A Post About the Iowa Trip Which is Largely Pointless Since Most People Who Read This Blog Were There

They said we were nuts. We couldn’t really argue with them. Taking 2 four-month-olds on an airplane is not the kind of thing people in their right minds do. We, however, never claimed to be sane, or even really all that smart. So we loaded up what we used to carry on (a granola bar, bottle of water, Kindle, iPhone, lip balm) plus what we needed to carry on for the girls (double stroller, 8 diapers, wipes, lotion, 2 bottles, 4 binkies, 4 toys, 2 board books, 2 extra outfits, 2 blankies, hand sanitizer, saline drops, aspirator, children’s Benadryl, children’s Tylenol, and a partridge in a pear tree) and experienced the glory known as “Priority Boarding.” After a lifetime of glaring at “That Person” with the screaming baby, I was bracing my self to be “That Person” times two. But guess what? The kids did great! Soph fussed a little here and there, I think she was sensitive to the pressure change (Sophia? Sensitive? No!) but it was nothing that was not easily pacified. Livi, who is so much like her dad, slept the majority of both flights. We had 3 seats for the 4 of us (the extra elbow room was a necessity!), our flights all ran on time, and overall the airline gods smiled down upon us.

Mom and the "Sisters Lovely"


Daddy and Soph (can ya tell they're related?!)


We had so much fun being with my family. Mom, of course, was in super-Grandma mode, and had the place pimped out with all the necessities and then some. (Did I mention my folks gave us their HOUSE? And they stayed at a HOTEL? That is love for you.) The girls loved the attention, and I loved watching them smile at the people who have made me smile so many times throughout the years. A big motivator for me to get the kids up there ASAP, even if it meant flying with infants, is the fact that I still have two grandparents living. Not to be morbid, but my Grammy and Grandpa are in their 80’s and I was afraid that if I waited too long I might miss the chance for the girls to meet them. Hopefully this will have been the first of many visits to see my grandparents, and hopefully the girls can get to know them, but if not I will be satisfied knowing that I did everything I could to get all of these important people in my life together. I loved spending the evening with my aunts, uncles, and cousins, and my cousins’ babies who are close in age to the girls. It was hysterical to see the differences in personalities of the 4 babies, and I really hope we can continue to get them together as they grow up. It was also great to spend some time with my sister and her husband, and to feel like sis was really getting a chance to know her nieces, as well as to hang out with her youngest two kiddos a little bit who were both really babies last time we were up there but who are now an adorable preschooler and toddler with hysterical personalities of their own. So precious. And of course her oldest, my special guy Jet, brings a smile to my face every time!

Cousins!


4 Generations of Tough Broads (Normally we don't all lay down on our sides like that. In real life we pretty much are upright. Damn Blogger.)


My girls with Miles and Annika, my cousins' kids



SPEAKING of important people in my life, Genny, my best friend from high school, drove up from Missouri to spend the weekend with us, and I could not have been more thrilled. It was incredible to see her, to share our passion for SCRAPBOOKING and to catch up on each other’s lives. I have never connected with anyone’s sense of humor as much as Genny’s, and I can genuinely say I missed it. I can’t describe how it feels to have her back in my life… the closest word I can come up with is relief; it’s like a piece of my puzzle was missing but now it’s back in place. It was great to see her interact with the girls (I love people who are not afraid of babies) and she charmed the dickens out of Miss Sophia, which is not always an easy task. Mom even watched the kiddos for a while so Genny and I could go scrapbook shopping, and it was great to chat without someone constantly pooping their pants or distracting us in a myriad of other ways. Genny brought up binders containing all of the notes I wrote her in high school (yes, binderS, yes, ALL of the notes, yes, I now understand why I didn’t do so great in Chemistry, since a lot of the notes were written in that class and included fascinating illustrations of my poor chem teacher). I was also lucky enough to get to pour over some scrapbooks she put together and they were truly creative, quirky, and so so fun. Wish we were closer so we could create together! I look forward to many continued years of friendship and I am going to try extra hard not to be a shit-head and fall out of touch again.

Genny and Sophie


Why, yes, we ARE fabulous!


It has never been harder to say goodbye to my folks. The girls are growing up so fast, and I wish we could all be together every minute. Of course I always miss my family, living so far away, but this is with an intensity that I never felt before, even when I was at my loneliest. I’m glad mom is already plotting her next trip down to see us, and I can hardly wait until my parents are both here after Christmas. It seems like a thousand years away, but I’m sure time will fly. I hope.

Bonus: Naughty Tomato grown by my dad