Brisk Me Away

7.31.2012

Week of /22: Iowa Continued

We spent the remainder of last week continuing to visit family in Iowa. Henry meeting the grandparents was very special! He did great on all the drives, except on the way home when he cried A LOT! We were in the car for about 13.5 hours, so we understood how he felt! I think we were more traumatized than he was, though:) Babies quickly forget, while we can still hear him crying I think! Our weekend was spent recuperating and relaxing. Our visit was a good one, but there really is NO place like home!
We met up with Steven's dad in Emmetsburg. Here is Henry meeting Grandma Hough!

Kenslie is Steven's cousin's baby. She is one week younger than Henry, so we had fun getting them together.

We all got a kick out of Kenslie pulling on Henry:)

Time with Grandma!

Cuddly baby...ready for bed!

Grandpa and Kaia talking to Henry

Jimmy and Layna...I never get a picture of Jimmy for some reason! Tah, dah! Here he is!

Great Grandma, Grandpa, and the four grand kids!

Aunt Heather and Henry making the same face:)

We had fun riding the four wheeler around the farm...it was a refreshingly windy day here, so we enjoyed being outside. I drove the four wheeler, but Henry just watched...don't worry:)

More outside play...this one show the surroundings...corn fields everywhere!

We had fun getting some pictures of Henry outside...the wind made him feel giddy!






Momma loves her baby!

Shucking corn...can't beat some Iowa corn on the cob! "Iowa, Iowa. That's where the tall corn grows!"


The whole crew!

Pictured here....Grandma Hough, her son Jim (Steven's dad), his 2 kids (Heather and Steven), plus spouses and their kiddos:)
Four generations!

Henry's middle name is Lawrence, so we had to take a picture of his namesake's gravestone. Lawrence is also Steven's and Jim's middle name.

Saying goodbye on Wednesday morning...the Bushes, Grandpa, and Peggy headed to St. Louis for a ballgame and we headed back to the DeWitts for a little more time with them.

Talking to Grandma DeWitt

Their cat, Squeak, came up and meowed and meowed while Grandma was holding Henry. He was complaining and showing his jealousy! :)

We also headed back out to Laurel for a tour of the farm and surrounding area where Grandpa and Grandma DeWitt used to live. We stopped by the cemetery where SO many of the family are buried. Pictured above is Grandma DeWitt's father and mother's gravestone. Carl would be Henry's great, great grandpa they share a birthday...Feb. 26!!

And here is her grandparent's gravestone...Henry Sietmann would be our Henry's great, great, great grandpa. Henry and Catherine lived right next door to Carl and Ethel in Laurel. Grandma DeWitt was very close to them, because she was just a stone's throw away from their doorstep!

All around the area are these windmills that generate energy. There are 52 right near the family farm. The are HUGE...like 400 feet tall.

Cornfields and windmills!

We went to eat lunch at a Chinese restaurant while we were there. This family owns the restaurant and are close with Grandma DeWitt. They would visit her when they lived in the apartments behind them. She would help them read since they are just recently here from China and are learning English. Such sweet kids!

We also stopped at Taylor's Maid Rite while we were in Marshalltown....a local attraction! They offer a tasty sandwich called a "Maid Rite". The seating surrounds the workers who cook right there.

Here we are enjoying our Maid Rites....and their yummy milkshakes, too!

A shot in front of the sign...RAGBRAI was going on while we were there. It is a bike ride across Iowa, so we saw lots of them since one of their stops this year is to Marshalltown.

We headed back South on Friday...here is Henry back in the car (again!) at 6am. This looks like he is saying, "Seriously, guys??!!"

At least he was able to entertain himself some by blowing bubbles/making noises with his mouth.