers) imagine if matt was a character from winnie the pooh.... cute game, and even more fun seeing everybody's guesses. i love this time of year and it seems to just be getting better.... hope you all had a wonderful christmas too!

megan's wedding!

My good friend Megan married a great guy named Sleiman on December 19th. It was one of the best weddings I have been to. Lots of good people, plenty of food, my sister and her family were there too, plus tons of dancing. Matt and I had a really great time, and it felt like a mini-vacation since we stayed the night in Lawrence. The happy couple is only two hours away from us so we hope to plan many trips visiting them and our new friends who happen to live near by. And of course it got me even more excited in my journey planning for our big day!