An Iowa Mom

Waterpark, Sam's Club ... What's The Difference?

This week is our Spring Break.  We made plans to visit an indoor hotel waterpark about an hour or so away.  This mini-vacation was planned back in December and the kids have been looking forward to it with much excitement.

We didn't go. 

Why you ask?

Well, as you know I'm the meanest mother on the planet.  Well, maybe not the planet, but for sure the meanest in the state of Iowa. 

It was either that or the fact the entire freakin' family had to come down with the flu ...

So, while we are supposed to have gone here:

The ONLY place we've ventured out to this week is here:

And my children had the nerve to complain.  GEEZ!  Can't they just be happy that I brought them SOMEWHERE?

Ungrateful little boogers!

I Got A Break Too!

Well, would you look at that?  I actually got a break.  Did you notice?  Did you miss me?  Okay, don't answer that.

I find that even when Big Daddy gets days off work and the kids are dismissed from school ... I still trudge on with my daily activities.  Well, guess what?  Over Thanksgiving break, I didn't.  Everything was put aside and I did ... are you ready for this?  NOTHING. 

That's right.  N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

Unless you call eating too much and drinking way too much something.  Which I don't.  So, I'm going with NOTHING. 

My brother and his family came to visit over the holiday and it was nice to relax and let all the daily chores fall by the wayside.   We got to watch the Missouri/Kansas football game together, which was fun.  The kids all played beautifully.  My sister-in-law was able to complete a craft project and also introduce me to something new.  It was so relaxing.  I'm paying for it now, ya know, but I'll leave that part out.

You'd think that because I've been away from Bloggyville that I would be back with an overabundance of funny stories and pictures to share with you.  But that's not the case either.  I guess my 'material' went on break too. 

The few days off was nice while it lasted, but, we're all back now and ready to carry on with life.  So, while you thought you might have lost me ... believe me, you can't get rid of me that easily.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!

Great Timing ...

The hurricane is bearing down on Mexico and it looks as thought the eye of the storm is going to crash down on the resort where we stayed just 2 short weeks ago.  I'm saddened every time I hear the coverage of the hurricane because we so loved where we visited. 

The same employees worked every single day at the same places, so you came to know and become familiar with them.  They were all so nice and their main concern was our comfort and happiness.  It hurts my heart to think those sweet people are in quite a pickle right now.  Most are dirt poor and have no means to evacuate.  Even if they did go inland, the hurricane will still hit them.  I'm just beside myself about it.

Because I hadn't done so yet, I took time this afternoon to upload some of our Mexico photos to flickr to share with all of you.  Out of over 1,000 photos, I randomly chose very few to share.  I'll add some of our good ones once they are scanned in.

I don't even want to think about when this storm will do to this area and it's people, so I choose to be in denial and remember it the way I saw it ... not the way it will look after tomorrow.

I'm A Travelin' (Wo)Man

Okay ... so maybe I should just give up on the blogging thing until after I am done with all our travels this summer.  Assuming I'd have Internet access over our last adventure, I thought I'd be able to blog about what I was seeing and doing.  NOT!  Sorry!  So ...

#1 - We just returned from:

#2 - Then heading Friday to see:

#3 - After that, we're packing up and going to:

#4 - From there we are so rudely dumping the kids and escaping to:

Any guesses on our destinations??

Don't worry, I'll be back before school starts.  I'll also have a few things scheduled to post along the way ... just so you don't forget about me.

Taa Taa for now!

I'm Off ...

Okie Dokie ... I'm doing it.  I'm really going to go.  We are all packed up and will be heading up north to the Wisconsin Dells for a few days.  Our family has never been, but we'll be joining 2 other families that go quite often.  From what they say, we'll have a blast. 

Imagine this ... they even said that good ol' Fuddy Duddy me will have a good time.  Hmph.  We'll just see about that, now won't we?

Because I just know that you all would miss me soooo much, I've put together some fun little stories that I've scheduled to post daily.  If I wasn't telling you, you'd never even know I was gone ...

Side Note:  I'm letting my laptop tag along on this little mini-vacation, however, who knows if I'll actually be able to get online?  Places like this may make it virtually impossible for Internet addicted mothers like myself to get a fix.  Thus, forcing us to spend quality time with our children ... how dare they!?

Wordless Wednesday - What I Wouldn't Give Right Now!!

Iowa To Montana ... and Back!

A while back I asked for my readers to choose a topic for me to write about.  The Green 3 was the only one who responded, thank you The Green 3!!  Her request was as follows:

I'd like you write about the places you've taken your kids on vacation. Pros and Cons of the places? Would you go there again? What places are on your to-do list? I know you have a young one, so you may not be into heavy duty vacationing. My youngest is almost 7 and we just started when he was 5. We don't go by car very far, though. Horrible in the car!   Thanks!!

This past summer, we were somehow struck with the CRAZY bug that made us think driving from Iowa to Montana to visit my mother would be a fabulous idea.  Yeah, doesn't it sound like oodles of fun to place 4 children ages 8, 5, 2 and 1, into a vehicle and drive it for 25 hours.  Can't think of anything more exciting. 

I won't bore you with all the gory details.  Just use your imagination.  I will give you a run down on everything we did on our trip.

On Our Way To Montana:

• Went to the Corn Palace
• Went to Mt. Rushmore
• Went to a dinosaur park

While In Montana:

• Fish Hatchery
• Children's Museum
• Dinosaur Museum
• A Real Rodeo
• Space Experience
• Lewis and Clark Museum

On Our Way Back To Iowa:

• 1880's Train Ride
• Bear Country USA
• Drove through the Badlands
• Visited an 1880's town

So, we did quite a bit in the 10 days we were gone.  The children were wonderful ... I almost couldn't believe how good they actually were.  It was a memorable vacation and I'm so glad we did it.

I know this didn't completely answer your question ... but to be honest, we really haven't begun to "vacation" to touristy places, and won't until Smilee is a bit older.  I would just like to be able to go without having to pack diapers and wipes, milk, special foods, etc ... So, in about 2 or 3 years ... I'm all over Disney Land or more fun, the Disney Cruise, and those types of places.

The Green 3 will be vacationing in Vegas soon ... I look forward to hearing about your experiences there, as I've been 2 times without kids, and am anxious to be able to go back with the munchkins ... maybe!