I-O-W-A!

Well, another whirlwind of a weekend has come to and end. A little nap and a movie later, Hayley and I met our dad in Davenport, Iowa on Friday afternoon. We spent that day driving around looking at all the places my dad grew up. This was the first year that G-ma joined us, that was a fun new twist! We saw our dad's first house, where he went to school, played baseball, coached baseball, went on family outings, and where he played hide and seek! We also got to see where my grandpa worked for so many years in the bank. We also saw the Mighty Mississippi!

Here we are with the sun in our eyes and the Mighty Mississippi behind us!



That night, we went to Aunt Susan and Uncle Dan's house for some family and food! Aunt Susan is an amazing cook and she loves hosting. It was wonderful to see our cousins, aunts, and uncles and just relax and catch up.

Saturday, the fun began early. Out the window of our hotel was rain, rain, and more rain!

Hayley lost her glasses, but I found them for her!



We are ready for any and everything! We have sunglasses for sun, Herky ponchos for rain, huge coats for cold, Uggs for wet feet!



As we stepped out of the hotel, the cold breeze of Iowa hit us. We were off with Tom, and our cousins John Thomas and Karson. We arrived in Iowa City and had quite the walk ahead of us. But it was nice and cool and fun to see the campus.

The University of Iowa



The famous gold dome



I know, I know, but we don't have these in Phoenix



I even made Hayley and Tom stop to take a picture with me in front of this beautiful tree!



Now, I know those of you who go to the ASU games think that they have great tailgating there. There is NO comparison! In Iowa, it goes on for miles..literally! It is crazy and so fun. We were walking down one of the street and who else should come by on a golf cart, but HERKY!



After walking up and down some nearby streets, we headed back to the famous Kinnick Stadium. Who is that getting off the Hawkeye Team Bus?



It's KIRK! I just put my hands over the crowd and got this picture...pretty good!



Here it is...Kinnick Stadium



Go Black & Gold!






We walked passed the stadium, over to the practice facility to watch the band. Hayley and I waited in the longest line EVER for the bathroom. Who only puts 2 stalls in the girls bathroom? Here is Tom with all the school flags!



Hi Tom!



Here is the Hawkeye Marching Band!



The band played, the cheerleaders danced, and the crowd cheered! We left and headed into the stadium. The sign at the gate!



The sky cleared and the angels sang...we have arrived!



So Happy to be here! One of the ushers took our picture..not bad!



These are our seats! Yeah!



This says it all!



Herky...not the best mascot ever!



I-O-W-A



It's almost time...do you see them?



There they are



The scoreboard..at the beginning of the game



The National Anthem



The Team



Kirk, Ricky, and Adrian



Let's Go Hawks!



And then...the rain!



But we were prepared! Herky Ponchos...Thanks dad!



Dark Clouds...and the last time you will see the scoreboard



So, the game was a wonderful. We all cheered and gave high fives. This is where the game pictures end, because it got very serious and very sad.

The next morning, we check out of the hotel and headed over to G-ma's house. Tom's brothers, Dan and Jim came by to send us off.

G-ma and her boys. Jim, Dan, Tom, and G-ma.



G-ma and Tom. Love this picture!



Hayley and me with G-ma. I wish we didn't live so far away. I miss her very much!



Tom and Dan. They were like two little boys when we took this picture. Don't touch me, scoot over, Love them!



G-ma, Tom, and Dan played card for a long time! It was great to just sit and chat. G-ma didn't have her best day. You can't win them all!



Our trip to Iowa is always a wonderful trip. It is also always too short. I would never want to live in Iowa, but the Hawks and Family makes me wish we were closer. Thank you Tom for taking us to Iowa. It was wonderful. Tim and Tyler, thank you so much for playing with the kids. It was a nice quick break!

I hope these pictures show how much fun we had and how wonderful the field looked! (Tom kept saying that) Iowa didn't pull off a win, but they made up for it today with a great win over Michigan State. You gotta love the Hawkeyes! Happy Halloween everyone!