Trip to Iowa

Josh and I were able to fly to Iowa just in time for my brother to get home from his mission! I wasn't sure I would make it but I couldn't imagine not being there. I'm so grateful things worked out so I could be there. My brother, Trevor, served his 2 year mission in Ecuador. It was so wonderful to see him and hear in person from him more about his mission and spend time together as family. Trevor has matured and grown and become more loving and selfless because of his mission. His testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ is so strong and it has strengthened my testimony.


I will never forget the moment we saw Trev for the first time in 2 years. I was overcome with emotion. I had missed him but I was also so proud of him for serving a faithful mission. I was so happy our family could all be together. And it was the first time Trev met Josh!

Trev brought back a lot of neat souvenirs from Ecuador and brought us gifts! Trev had baptized a woman named Beatriz Luna and had become close with their family. She knit each of us a pair of babuchas and helped Trev pick out jewelry for us. It was such a neat gift to receive, something I will always treasure.

We had a tie-dye party and it was a lot of fun. I had never tie-dyed before. My younger sisters are pros so they taught me. The party went into the night so my dad had to get a huge lamp he had in his shop to hang up for us on the deck so we could see. He also got us drinks since we were workin so hard. It was a lot of fun.

Josh had the time.of.his.life. He was in heaven. He had a huge backyard to freely roam around in (we don't play as much in our backyard because it's not fenced in and has a steep dropoff on one side). He played in the sandbox, in the kiddie pool, with the hose, in the grass, in the swing, with the dog. He ran around and just loved the freedom. He also loved all the fun new toys to play with. His favorites were the jar of beaded necklaces and bracelets that he pulled out and put back in, pulled out and put back in. He also loved the Barbie laptop, the karaoke machine, the DDR pad, the wheelbarrow, the shopping cart, and more. He took great naps and slept great through the night I think because he was so worn out all the time!

Josh loved playing with Grandma and Grandpa and his aunts and uncle. He loves them so much and loved all the constant love and attention. All the love made me so happy.


We celebrated Abigail's birthday, had movie parties (watched movies Trev hadn't seen while he'd been gone for 2 years), made treats, played a lot of Just Dance 2, had a bonfire and made s'mores, learned dance routines from Blair (she's 9 and choreographs her own dances that are totally good, like seriously legit, like Biebs could learn a thing or two), went Goodwill-treasure-hunting and found some gems like this dress for my adorable sister and this skirt and this skirt for me, drove in storms involving tornado warnings, played games that made us laugh, survived some really hot days, went shopping, stayed up late talking and getting "punchy", did closet makeovers, planted a garden, went on walks, talked Harry Potter, cooked meals together, braided hair, went out to eat, got massages, visited Abigail at the bakery she works at and got treats of course (I highly recommend the cutout cookies and Slice of Heaven).

Brandon got to come for a few days too! He had to work at the NCAA track championships in Des Moines so work paid for him to fly out there and after working, he had a few extra days so he got to be with us. Brandon and I got to go to a movie together, alone, which hadn't happened since having Josh. It was a really good movie and so fun to go on a date.


Our last night there the weather had cooled off so it was a perfect night for a bonfire and s'mores.














It was such a fun vacation! We had the time of our lives and it was so fun to be with family. I also really loved having a break from entertaining Josh 24/7. It was really refreshing for me. I love my family so much. It is always heaven to be with them.
-Amy