Cutest Niece/Nephew-Hands Down.

This past week I got to have my little sister Heidi and her two little kids come and hang out with me in Iowa City.  I feel bad cause we didn't do a lot of site seeing (not that there is a whole lot to do anyway), but we did do lots of fun stuff that Henry and Claire loved doing!  Heidi, next time maybe we can see more of what Iowa has to offer. :)
I took like a million pictures- so sorry for all you who don't care to see them. For all you family that now don't get to have these two little ones near you.. enjoy!

Aren't they so dang cute.

 

Claire has the prettiest big blue eyes and Henry is such a crack up.  Here's a bit of what we did.

1. Played with pillows- over and over again. 

2. Hung out at the library. 

3. Went to the Natural History Museum. Henry LOVED this place. He kept repeating, "Look... look... look" over and over again because of all the cool animals he was seeing. There was no way of getting his attention to look at the camera. 

4. Henry loves the water as well.  We went to the park on a rainy day. Bad idea when there is a splash pad at the park. He insisted on playing in the water although it had been raining.  Good part he didn't have to share it with anyone else.  Don't you love the saggy shorts, underwear, and mullet? 

5. Don't worry.... the next day we had to go and get wet again.  This time it was sunny, crowded, and Claire wanted to join in on the fun. 

6. BBQ at the Park. Can't come to Iowa without having some Corn on the Cob. 

7. Fed the Ducks. (Jenni I thought of you the whole time). 

8. Henry fast asleep on Uncle Adam.  We wore him out pretty good. 

One last pic of Cutie Claire. I just can't get enough of her. 

We had an awesome time!  come back soon Guys! 

Brats. Baseball. Anniversary.

It's been a year...

a whole year since that amazing day we got married.

It's been an awesome year.  good times. bad times. learning times. fun times. fabulous times. Overall I wouldn't change a thing.  I love Adam more and more everyday and so glad I am the lucky woman that gets to be his wife. So enough with the mushy stuff.....

Because of the long Memorial weekend, both Adam and I were lucky enough to have Monday off. So to celebrate our anniversary we headed up to Wisconsin for a little adventure. 

What's in Wisconsin you ask?

-The World's Largest Brat Fest

Who knew there was such thing of a brat fest anyway?  It was pretty awesome though. Pretty much a carnival like atmosphere. Live music, rides, the oscar meyer weiner mobile, and lots and lots and lots of brats. They were tasty too.  Adam LOVES chocolate milk so he found some Chocolate to wash em all down.   

-Olbrich Botanical Gardens

Beautiful plants and flowers from all over the world.  Plus we got to escape to Thailand. 

-Downtown Madison

Madison was a cool town surrounded by 4 lakes.  It had a great farmer's market, we tasted some delicious homemade ice cream and checked out the State Capitol Building.

-Brewers Game

I need to preface this section a bit by saying that putting on that Brewers shirt I felt like a traitor. I only am wearing it because it was free and since they weren't playing the Red Sox I felt like I could be a fan. So Brewers fan for a night I was! This was Adam's First MLB game. I am pretty sure he is hooked. I see a lot more MLB games in our future. We had a blast. It reminded me of so many warm summer nights at Fenway. Gotta love America's greatest past time.

-Lake Michigan
Wisconsin is beautiful and it was fun to be able to enjoy the the lakes of both Madison and Milwaukee.

-Sprecher Brewery Tour

You can't go to Milwaukee without going on a tour of a brewery. They are famous for their beer and trust me the love their beer.... of course I'm not a drinker so we opted for the Sprecher tour instead of the Miller Beer Tour.  Sprecher not only produces beer but is well-known for their gourmet sodas. We got all the free samples we wanted and it was neat to see how the beer and soda was made.  We made sure to bring home some 'Rootbeer BBQ sauce.'

It was a really great getaway and we now have another mid-west state crossed off the list!

Dubuque. CatFish. Mississippi River.

Because we I have zero intention of living in the Midwest for the long-haul... Adam and I have made a goal for this summer to explore and see places here in the Heartland of America. (odds are these places won't make the list of dream vacations later in life so if we are going to see 'em we better see 'em now).

This past weekend we started our explorations.  

Started off small; a two hour journey North to Dubuque, Iowa.  We only had a Friday evening- Sat evening and this was the perfect mini get-away trip.  Friday after work we headed up.  We don't eat out much when we are in Iowa City... pretty much never, so eating is usually one of the highlights on our vacays. We stopped by Bandanas BBQ and had us some real good supper--- me ribs and pork; Adam beef and chicken... Of course loaded with sides of corn, coleslaw, and baked beans. Good stuff.
Saturday began with a stop by Iowa's #1 attraction.... The National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium. Complete with Catfish, Sturgeon, Bass, Carp, Snapping Turtles, Lizards, River boat tour,  and learning all things Mississippi River.  You can't tell me you wouldn't want to go to an aquarium to see catfish and carp....? Doesn't sound like the most exciting thing, but I'll be honest, I was pleasantly surprised.... mostly cause of the

CATFISH.  

They were HUGE.  The pictures don't do it justice. (only having cell phone pic doesn't help).  Pretty sure these blue catfish could eat me whole... okay so that may be a slight exaggeration but they were 

real Big and real Ugly and real Entertaining to watch. 

Dubuque is located right along the Mississippi River so after reading this little blurb

'Eagle Point Park is one of the most outstanding parks in the midwest. One hundred and sixty-four acres overlook the Mississippi River, providing a spectacular tri-state view of Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin,' 

 we had to check out Eagle Point Park for ourselves.  Great views of the Mississippi River, fun walk along, and great landscaping.  I wished we would have packed a lunch and ate along the river. Next time. 

This is the only picture that we took of the two of us and it's not good quality at all. 

It's not a trip without Adam making his 'trademark' goofy face.  I'm never going to get him to just smile so I have given up. :)  The Mississippi is pretty darn big. 

We finished off our mini-trip with a stop at Grandpa Willys and Grandma Betty's (Adam's grandparents) house in Mechanicsville. We can always count on a good dinner of Fried Broasted Chicken at the Supper Club.  Needless to say no Iowa vacation is complete with out lots of unhealthy food. Try as I do, I usually fail with trying to find something healthy. So instead of worrying too much about it, I savor every bite.  haha. 

We had a great couple days--- and if any of you are ever in Dubuque, Iowa.... don't forget to check out the Catfish. 

Family... isn't it about Time?

I spent the last week in New Jersey..
While my brother and sister-in-law were here.

(aren't they cute?)

But it was okay cause they left behind these two adorable little ones for me to look after.

....and I got to hang out with my MOM all week. I believe this is the first Mother's Day I have spent with her for I don't know how many years! Love you MOM!

I also got to chat with this handsome missionary. 

Elder Wittwer looks fabulous and seems to be loving his mission. His companion is the one in the back.
All week we did nothing but chase little kids around, have sword fights, eat, and chat.

Jack making cookies with Grandma. 

Jackson and Rylee wore us out.  As you can tell by this pic... trust me I felt the same way.  Erin you are amazing to do this day after day. I don't know how all you amazing Moms do it all.

Def. a great week. I love family. I hate being so far away from everyone.  It def. makes me appreciate the little moments that you have with them.

**Bonus to the summer.... 

I am so so excited that these guys have made the trek out to the mid-west to be closer to Adam and I this summer.  Only 3 hours and 45 minutes away. I'll take that over the 23 hours they were away from me any day.

Don't I have the cutest Nephews and Nieces ever? Who needs your own kids when you have these to love?

Other good news. Adam is done with his first year of his MBA program.  Only 1 more year to go.  Trust me we are already counting down the days.

Flash.Back.Boston.

Warning- This is a selfish post. For me more than you. Read or don't read. It is up to you. 

I've been doing some spring cleaning... on my laptop. I have a feeling she isn't going to last much longer so I thought I better back everything up before she is gone for good. This got me looking at all my photos from my years in Boston. I know these pics won't mean much to you.

But they remind me of so many awesome times spent with awesome people. So bare with me as I take a walk down memory lane and show you just a few of my favorite moments captured while I lived in the Northeast.

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Factory in Vermont. I was in awe over the green rolling beauty of the hills here. 

The New England Fall Foliage. 

One Word. Fenway.

 Running along the Charles River. Oh how I miss you. 

John Adam's Home/Library. I loved being able to learn the history of our country by visiting the sites. 

The Nubble Lighthouse in York, Maine. 

Loved taking day trips to cool places like the Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island.

Oh the Food... and Desserts Boston has to offer. A never ending supply of goodness. 

Nascar at its finest. Our white trash road trips to North Carolina will always be treasured.

The Sacred Grove in Palmyra, New York. So peaceful. So inspiring.

Apple picking (and lots of eating) in Harvard, MA. 

Somewhere in Northern Maine.

MS 'mall' Walk.

I broke out my walking shoes, gathered some friends.....

headed down to Cedar Rapids..... and did laps inside a mall for 3 miles, all in the a name of a good cause. 

My Team-Sara, Angela, Caroline, Marci, Adam, & Katie

Yesterday was the MS WALK that I have been bugging you all to help support me in.  So thanks to many of you, the walk and the fundraising efforts were a huge success.  Our little team raised just under $700 so we were pretty pumped about that. I always like to think that it was the money that I helped raise that is going to be the money that will find the cure.  Who knows right?  So thank you all that donated! (Don't worry if you didn't donate this year, I will always be back next year. haha )

I also loved having some friends support and walk along with me. Sara/Cannon, Caroline, Katie/Millie, and Angela were the hard core mall walkers with me- 

You. Ladies. Rock. 

Pre-event breakfast.

 See we really did cruise around in the mall.

One more 'Team MarSea' photo in front of our store window.

I can't forget to thank Adam. He had no choice but in coming but is always such a good and willing sport about everything. It is so good to be able to know that there will always be someone that will be there for me no matter what happens. I think he gets the brunt of everything; seeing that he is the one having to live with me. Thanks babe- love ya!  

Adam doesn't look to happy to be there does he? He was I promise. :)

THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR SUPPORT.

A happy Day.

A quick post about why I am happy today.

Spring has arrived in Iowa... Shorts and sandals have been a common staple to my wardrobe the past week. I am now starting to understand the quote from the movie Field of Dreams, "Is this heaven?..... No it's Iowa."  Okay so my love of Iowa hasn't quite grown that much, but things are def. on the upside. The grass is green, flowers are blooming, and no more white snow.  Lots to be happy about and really I feel so blessed to have all that I have.
-a job where I get to enjoy being outside (taking the kids to the park-- they play, I read or just sit there soaking up the sun)
-amazing husband.
-good health.
-support from so many friends and family.
-delicious food to eat. (probably too much of this)

Yes. Life. is. Good.

Better Every Day.

Happy Easter ! 

I love the below poem..... A perfect reminder on this Easter Day of what we all need to strive to be like. I hope we can remember Christ our Savior everyday- every moment.  He was the greatest example of all these traits.  His spent his entire life serving others- giving of himself. May I strive to become a little better today.... and everyday. 


I asked God to take away my pride, and god said, "No."
He said it was not for him to take away, but for me to give up.

I asked God to make my suffering child whole, and God said "No."
He said her spirit is whole, her body is only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience, and God said "No."
He said that patience is a by-product of tribulation, it isn't granted; it's earned.

I asked God to give me happiness, and God said "No."
He said He gives blessings. Happiness is up to me.

I asked God to spare me pain, and God said "No."
He said suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to Me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow, and God said "No."
He said I must grow on my own, but He will prune me to make me fruitful.

I asked God if He loved me, and God said "Yes."
He gave me His only beloved Son who died for me. And I will be in Heaven someday because I believe.

I asked God to help me love others as much as He loves me.
And God said, "Ah, finally you have the idea."
-quoted by E. Dale LeBaron