We Visit the Midwest

We had one day home to recover and repack after California before we flew out for Matt's interview in Dubuque, Iowa. This was Finn's first time on a plane!

It amazes me how I was able to go 22 years without ever going on a plane when both of my boys have gone so early on. (This was Covey's 3rd trip on a plane and his first time was when he was only 10 months old.)

Our flight to Chicago was delayed an hour.

There's our plane just hanging out waiting for a storm over Chicago to clear.

We filled the time with lots of snack (most spilled),

trips up and down the escalator (Covey fell and got pinched), 

and making friends with strangers via Finn's friendliness. 

Finn doing his plane impression.

Holy Cow. He actually fell asleep! Such a relief.

Guess who took these pictures? Covey! I was very impressed.

Landed in Chicago!

Four hour flight to Chicago completed. Four hour drive to Dubuque begun.

They were so amazing for it, though!
 They had plenty of time to enjoy their souvenirs from Disneyland.

Finn's Mickey. 

 Covey's bucket of aliens (and Donald Duck cartoons).

Dad drove the whole way with the help of those sexy triceps.

The clinic put us up in a Best Western connected to this restaurant where we got free breakfast every morning. After the trip was over, I asked Covey what his favorite part of Iowa was and he said the breakfast restaurant. :) Our first morning, Matt was off to his day at the clinic before we even woke up. The boys and I had breakfast and set out to get some exercise via Stroller Exploring.

A couple things we passed: 

Just the sign. I never saw the zoo.

This cool seminary.

I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of this, but the biggest adventure of the walk/jog was the giant, muddy, dug-out riverbed that I scaled 3 times in order to avoid turning around and going back the way we came. First, I had to lift the boys and the stroller over the construction site fence. Then, I carried Covey down the muddy riverbank, waded through the water, and then up the other side to a rock with strict instructions to not move. Then, back to the other side with my tennis shoes sinking in and falling off to get Finn. I was very nervous to leave Finn with Covey to go back for the stroller. I was so happy to see him actually stay where I told him to. They both just stayed right on that rock. I wonder what was going through their minds as they watched me complete this crazy awesome feat (emphasis on crazy). When I was heading back with the stroller, I hear Covey yelling something at me. I thought he was just saying "HI" but he was trying to warn me that a man was coming. Yikes! I thought I was so busted for trespassing. But he was just a guy out for a run. He helped me carry the stroller across, with me explaining myself and admitting that this was a bad idea the whole way. But he didn't say a word. I knew he agreed. :/ BUT the good news? After one more steep hill, there was our hotel. We were right there! So wasn't I justified? I can't believe I didn't get a picture!

Anyway, Matt was there by the time we got back. He said he'd spent enough time there to know he really liked the doctor he'd be working with, who invited us to dinner at the Dubuque Country Club with himself, his wife and the Office Manager, Julie, who'd arranged the trip for us. So, we got ready to have dinner with Bob and Betsy Badger, best named couple ever.

First, we spent the afternoon exploring the city and some neighborhoods.
Back in the car, boys!

Here's the clinic...

The Mississippi River!

Where all the nuns live! (They helped settle Dubuque, so they have all the best real estate.)

Dubuque! 

I was pleasantly surprised with it. I thought it had a lot of charm and had so many pretty surrounding areas.

At the Country Club.

Betsy Badger. 

 She was SO amazing. Seriously one of the coolest people I've met. She was so kind, generous, and personable. She made the evening so comfortable for all of us, taking control of all the decisions so there was no awkwardness and everyone had anything they wanted, and paid so much attention to Covey and Finn. She spoke with them like they were adults and took everything they said seriously.  Matt and I were both having visions of having a close relationship with these two.

 Bob Badger.

Back in the hotel, Covey entertained himself by dressing up like Dad and putting on a Donald Duck play.

The next day was house hunting. The first house we went to ended up being our favorite. It was 30 minutes outside of Dubuque, but was brand new and had the  cutest view.

There was only one next door neighbor and directly in front of the house was a cornfield.

In front and to the right was a cute, old cemetery.

And more open space to the other side.

 We didn't find anything near the city, so we went over the river to look in the close-by cities of Illinois. 

We liked Galena, but had no luck.

As we headed North, one second we were in Illinois, and the next...

...Wisconsin.

The closest city in Wisconsin was Hazel Green. We really liked this house and the super nice owner let us walk through it (as he gave us his life story as well as the house's 100 year history). He was selling and not willing to rent, though.

 So, Finn got his first bee sting for nothin'!

It didn't keep him down for long.

 P.S. Is it understood that the boys have been in the car ALL day as we've looked for houses?

We saw this strange site on the way out of Wisconsin.

Well, that very first house we went to was our best option. We could've spent the rest of the day having fun had we only known! Oh, well. The next day, after checking out the ward, we went back to Cascade to see the house one more time and check out the town better. 

They had a great park! And one grocery store.

 We stopped by the Badgers to return their Garmin they lent us. (At dinner, we thought they were saying "Did you bring your garments?". And were very confused.)

 The boys were so disappointed that they weren't home. Covey really wanted to see Betsy again. He was a little bit in love.

The next morning, it was Bye Bye Best Western.

Bye Bye Iowa.

And Bye Bye Mississippi River.

We drove back to Chicago and flew home. 

It felt so good to be home where Finn could settle back into his routine of making us read books to him 17 hours of the day.

Aww but it's worth it for his stinkin cute face.

So, did we decide to take the job in Iowa? Yes we did. Did we change our minds the next day after an improved offer from Utah? Yes we did.  So, Iowa will just have to remain a sweet memory of treacherous stroller explorations, beautiful rolling cornfields, some very friendly Badgers, and nonstop driving.