Iowa Trip for Christine's high school reunion and to see family

We had a wonderful trip to Iowa! When I heard my high school was having a reunion, I thought it sounded like the perfect opportunity for a visit. It was Andrew’s birthday on the day of the reunion, but when I told him we could see family and go to the Iowa State Fair, he agreed to go.

 

August 18, Friday

Andrew went to school on Friday because he had a test scheduled, but then that was cancelled so it turns out he didn’t need to go. Our flight was at 1 PM, so Daniel and Jonny didn’t go to school.  It took forever to get our rental car, as usual. This time we had to wait in the line inside to even get our key. Then once we went out to the parking lot, we just took the car and left. There was no one to check our contract or anything like that because it was all outside. We headed to Ankeny. The kids were pretty impressed by the Iowa State Capitol building.

We stopped at Chick-fil-A to get food for the kids and then went to the hotel. The kids ate their food and we got all checked in. Our rooms are right next to each other so that's nice. We have two rooms and each room had a two queen beds and a sofa bed. I got freshened up and got my dress on and we went over to the reunion.

It started at 6 PM but we didn't get there until 8 PM. It was very nice and I'm glad I went. There weren't that many people there, honestly, but it worked out fine. I was glad to visit with Dong and Amy and Michelle. Amy didn't bring her husband but Dong brought his wife Jen and Michelle brought her husband Gary. Blaine Haugen was the DJ and he led a couple of games. We played three rounds of a Kahoot-type game. Michael won the second one and got a prize of a bread board. Overall, it was a nice evening. We had fun getting pictures at the photo booth and there was a big group picture of everybody. 

We helped to put away some chairs at the end. By about 10:45 PM, we said goodbye to my friends and headed out. I had Michael drive past my old house. I realized I had the address wrong. The house looks exactly the same but it was kind of dark. I tried to drive past the Hardee's where I used to work, but I couldn't find it. We went back to the hotel and finally went to bed.

 

August 19, Saturday

We went to bed so late last night that we slept in a little bit more than I wanted to this morning but we needed it. I think by the time we left the hotel it was about 9:45 AM. It didn't take us long to get to the fair. We parked in lot B just like I planned and took a little shuttle pulled by a tractor to get to the front gate. 

We walked right in with our passes. The kids saw the rides right away so that's where we went first. We took a quick picture, of course. 

We got to the ticket counter where are you get a card to add credits for rides. There wasn't a person there, it's just all by machine so I wasn't quite sure what to do. As I turned around to discuss with everyone, I saw a girl that I recognized and I realized it was Karen Konen Lee's daughter Tasha. Then I saw Karen! I just stood there in shock. Then I yelled her name a couple of times. Tasha nudged her and she looked at me and it took a moment and I could see the moment the realization hit her face that it was me. We hugged and she squeezed me so tight for a long time. I couldn't believe it! I had just texted Toni last week and told her how much I wish I could carve out time to see Karen but I didn't know how I could do it because we had such a short trip. I told her that, too. I told her that it was a quick trip and I couldn't figure out how to meet up with her and what a tender mercy it was that we ran into each other. She told me that she never likes to come to the fair on Saturday because it's so busy. Later, she said her son wanted to go on the rides first thing and so that's why they turned this way and it was an absolute miracle! I didn't even know why I said it was a tender mercy because it wasn't. It was a miracle! It was not a coincidence. The Lord blessed us with that today. Well, he blessed me because she didn't even know I was coming, but there is no doubt in my mind. 

I asked if she had a little time to chat and she said she did so I helped Michael and the kids get their ride credits and they all went off to go on the rides and I sat and talked to Karen. All her kids went to go on rides, as well. We talked for a while about things going on in our lives. Her mom just went into the hospital and that's been stressful for her and so seeing me seemed to cheer her up a bit. Before we knew it, our families came back. 

We took pictures with her and her family and we said our goodbyes. 

I was still in shock and I told the kids how grateful I was for that blessing. Everyone wanted to get something to eat so we got some corndogs and fries and lemonades. Then we went to the funnel cake place and got a couple funnel cakes for me and Andrew and more lemonade and water. We had credits to use up so we all went on the swings, except for Michael. He sat and watched and took some video. 

Michael and the kids had fun going to the rides. The only one Michael went on was the haunted mansion-type ride. Apparently, it was very lame. Michael says that Emily's first comment when they were done was, "Dad, we just spent $30 on that." Oh well. I don't even know how much we spent at the fair today but I'm sure it was a ridiculous amount of money. We ended up with a card that had four credits left on it and nobody cared about riding anything else so we left the ride area. Later in the day, I handed the card to a mom with three little kids and she seemed grateful. We went over to the animal building. We saw the baby goats and baby calves and baby pigs. 

Then we walked out so we could go to the agricultural building and see the butter cow. I tried to see the 4-H exhibit for my cousins’ kids but it turns out they weren't in that building so I was confused. There was a huge line to see the butter cow. It turns out it was in a cooler display on the wall next to other displays and so it wasn't just out in the middle for anyone to see it. We went ahead and waited in the line and it moved pretty quickly.

Here are some other cool things we saw while we waited in line. 

We got a quick selfie and then the kids wanted to leave. 

As we were standing in line, Jonny kept complaining that he wanted to go back to the car. I said what do you want to do in the car? He said I want the AC. So, the kids were not holding up very well in the heat. It was very humid and it was even warmer inside that building. We stopped and got some water. Gina Campos was walking past and the kids said, hey Mom, that lady is wearing a shirt like the ones you got so I called out to her and we chatted for a few minutes. I handful of classmates met up at Jalapeño Pete's they were taking a break to go get some food. She talked about how she can't wait until the next reunion. Part of the class reunion was meeting up today, but I wasn't interested in spending time doing that because it didn't seem like anybody else brought their kids anyway and my kids wanted to go on rides and I didn't want to take away from our already limited time. I really wanted to try the award-winning sandwich for new fair food this year, but that was a huge mistake. I figured there'd be a line but I didn't know it would be that ridiculously long. It took us a while to find it and I was so disappointed at how long the line was. Linda had said a good place to go was the Beef Quarters restaurant and that was really close so we went there. 

. The line was long but it was moving pretty quickly so I had us get in the line. The kids kept saying they wanted to get in the car and start driving and stop at McDonald's but I told them that's a ridiculous idea when we could have real Iowa beef. And my friend Michelle was trying to meet up with us. I hadn't had much time to talk with her last night. We had fun chatting while we ate. After we finished eating and said our goodbyes, we headed out. We went to pick up the bucket of cookies at Barksdale State Fair Cookies. I thought that by buying the cookies ahead online I would save myself a wait in the line but I didn't. It was the exact same line. Oh well. 

Anyway, I got the bucket of cookies and we got out of there as quickly as we could. There was a line to go on the golf carts and I thought that would be perfect because then they would take us all the way to our car. The kids kept insisting we were in the wrong line and needed to take the shuttle but as soon as they realized I was right and that we could go right to the car they agreed. We took two golf carts and donated money to the drivers and they took us right to the car. We got on the road and headed up to Mason City. There was an accident coming out of the fair but we were able to avoid most of the traffic jam. We drove straight to Mason City without stopping and went right to Taco Tico. I got three tacos, Andrew got a quesadilla, Daniel got two enchiladas, and Michael got a soda. I had explain to everyone that after Taco Tico we would be going to an ice cream shop then a pizza place then possibly have more ice cream at Stephanie's. Man, I love those tacos! They were as delicious as I remembered! We drove to the old duplex I used to live in with my mom. It's now painted red. We drove past Roller City on the way. Birdsall's Ice Cream is right there so we parked in the Birdsall's parking lot and went in to get ice cream. 

I couldn't believe it when I tried the peppermint candy ice cream. It tasted exactly the same! It even had the little peppermint chunks like I remembered. I don't even like peppermint. I don't know why I ever ate that ice cream as a little girl but it sure tasted good. I talked to the owner and told him I used to live in that house and I used to go there 40 years ago when I was a little girl. I asked him how he got it to taste the same and he said the previous owner gave him all the recipes and taught him how to make it. It was amazing! Emily and Jonny each got peanut butter ice cream with chocolate chunks in it and Andrew got an orange float. Michael got a vanilla shake. We walked by the house. I feel like there used to be a door on the other side of the house but it was gone. I told the kids the story about the little girl who came over to go trick-or-treating with us with her mom one year. I think it was the year I was Strawberry Shortcake for Halloween. The little girl was so excited and she ran out into the street and was hit by a car right in front of us. That was a scary time. She spent about nine months recovering from her injuries and she was in a cast. It was pretty much a full body cast, if I remember correctly. Anyway, we got back in the car and drove over to Godfather's Pizza to meet Grandpa Freese and the Peshaks. Scott and Brenda were there with their little girl. I haven't seen Scott in many years and I've never met Brenda. Bob and Leah's kids are so cute! It was surprising to hear that nobody in Iowa starts school until next week. Not until after the fair. We had fun sitting there and talking to them. They had already ordered pizza. I offered to help pay but Deb said that Grandpa wanted to pay for it so that was very nice and we all thanked him. I forgot how good that pizza is. The kids happily got sodas and pizza. 

I wanted to leave at 6:30 PM but I think it was closer to 7 PM when we left. We drove over to Stephanie's house and we got there at about 7:30 PM. They have a new shed in their backyard. It's not really a shed and more like a gigantic garage that also has a kitchen and a bathroom and seating areas. We sat there and visited for a while. They had ice cream and strawberries and root beer floats for us. After a while, we went into the house and visited in there. When we walked over to the house, all the kids went downstairs. I think they ended up watching an Avengers movie. I had a great time talking to Rose and Steph and Vanessa. Michael talked with Scott and Steph and Merrill. Stephanie and Scott are going on a trip to Italy in about a week and a half so I was talking about our trip a little while with them. She has a beautifully remodeled kitchen. They took out a whole wall and made it completely open. It looks really nice! I'm so glad we got to see them! They were so surprised that we would bring all the kids for such a short amount of time but I just had to take the opportunity. 

We left a little after 10 PM. I couldn't resist driving past Grandpa and Grandma Schultheis's old house at 1234 Pleasant St. The kids were surprised when I told them that it was a replica of the house that I have on the wall in my office. We got to the hotel and it took me a while to check us in. It's like they didn't understand that we had three rooms for our whole family. We finally got that settled and we moved the car to the back so we could get to our rooms easily and we all got a little bit settled. We had a family prayer and talked about when we're going to leave tomorrow morning.

 

August 20, Sunday

I got up this morning at 7:30 AM. I told everyone I wanted to leave by 9 AM. We were in three separate rooms this time. I think it was around 9:30 AM when we finally left. We drove through St. Ansgar and stopped at the cemetery. Michael, Emily, and Daniel all got out with me. It was a quick visit. There was a ceramic bunny sitting next to Eddie's grave. It was turned over and the ear was missing. We noticed that there were a number of graves that had them, but it was only the ones with small children or infants. We had to take a detour to the farm because the bridge is out as they're repairing it. We didn't have to go too far out of our way, just to the road by the cemetery near Carpenter. It was so cool to drive up to the farm and see it with new life. BJ and Lori’s house is gorgeous! 

I know Grandpa and Grandma would've loved that they're living there. Adri went up to school at Iowa State yesterday so it was just BJ and Lori and Evan at home. Sam and Linda arrived soon after we did. It was so nice to see everyone. Brooke and her family came a little bit later, right before lunch. Brian and his family were busy at a baseball game. BJ showed us around the farm. We went to look at the cows and the kids fed the chickens. 

Daniel, Andrew, and Michael all took a turn holding a chicken and I got it on video. 

It's cool how they have that cow pasture set up. BJ said there was a lot more cement than they realized, once they cleared out all the weeds and stuff. It was also cool how they now have a gravel driveway behind the garage so they can go through there to get to their garage on the house. Lori took us on a tour inside. They have a master bedroom downstairs and an office. They also have an unfinished basement. Upstairs they have a second family room and two bedrooms and a guest room. It was cool the way they have their windows, kind of like Grandpa and Grandma had theirs. They have a really nice wraparound porch, as well. Linda made a nice lunch for us. It was chicken sandwiches and the oven potatoes that I always make for Easter. The cake she made was wonderful! It was in the shape of Iowa and she put Andrew and Jonny's names on it. 

It's Sam and Linda's 50th anniversary on Friday so she brought her wedding album and we were looking at some of the pictures. Brooke and her family had to go so we got a group picture. 

Then BJ took us down to the bridge and showed us what they're doing. It's a pretty huge project  It's very interesting how they're doing it. The kids had fun walking across the little skinny makeshift bridge. 

Then we drove over to the rock dam. The water isn't flowing very much because they've had a drought. Then it was already time to go back to the house and say our goodbyes and get going. It was so great to see all of them. 

I think it was about 1:45 PM when we left. We stopped at a rest area north of Ames. When we got close to the airport, we got gas and then we went through a Panera drive-through and then went over to McDonald's and went inside. Only Emily and I ordered Panera and everybody else got McDonald's. We ate our food and headed over to the airport. We left from the same gate we arrived at on Friday. We even saw a mom and her little baby who had been on our same flight from Phoenix. There was a dust storm in Phoenix so there was quite a bit of turbulence as we were descending. We had parked in short term parking so that made it easy to get home. Michael did all the driving this weekend and I was so grateful. While he drove us home from the airport, I talked to the kids again about the miracle of seeing my friend Karen. It actually related very closely to the lesson this week so I gave them a little family home evening lesson. I talked to them about feeling God's love for us and how I know that experience was God showing his love for me. I made sure they know that when Michael and I say there are no such things as coincidences, we genuinely mean it. We got home and everybody had something to eat. We were so exhausted but it was a wonderful trip and I’m so glad we got to go!