Whirlwind trip to Iowa

It is hard to believe it has been 2 weeks since we were in Iowa . . . the calendar tells me it has been that long.  Stephan drove a charter bus filled with kids from area youth groups and some sponsors to Dordt for the RYS convention.  Gideon and I rode along (Briella rode with my parents the same day).  Gideon kept saying "My daddy's bus" and "BIG bus"--he loved being on the bus.  
Most of the days we were there were too hot to really be outside, but Thursday they predicted rain and clouds, so we went to the Boyden splash pad.  Thankfully it was free, since the picture below shows about how wet Briella wanted to get.  Gideon was more daring and got his suit and head wet . . .

Gideon loves to see motorcycles when we are out and about.  In fact on the bus he told Stephan to go fast when a motorcycle passed us.  My dad was going to give Gideon a little ride on his Harley, but once he started the beast Gideon started shaking his head and covering his ears.  Then Gideon declared he didn't like Grandpa's motorcycle because it was noisy.  Grandma convinced him to sit on it for a picture, and he was a bit hesitant for even this.  Maybe next summer?!?!

One reason we love to visit Iowa is to see Great-Grandmas.  We went to Rock Valley to visit Stephan's Grandma M and to Sioux Center to see my Grandma VM.  Both Grandma's had candy and that's about all it takes to make friends with Briella and Gideon.  What a blessing it is to visit them!

 My best friend from high school is back in the states after 4 years in Germany and was with her parents in Sioux Center, so we were excited to catch up for a few hours!  (I know it isn't a profile, but that's 34 weeks . . .)

Friday afternoon we hit the road again with both kiddos . . . Gideon enjoyed a little nap, but Briella was  little excited to learn that busses don't have seat belts, people can stand while we move, and there were a lot of kids to watch . . .  We enjoyed the time we could spend at my parents and Stephan enjoyed the time at convention.  We were thankful to arrive back in MI safely and sleep in our own beds again!!