This past weekend we went to Iowa for the Texas A&M football game. We stayed with our friends and their parents so it was nice to have the grandparent touch. We've stayed at their house twice before and they are so warm and inviting. We had a taste of family/grandparents and Texas, two things we are missing most right now. Saturday morning, the kids enjoyed playing after a nice, big breakfast.
Big brother and baby sister.
Jack and Cade, friends since they were 4 years old.
Emalyn loved the baby dolls and especially that little wooden box with doors.
Maddi and Liam showing off some dance moves. Maddi and Liam met in kindergarden. It's hard to believe they are in fifth grade now.
I love this picture of these two.
And I also love this one of these three!
Iowa State fans with Aggie fans. They all get along so great, it makes for a fun time together.
Rachel's dad, Dean, was a Chemical Engineering Professor at Iowa State University for many years. Her mom, Ardie, worked in students services. Ardie gave us a quick tour of campus Saturday before lunch. I wouldn't be surprised if Cade or Jack ended up being an engineer one of these days.
The kids had a blast touring campus and thought it was like a big playground.
We learned the first computer was invented by an Iowa State student or faculty (can't remember). Who knew?
The McDonald family and Ford Family.
The kids wanted to go inside the library but since they were acting like monkeys outside the library, we figured they weren't really in the "quiet library voice" kind of mood and didn't go inside.
There are statues/sculptures all over campus. The kids tried being sculptures too.
Reinacting the Shrek sign. Jack is Shrek, Liam is donkey, Cade is the prince and Maddi is Gingy.
Campus was so pretty at this time of year. It made Brett and I realize our kids have never seen the A&M campus. Maybe soon...if it works out for us to move back to Texas!
The beginning of our race. Me against the kids.
Me and Cade are exactly the same. Maddi is on the same foot too. Funny.
Hands up! I won the race kids!
We cut our tour short so we could beat the crowds to a famous bbq place called Hickory Smoke. We lucked out and got seated right away. Food was great and astmosphere was fun. Kids loved the candy station. Maddi couldn't believe that you pay for your candy on the honor system. We explained that it's a true test of ones character. Kids had a blast picking out their 50 cents worth of candy. I have to add that Emalyn's outfit looked ridiculous. Her dress was so short, I should have put jeans on her, but only had leggings so she looked W.T. Oh well...
Next stop...tailgate! My favorite little girls in the world enjoying their juice boxes.
Family photo in front of the stadium. We learned from Ardie that the stadium is named after Jack Trice. He was the first African American on the Iowa State's football team. When they played against Minnesota, they were so hard on him, that he actually died after the game.
A bunch of pictures of Emalyn and Maddi doing their sisterly thing.
Classic Emma face.
Maddi took a bunch of pictures of the boys playing football. It was such a perfect day for a football game.
Emalyn spending some time with Cade. She's enjoying her ring pop that she bought from the candy bar at lunch.
She kept messing with Cade and taking his hat from him. He would try to hide it but she'd get it back. Emalyn is a lucky girl to have such a good big brother and sister.
Pretty much as soon as the game started, Emalyn fell asleep. She only slept about 15 minutes and then woke up saying "fall down." When she watches football she says "uh oh. fall down" when they get tackled. She was such a trooper all day, especially since she barely napped.
She LOVED the popcorn!
Touchdown for the Aggies! They won the game but it wasn't as much of a blowout as expected.
The kids enjoying the game. It was a friendly rivalry, especially between Maddi and Liam, both trash talking each other.
Miss Thing eating more popcorn.
And now enjoying her b bops.
The Aggie yell leaders. People who didn't go to A&M can't quite understand what they are. I know, it's odd. It's funny to hear other peoples comments about them.
We saw some guys in white pants playing football on the field where the boys were playing earlier as we were walking back to our car. We figured they had to be the yell leaders in white pants. Sure enough, it was them. They were nice kids. Holy moly that one guy was tall! After the game, we stopped for some fast Mexican food at Taco Time, one of Rachel's favorite places in town. It was pretty good. My bean burrito had sunflower seeds in it. Odd. You just never know what you'll get for Mexican food in these parts.
Sunday morning, we had a lazy morning before packing up and heading back to Illinois.
Still obsessed with her crazy pjs.
"That was fun." Emalyn always says that when we come out of a store or when I pick her up from child care at church or the gym. That's what we all thought of our time in Iowa.
So many fun things to do at the grandparents house, including a doll house. It was so nice to have a weekend as a family and with friends. I'm not sure that we'll ever go back because Texas A&M is leaving the Big 12 for the SEC next year. We will always have fond memories of Iowa!
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