Iowa and Independence

To Iowa we went.

 Wilberforce worked a week of overnights, so last Wednesday when I finished up my opening shift, we packed up the car and took off for the land of the real man.  At least that's what Dad would say.

Wilberforce says driving through Nebraska is a million times better at night...because he doesn't have to look at it.

If you're from Nebraska, I'm sorry.  I'm sorry for my hubby's negative comments and I'm sorry you're from Nebraska.

Muahahahahaha.

I slept the entire 10 hour drive, which actually was 9 hours because the limits of speed set by the DOT/government/whoever sets those were probably not obeyed by the driver of the vehicle I was in.  Not naming any names.  I woke up every 30 minutes or so when a truck cut us off, Wilberforce hit the rumble strips, or just because sleeping in a car sucks. 

We got to the farm at 5:30am, Iowa time.  W crashed on the couch and I took off for a morning run to the river.

 Running on gravel roads is hard, hard, hard work.  I'll never take my pavement for granted again.  When I got back to the farm I snapped a couple shots of the sign my sisters and I got the parents for their 30th wedding anniversary this year.  It turned out freakin' awesome.  Yes?

I decided to close my eyes for a minute with Wilberforce on the couch.

 And then.  The monsters.

I heard the front door creak open, then the voices. 

Poor Wilberforce.  No more sleeping for him.

 This trip was also the first time we got to see the new kitchen!  It. Was. Amazing.

I never would have thought our old farmhouse kitchen could look so awesome.  Like a magazine.

That momma of mine, she's got some great taste, yo!

 I need to steal the pictures W took on his phone of the kitchen.  His mom wants to re-do theirs sometime, so he took a bunch of pics to show her.

We spent Independence Day in town enjoying the festivities.  It was awesome...unusually not humid!  The parade was entertaining, although the candy throwing was lacking.  Apparently there was some regulation about the parade people throwing candy because of the littering and birds and all that bull-crap.

It's a parade, people.  Parades were invented back in 1342 due to an over-abundance of candy in a small town in Spain.  They needed some way to get rid of the extra candy, so they rode horses through the streets and threw the candy at little kids.

That's a fact.  Google it.



Friday was Leg Day.  We hit the Fitness Center, which was the sweetest gym I've been in!  Equipment galore!  Almost makes me wanna move back to Iowa.  Almost.

Not really.

 The fitness room was connected to the weight room, so it was super convenient to run between the two when I had to do the cardio/active rest portion of my circuits.  Did I mention I loved all the equipment?

 Wilberforce worked shoulders.  I snuck in creeper pictures.  So sneaky.

 We wandered around town, checking out some of the new stores on Main Street.  It's nice to see a little bit of revival on Main Street...like the awesome new Daily Apple store.  It's a health food/organic specialty type store!  My fav.

We went to the gift store to get some kitchen gadgets and the powers of the universe collided to force Wilberforce to buy a mustache mug.

We saw these on a display in the store; Wilberforce wanted the mustache one right away, but there were others we had to decide between, too.  While we were looking at them a little girl, about 6 or 7, walks up and starts looking at stuff on the other side of the display.  She was wearing a pink t-shirt with...wait for it...a glitter covered mustache on it.  Yes.

What kind of little girl wears a mustache shirt?  Better yet, what company thinks that a pink, glittery mustache shirt would sell?

Apparently I'm getting old.  It's times like this where I mustache myself "what is this world coming to?"

BAHAHAHAHA.  See what I did there? I kill me.

What would a trip to Iowa be without a Pizza Ranch extravaganza?

 Sad.  The trip would be sad.

Luckily, we went to the Pizza Ranch, so there was no need for tears.  Just insulin.  Lots and lots of insulin.

My mom and dad are goofballs.  And I probably won't have a place to sleep next time I visit since I posted this picture.

 You're welcome.

Wilberforce was embarrassed by this picture.  They were supposed to be intimidating.

 He got owned by Gus.  I think it's the gangsta bandana on the arm.

Oh look, Gus doing what Gus does best.  Games.

 We went to flea markets up at Okoboji.  Again, another fun day that could have been miserable if we had to endure the usual Iowa humidity...especially after being spoiled in Colorado's dry air.  But the weather was perfect!

 Crazy faces = painful faces, apparently.

 We ate lunch at Mrs. Lady's.  An Okoboji tradition.  The boys ate approximately eight pounds of cheese, collectively.

We left early Sunday morning to head back to Colorado.  I drove all the way to Lincoln without falling asleep!  Yay, me.

We found the best peanut butter ever at the Walmart in town, so of course we had to find another Walmart to raid before we left the state.

 This stuff is goooood.  Go to their website and use the store locator to find some heaven in a jar near you!

 Larry held up well for his first and last trip to Iowa.  He gets traded in next year, so we had to use up some miles.  It was nice to be in a car and not a monster truck for once.

Of course, I brought snackies for the trip.  

 Eating passes the time.  Eat, eat, eat.

 Sleep a little, wake up, eat, sleep, Instagram, eat, sleep.

 Get home.  Unpack Larry.  Eat.

I also got my hair did!  Haven't been to the salon since March.  I'm very particular about my hair upkeep, obviously.

 Chopped and dyed.  Yeah boys.

 We had a patient call the pharmacy to ask about the name of a glycerin soap the pharmacist had recommended for him a few weeks ago.  The tech asked which pharmacist it was.  He said he didn't remember her name but she was about 35 years old and blonde.

What.  The.  Eff.

THIRTY FIVE??????

I stood there with my jaw dropped for a good thirty seconds before I remembered - I've been brunette since March and I've never recommended a glycerin soap for anyone.  Thank God.  I almost had a moment.

On a happier note, the 45 year old blonde pharmacist is going to be pumped when I tell her this story.



Yesterday was Leg Day.  Again.  My workout split includes two Leg Days a week.  Wilberforce's workout split includes two Leg Days a month.  Chicken legs, say what?

All roads lead the the gym on Leg Day at 6:30am on a Saturday morning.

Welp, I'm out of pictures to ramble about, so I'll leave you with...absolutely nothing.

Have a fab Sunday, World!

And quit whining, Dad...