Let Freedom Ring

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." -The U.S. Declaration Of Independence 1776

We spent the 4th of July in Iowa. My cousin, Minniette and her husband, Matt invited us to their home for an evening a good old fashioned fun.


Lily loves to cook and Minniette had a great time passing down instructions on making homeade "Maid Rites", an Iowa delicacy. Iowans are professionals at using hamburger dozens of tasty ways. The fact that it is meat from cows raised on my Dad's farm is an extra bonus! Ha!


This is our version of Wimbledon. Hahaha!


Jack had a great time "playing" with this remote controlled helicopter and I got a great idea for Santa. Every once in a while I get a glimpse of that little boy hiding in my man-child. I was so happy for this spontaneous moment of Jack and Minniette together. :)


Water balloon war...every man for himself!!


Sofie made it her mission to "nail" her grandpa with a water balloon. When she moved on to bigger weapons, like the hose, she woke the sleeping giant. Here, Sofie is in way over her head, as the prey hunted the predator. Ha!


Aunt Berna made us homeade ice cream. Here she is getting ready to scoop it into bowls. I have so many happy memories of her ice cream on the 4th and I was thrilled to be able to eat it with her on our nation's birthday.



Of course, it isn't the 4th of July without fireworks. We chose to take them in the way I did as a girl. No crowds for us. We ate our ice cream and sat on the top of the hill to watch fireworks from a nearby town. It was breathtaking and so relaxing.




My parents


Minniette took this awesome picture of Bug with her Grandpa sitting on the tailgate of a pick-up as they waited for the fireworks to light up the sky. She doesn't sit long, so I am glad Minniette had her I-Phone ready to snap this beautiful memory.


How I adore this girl! I have so many wonderful memories with Minniette and I growing up together in Iowa. Still, this night is up there as one of my favorites. One of the gifts she brings into my life is total acceptance and freedom to just be myself. I guess that is the gift of having a cousin who is more like a soul sister.

No doubt many challenges face America right now. Still, I have faith that we can and will meet our challenges as One Nation Under God. Indivisible. With Liberty and Justice For All. Happy Birthday, America. You are still beautiful!!

IOWA---A Place To Grow

Marty and I both grew up in the Heartland. Born and raised in Iowa, we feel it is important that our kids know their roots. So, we go home as often as we can, considering there is an 800 mile gap between Iowa and the Lone Star State. In recent years, that has meant we get back together only once a year. We decided to take our family vacation back home to Iowa so that our kids could get reacquainted with life where the tall corn grows.

It's a 13 hour drive from McKinney, Texas to Baxter, Iowa where I grew up and my parents and brother still farm. That many hours in the car does challenge ones ability to endure and persevere. Still, the kids are good sports because they know Grandma is waiting on the other side of the drive. Here, Lily and Sofie passed the time together pretending to give each other "permanent tattoos".



We tried to make the best of the time in the car and stopped for the night in Kansas City, Kansas on our way to Iowa. In the morning, we went to a nearby Krispy Kreme Donuts for breakfast. The "Hot Now" light was on so we got to watch them make the donuts. Yum!


We spent some time as a family on the Iowa State campus in Ames, Iowa. It was fun to be there together. Marty and I haven't visited Ames together in over 10 years. We strolled Central campus and shared some of our memories from "the good ole days" when we were students there and told the kids the story of how we met. Unfortunately, the Memorial Union Fountain was under renovation, so we didn't get to make any wishes this year.

The kids sitting in front of the financial "nerve center" of Iowa State...Beardshear Hall. With Jack's interest in engineering, they may be receiving more of our money in a few years. Jack even got to talk to the assistant dean of engineering when we stopped in Marston Hall for a quick break from the heat. (The heat index was 104 degrees...guess we brought the heat with us...sorry 'bout that, Iowa.)


Jack, Lily, and Sofie under the Camponile on Central campus at ISU. Lily, with her romantic heart, is already plotting how she is going "camponiling" when she attends Iowa State. <3 One of the things I truly love about Iowa is that my kids can just be kids. They are safe to run and play and get dirty. There is no schedule to keep so they be free and impulsive. We try to make lots of time for them to play with their cousins. It always amazes me how the kids all just pick up where they left off when they see each other, as though they haven't been separated by hundreds of miles for months at a time. I guess that's the true gift of family. It makes my heart smile to see them all together.

Girl talk on Grandma's deck.

Marty took this picture through the screen of Mom's kitchen window. He was so tickled to see Jack and Madilyn "hanging out together" while Lily practiced her ballet.

We didn't have a lot of time, but we were glad to be back home. Even for only a little while. Iowa is truly a wonderful place to grow.

Adventureland

"He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy."
-Job 8:21


My mom wanted to take all her grandkids for a day of memory-making fun. So, early on Saturday morning, we loaded up our van and Mom's car and headed off to Adventureland in Altoona, Iowa.

The whole gang waiting for the gates of Adventureland to open.



Jack doesn't really like a lot of the thrill rides, especially roller coasters. He is more into the food! Haha Still, he LOVES looking after his little sisters. In this picture, Jack was helping Sofie get all buckled up for her airplane ride. He wanted to ride it with her, but his big body was just too big for the plane. He is SUCH a great brother.



Marty and Honeybug riding high on the Ski Lift.



Lily worried all day that she wouldn't be tall enough to ride one of the big roller coasters called The Dragon. You can see in this picture, she was beyond thrilled when she saw that she was well over the height limit.




Marty and our neice, Lexie love to go on rides that go FAST!! I don't remember the name of this ride, but I do remember thinking they are two peas in a pod.




Noah, Lily, and Sofie had so much fun riding on this mini ferris wheel called The Chuckwagon.




Jack, Noah, and Sofie thought that lemonade Icees were the perfect treat to beat the heat.




Lily had a little too much fun spinning on the Silly Silo, so she took a snuggle break with Grandma Tina and my niece, Madilyn.



We had a great day together and made memories that surely will stay in the kids' hearts forever. Mission Accomplished, Grandma.