Sweet Corn and the Olympics!

We have avidly watched the Olympics. Riggen was outside the entire day today and when I called him inside the house, he said "I'm thirsty and starving!" So, we watched the tv while eating dinner--a rarity in our house. The picture below shows Riggen's deep interest in the TV while eating his favorite summer food: sweet corn.

 This pic shows just how much Riggs enjoys his sweet corn! It was a great dinner with bone-in pork roast, fruit salad, italian bread and sweeeeeet corn!

Breakfast and Mimosas with Sue!

I have been going through Sue withdrawal! I haven't seen her since the last day of school in June! She's had a very busy summer--she sold her house, bought a new house and if that isn't enough, she's been traveling! We finally caught up Sunday morning at our "new" hot spot-the Ankeny Diner. Now you might be thinkig "the Ankeny Diner??" how is that a hot spot? Well, they have great service, great cinnamon bread french toast and pancakes! and of course, serve yummy Mimosas on Sunday morning! They are always very gracious about the fact we sit there for 2+ hours and chat, and chat! It was so great to get caught up with Sue!

William Nowels Olympics.

In the spirit of Olympic season, our family decided to create our own Olympic Games. Matt and I walked over 4 miles this morning, then watched a nearly 3 hour movie--The Dark Knight Rises--that takes Olympic talent! Well, Kate is off at Grinnell soccer camp and has played something like 10 games since Thursday--maybe an Olympic soccer player?!--and Riggen has "scootered" all over the neighborhood. I also decided to tackle an Olympic sport later in the day--stair climbing. Yep, I climbed 100 flights today. This is a pic of the 1st half of the flight--it doesn't count as a whole flight until you do the top half--had to look that one up! So, with walking, movie-watching, scootering and soccer-ing, I think we've got the Olympics covered!

The Olympics!

So, today we are celebrating the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympics!

Here are the stretches Riggs is supposed to do to prepare:

 Here is what he actually did to prepare:

 Here Riggen and Mason are performing their Olympic Sport: eating Go Go Squeeze Applesauce. (You can forward $ to my pay pal account to help with lobbying funding.)
 Riggen: "No, no Mason; You must breathe in sharply first, then breathe out hard!"
Mason: "Duh, Riggen. I can suck it in better than you!"

Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary to us!

Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary to us!

It was the hottest day of the year but so much fun! We were married in Indianola, Iowa at the Methodist Church. Our reception was at the Embassy Suites hotel in Des Moines, Iowa. Most remember it as being VERY hot (the a/c in the hotel broke down!!), others remember it as the greatest party of the year; I remember it as the BEST day of my life!

Matt was working as editor of the DI but was also a "columnist" for the Des Moines Register's "Young Writers section." Here is his column a few days before our marriage:

Here is what is says in case you are curious...

Making that head first plunge into married life.

In just four days I will be in a church in Indianola, Iowa, dressed in a classy tuxedo standing next to my best friend (we’ll call him Flash to protect the innocent) and my two crazy brothers (we’ll call them Scotty and Rain Man-they’re not innocent) as the bride walks down the aisle. No big deal, we’ve been here before. Last time it was Flash, and the time before that my brother, Scotty, tied the knot. But this time I’m the one who says, “ I do.”

It’s official. Until just a few weeks ago, marriage was kind of an abstract notion I had about how things “are done.” Monday, Canada9 yes, for the guh-zillionth time that is her real name) and I went to the county recorder to apply for our marriage license. Reality is setting in, and I have no regrets.

Everyone I talk to lately hounds me about getting married. “Are you nervous?” “How old are you?” “Are you ready?” “Are you crazy?!?”

No, I am not crazy. I’m getting married at age 12, and it’s great. Somehow I found myself in a very unique position. There seems to be a unilateral effort against marriage. I

I've been with Canada for almost five years. I have only a hazy memory what life was like without her.

Sure, I have a little anxiety. For the last few weeks I’ve been up to my eyeballs in wedding stuff. Call the dj, find an organist, send invitations, get gifts for the wedding party, pacify nervous wrecks like my mother-no one said this would be easy. The only butterflies in my stomach are the result of trying to balance 10- to 12-hour workdays and constant wedding preparations.

But the thought of spending the rest of my life with Canada doesn’t even phase me. Hell, I wouldn’t be doing all this if it did. When I proposed (ahh, now that’s another story) there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to grow old with her. There are very few moments in my life that are so crystal clear. The first time I really talked to her, I literally fell in hove in a heartbeat. It was like a fist in my gut; it took my breath away. In one instant I knew she was the ONE. I never looked back.

I don’t know how else to say it; it was that easy. I know, I know, this all sounds like a movie starring Julia Roberts. You know, the kind of movie boyfriends go to with their girlfriends in silent protest. When I tell the story people are always amazed. I was once called the “last of the hopeless romantics” by my professor. Woman at work hear the story and sigh, “I wish there were more guys like you.” We must be in short supply.

So all this, quite apparently, is another unique episode in my singularly charmed life, right? I say that’s bull. This is my life, charmed or not, and it’s not all a romantic fairy tale. Let’s see, I think the last spat was over car keys. Before that it was the dishes or something. I’m not a hopeless romantic. I’m just a guy who has the same stupid problems as everyone else. I pay the same bills. I drive the same kind of car. I listen to the same music-well, mostly, anyway. I’m also a guy who happened to get very lucky, very early in life.

Stories like mine could happen to anyone who takes the time to notice the beauty inside another person. I bet you won’t that at the Union or the Fieldhouse Bar, but then again I never had to look. Beyond that I have no idea where to look. I got lucky enough to stumble upon it almost five years ago. Like said, I have a charmed life. For you, maybe it’ll happen tomorrow maybe in ten years. Hell, maybe it’s happening right now.

But it does happen outside of Hollywood and Robert Waller novels. Maybe getting married isn’t what you’re looking for. I’m not here to champion marriage. But everyone is looking for someone to share his or her life with. I’ll champion that any day. Everyone is looking for love and it’s no wonder. I hear it’s all you need.

--Matt Snyder is the editor of The Daily Iowan. His column appears alternate Tuesdays on the Viewpoints page. Des Moines Register, July 22, 1997.

...the 15th anniversary celebration complete with the 15th year "gift:" crystal. Actually, scotch embossed glasses. You can't tell from the picture, but they have a maple leaf engraved on the bottom too! We ate at 801 Chophouse! Yum!

Happy 12th Birthday, Katherine!

Today is Kate's 12th birthday! She's growing up way too fast! Here she is this morning with Emma and Hannah after they made pancakes! A few minutes later, we sat and looked through her 1 year scrapbook--after she "bribed" me by allowing her to open one gift! 

 Kate wanted to do some shopping and of course, stop at Orange Leaf for a snack!

 And now she's SUPER excited as she got her first cell phone!!!!!  Happy Birthday!

A Hunger Games-Themed Birthday Party!

So, as you already know, Kate loves the Hunger Games! She has been wanting a Hunger Games-themed birthday party all year! Mathew made these awesome invites and Kate planned the whole thing! First, they had to "try their luck" at rock climbing. Here are the girls prepping for their climb--not sure why Emma is looking so serious; I think it is her game face! (Please note my dauther's socks!)

 All the girls made it to the top on various auto belays, but here's Kate at the top of one of the trickiest areas! She is showing off her "Katniss" power!

 So then Kate had a dinner all planned. Her friends were asked to bring crazy outfits for the dinner, just like in the Hunger Games. Here they are!!!

 Then, Kate had a trivia session ready to go. Everyone's name was placed in the jar as in the Hunger Games but this time around it was a GOOD thing!  The more questions you answered correctly about the books, the more times the name went into the jar. The winner won.........NERDS candy!!! ha, ha! I'm so tickled by all of Kate's planning and how much these 12 year olds really enjoyed the party! They were not afraid or shy about showing off their survival skills or their wonderful fashion designs!

New Job at DuPont Pioneer!

Today was Matt's first day at DuPont Pioneer! He had on his new swanky BR outfit-which I chose-and he had a terrific day! They greeted him warmly, gave him a phone, iPad and 2 hours of security clearance and he's off to the races!!! (although I do admit he looks a little strange in this pose--what ARE you doing sweetie??) It was 7 in the morning and I was half asleep, I'll admit.

Home Sweet Home!

Finally the house cooled down today and we got busy. We unpacked everything, made a grocery list, went to exercise---def. needed that!, picked up our plants from Jenn who graciously watered them and got our "rodent", Izzy. Thanks to Matt our pantry is now full and we just enjoyed a great chicken dinner! winner, winner, chicken dinner!

Saturday, July 21-heading home--15 hours straight!

We had a spectacular time on our vacation! Here we are outside our cabin door saying goodbye to TN! Matt and I kept asking each other if we were driving all the way--14 hours with no stops--we kept saying "we'll see!" and after each stop or stretch, we kept going! we wanted to get home to our cozy beds! so we drove for 15 hours straight and made it home before 1am! but it was 90 degrees in our house so we had to sleep on the couches downstairs to be cool while the ac cranked! but we were glad we made it--I only think i need my rotors fixed now! cheers!

Friday, July 20--Easy, relaxing day and aquarium!

We got up pretty late Friday morning due to a late night Thursday night. We hung out and read in the cabin until 1 and then took the trolley to downtown. We went to ripley's aquarium which was SUPER busy! The big attraction was sharks, but we liked the eels and the sawtooth fish the best--check him out!

 Then we headed up the road to our favorite southern pizza place-Mellow Mushroom! even the lactose person splurged and ate yummy, cheesy pizza! Here's a pic with the kids--that they didn't want to take--with Mel--the mascot of Mellow Mushcroom pizza! a great last day of our trip! (I even finished a book--Wild--you can check my review at goodreads.com soon!)

Thursday, July 19--Secret falls and hikes!

We decided to go back into the mountains on Thursday because they are so beautiful! The pic on the right is the slope we climbed down without a foot path--we had to "crab walk" down and hang on to tree trunks to do it! But it was sooo worth it because then we made it to what Matt dubbed "Secret Falls." this was because no one else traversed the slope and we had these beautiful falls all to ourselves!

After "secret falls" we headed to Newfound Gap--the crossing line between TN and NC. The AT crosses here so we had to capture a pic of the sign for grandpa Chuck!

 Overlooking Newfound Gap!

 We headed into NC to go to Mingo Falls-the highest waterfall in South Appalachia! 180 feet! We had travel into the Cherokee Indian Reservation--apparently FDR got real gracious and decided to "give' some of their land back through the IRA--ok, enough history---so we climbed the steep 80+steps to see these great falls! and then waded through them!

 Next, we headed to Clingman's Dome which is the highest point in the Smokies at 6700 feet! We had our lunch right off the cliff!

 Then we walked up to the lookout tower which was 1/2 mile up! This doesn't sound so bad until you realize the 1/2 mile is steep--like constantly stressing your calves steep and nearly having to use your hands steep--but we made it! I think Riggen only cried twice! (which is why he wouldn't look up in the pic even though I'm warning him! ) :)

 Then, we headed back down the mountain to Grotto Falls! It was 1.5 mile hike which we started around 7pm. They had a warning about bears on our way. It was a great hike through beautiful woods and Riggs did a great job as our "scout!" It was so worth the trek because we saw the grotto and could walk under the falls! Matt decided to take a dip but the water was freezing--which is why he has that--oh-my-god-it's-freezing-look on his face! :)

 This is me cheering under the falls! What a terrific day!!!!  (then back home to hot tub and have home made spaghetti--it was only 10ish when we ate!)

Wednesday, July 18--Dollywood's Splash Country and Mini Golf!

On Wednesday we decided to do the touristy thing and went to Dollywood Splash Country and miniature golfing. The funny thing is that we didn't get a chance to take good pictures at Splash Country because water was everywhere and we kept the camera locked up! Around 4 a thunderstorm rolled in--it was actually pretty cool because we saw it roll in over the mountains because the park was in a valley. We waited it out hoping it would clear, but it didn't. The temp. dropped like 15 degrees in 10 minutes--both Matt and I were thinking the same thing--when will the tornado hit? Because when the temp drops that fast in Iowa, a tornado is bound to happen. But, of course, this is TN and so it was just a cool-looking thunderstorm. Our day was cut a bit short but that's all right. As you can tell from the pic, Riggs was done, and Matt was a little rosy!

We then headed back to our cabin but had to make a pit stop at Glade's home made candies! Riggs finally got the caramel apple he'd been wanting all summer!

 Matt got his FAV--fruit slices! Kate got peanut butter sticks and I got peanut brittle! We were set! We headed to the cabin to snack and hot tub for awhile!

Then, later we headed out on the Gatlinburg Trolley to do mini golf downtown. Riggs picked the mini golf on the mountainside--a great choice! Matt and I got a hole in one on the same green!

 The kids were looking like serious mini golfers at the top of the mountain--downtown Gatlinburg is below. It was a great night for it and such a lovely view!

Tuesday, July 17--Can we say cliff jumping?!?!?

On Tuesday, our first full day in Gatlinburg we decided to explore the Smokies. Mathew had told me stories for the past 20 years about his cliff jumping escapades in the Smokies. We once went cliff jumping at Red Rock but then Matt broke his toenail off--that's a story for another time. Anywho, we "found" the cliffs he remembered as a kid--and we jumped!!!!

 This is me being very hesitant--after Kate had jumped TWO times--I finally decided to do it--it was exhilarating! and this is from a person who is afraid of heights. We figured it was about 15 feet up! You can see Riggen cheering from the lower shelf for his sis and mom!

July 16---we made it!!!

We finally made it to our cabin! I think the kids were pretty excited about our hot tub on the deck!

Sunday, July 15...and we're off!!!

We took off Sunday morning a bit later than expected, but we were refreshed and ready to head to TN! It became a family joke how many Cracker Barrels we could count along the way, so we decided to join the masses and eat there too! The kids got to pick out a treat in their "Country Store" so Riggs got the world's largest lollipop (that's my sugar cube!) and Kate got "vintage" Mike and Ike's! We had dumplings, chicken tenders!

Saturday, July 14

On Saturday we were busy packing and planning away for our family vacation to Gatlinburg, TN! So excited!!!

"Birthday Week!"

I think it was last year that Catie Miller said her birthday celebration lasted a whole WEEK! I was so impressed with that! Apparently, that is what is happening this week. Yesterday I received gifts in the mail from both of my sisters to open! New books, blu-rays and Silhouette gift cards. Today my parents came for breakfast and I got to open more gifts! Yay! Then, Matt had a follow-up appointment with his doc and got a clean bill of health! I was so relieved! He hasn't been feeling the greatest so it was great news to hear!

Ingrid Michaelson concert! Nitefall on the River!

Thursday, July 12--Kate and I attended the Ingrid Michaelson concert at Nitefall on the River in Des Moines. I found out a week ago she was going to be here! But previously I looked up her concert schedule and she was sold out in Minneapolis, MN. So I was uber happy to see her coming here! Kate loves Ingrid--maybe more than I do! She knew every lyric and was hoping for several different songs that she ended up playing! It was a great night with Kate and with Ingrid and I truly think Nitefall on the River is spectacular for Des Moines!