Iowa Fun in the Snow

We waited a couple extra days to go to Iowa. Isaac seemed much better and we still weren't really sure what exactly he had. It didn't seem to be contagious, although both he and Aaron got the same thing, but no one else did.

A snow storm was supposed to move in that Tuesday up there, but we were hoping we could beat it. No such luck. We left later than I wanted. We got to Kansas City as the snow was starting in earnest in Des Moines. As we were stopped trying to decide what to do, Isaac starting crying that his stomach hurt again. Then he started screaming that he wanted a bath. Never mind that we were in the parking lot of a Chick-Fil-A. That boy wanted a bath right NOW. That kind of made the decision for us. Plus, Dad said the weather wasn't the greatest and fog was moving in pretty thick. We had enough points saved up for a free night, so all we had to do was a find the right hotel that was somewhat close to us. Not an easy task when you have a 4 year old screaming in pain! Finally got the hotel booked and got the directions up on GPS. We got to the room and Aaron unloaded everything. I got Isaac in the bath right away, which helped his stomach. When he has a stomach ache, he doesn't want any clothes on, not even underwear. So strange. Anyway, thankfully our room had a kitchenette and enough room for all 6 of us. Isaac and I had one bed, Anna and Jacob shared the other, the staff brought a crib for Grace, and Aaron slept in the recliner. It wasn't the most ideal, but it worked better than trying to make the rest of the drive with Isaac feeling like he did!

After getting Isaac settled, Jacob and I went to find some groceries. While we were gone, Aaron texted...it was a good thing we stopped because he ended up getting sick! It was just the once, so I think it might have just been something he ate. Sweet Anna took care of Grace while he was sick in the bathroom. She got her to sleep on the bed. Thankfully Isaac stayed asleep! Jacob and I found what we needed for spaghetti (by this point in our marathon sickness, we were all craving real food and veggies!), grabbed some green beans and the requested ice cream. :) I also got some things for breakfast and some yogurt for Isaac. We made it back with only one wrong turn and I got supper fixed. We had to take turns with the silverware since there were only 4 place settings! Ha. It was so nice to have a free room for the night and still be able to cook good food for us to eat. 

Isaac slept pretty good that night, albeit in odd positions!

He woke up the next morning feeling great, ready for breakfast! (He didn't eat anything for supper)

We took our time getting around the next morning. It was actually a pretty fun detour, minus Isaac's tummy troubles. I don't think the kids remember ever staying in a hotel. The last one I can remember is when we went to Texas for the Mustang competition and Isaac was just a baby. And it was kind of nice to break the trip up, even though it's only 7-8 hours drive. The closer we got to Des Moines, the more cars we saw in the ditches. We were very glad we had decided to stop!

The boys always want to take a bubble bath in the "BIG TUB"!! :)

 Papa took the kids sledding one day...it was SO COLD, I couldn't believe the kids even wanted to go out! But they were pretty excited to go sledding. I think this is actually from the 2nd time they went (and Aaron went with them). 

 How can he even be sleeping?!?

 Aaron got a bit of a workout when he decided to pull the kids around on the sled in the backyard!

 Grace thought it was funny :)

 We loved having a fire going! Especially after they came back from the first sledding adventure frozen to the core! I had hot chocolate ready and the fire blazing. They sat there for quite a while thawing out their frozen toes and fingers. :)

 Isaac thought that since we had a fire, it would be perfect to roast hot dogs and make S'mores. 

 So one night the adults decided to watch a movie. Last thing I remember is having a hard time keeping my eyes open. Next thing I know, I wake up at 2am to a completely dark house and Mom & Dad nowhere in sight! We couldn't even stay up long enough to finish the movie. I guess those 2+ months of sleepless nights caught up with me.

 I really hope this video works. It's of Anna & Papa going down a hill. Listen to Anna toward the end...she was sure it was all over! HA!!

We took advantage of there being a Barnes & Noble close by while we were up there and took the kids to spend their Christmas gift card. None of them had even been to a Barnes & Noble, let alone seen one. This was Anna's face when we got upstairs to the children's section!! We spent a fair amount of time there!