Iowa City - Last Hoorah Before School

With only a few days left before school starts, I wanted to do something special with the kids.  I was trying to think of a fun day trip or even an overnight somewhere.  I presented a few ideas to the kids and asked if they had any suggestions.  They had the same ideas I did...Mall of America, Chicago, Wisconsin Dells...but everything suggested was a bit too far and/or a bit too expensive.  We settled on Iowa City for the day.

 

We really didn't have a plan - other than eating lunch and dessert at Cheddars.  We hit up a few Goodwills and then headed towards the mall.  About that time, Alex said her stomach was hurting, so we bypassed the mall.  We drove around a bit and her stomach seemed to settle - thankfully! 

 

While driving around, I got a call from Matt saying that he was in town for a stop and asked if we wanted to meet up with him over his lunch break.  We decided to meet at Hurts Donuts (conveniently!) and picked up a snack / breakfast for the next day!  It was a nice surprise to see him.  After Hurts, we drove up towards the hospitals so I could show the kids the sports arenas as well as the hospitals (where Matt delivers many oxygen tanks throughout the year and also where my dad helped plaster/finish many of the additions along the way). 

 

We found a parking spot so we could snap a few pictures by Kinnick Stadium and we drove around Carver Hawkeye Arena. 





I know that a few of them rolled their eyes at me...but I love that they still do silly things (sometimes without being asked!) for me.  Of course, I may have promised Steak & Shake Ice Cream at this point in time...

 

I thought of this quote from Christmas Vacation as the kids "moosed" it up for me...I can definitely hear Alex saying this...

Audrey: I hope nobody I know drives by and sees me standing in the yard staring at the house in my pajamas.

Art: If they know your dad, they won't think anything of it.

 

I think we saw every corner of Iowa City!  It was neat to see places we've been over the past 10 years with letterboxing ("Hey, I remember that place" as we drove by).  I told the kids about the 500 year flood and how it affected Iowa City and Interstate 80).  We drove by the hospitals and discussed how blessed we are to have the hospitals and doctors so close to us.  I showed them the Old Capital Building and we looked into the history of Iowa - realization that it used to be the capital of Iowa (which is now Des Moines).  We really enjoyed our day together...not really doing anything!  Food, talking, seeing, remembering, making memories.  Good Times!

On the way home, we hit a small thunderstorm (there had been warnings all afternoon, luckily they were all south of us) and we loved seeing this beautiful rainbow (double rainbow at one point). 

Now to start back with school - full swing!