Kirk and I had a very busy summer in Albia with family being so close in almost all directions of us. Aside from worrying about Kristy and Robyn getting lost on their hike at Zion National Park (all is well), and Ben and his family enduring a severe thunderstorm while camping in Chippewa Falls, WI that same weekend (again, all is well), I am doing well myself now. No matter how old our children get, we parents will continue to worry about them, just like we did when they were small. It never stops. Of course, praying for them is always my number one go to. Nothing above that!
Kristy and Robyn at Arches Canyon in Utah before the hike!
Then there is my husband, Kirk. On 7/30 he started having pains in his abdomen. It was bad enough, that he thought he should go to the ER. It has to be bad for him to want to go there. Being in the small town of Albia, Iowa, we were able to get in right away. After many, many tests (blood, x-rays, CT, etc), everything was negative. He does have a history of pancreatitis, so they did give him a shot of pain meds which made him very nauseated (did take the pain away though), and we went home. We've had a couple of small bouts since that time, but they seem to be manageable, especially when we know there isn't much they can do (so, I get out my essential oils :) ).
Adyson's birthday party was the weekend of 8/7-8/9 in Minneapolis. She had a wonderful, fun party at Kristy's place with lots of friends and family present. Then we (Kirk and I, Kristy, Robyn, Ady, Ben and Nicki, Bella, and Isaac) went to the St Paul East RV Park in ST Paul and stayed in a cabin, with Ben and Nicki also having their camper there. What a fun birthday weekend. Oh yeah, Ady is now 12 years old.
Adyson and her mommy, Robyn at Ady's 12 year old birthday party.
Camping in ST Paul with these crazies!
End of an awesome birthday weekend. Happy Birthday Ady!
On 8/11 Kirk's mother (Mavis) had a slight, yet scary mishap while downtown Gladbrook. Kirk hopped on his motorcycle the next morning and rode there to check on her. Again, all was well with Mavis. Another reason it was nice to be this close to family. The next day, Kirk got a call from Lindsey (Nate's wife) to say that Nate was in the hospital due to some ongoing numbness in his left foot. I don't believe they ever did find any reason for it, but it sure was a scare and he seems to be doing fine.
On 8/15 we attended the Iowa State Fair. I had gone many years ago with my son Ben. We went to see the Moody Blues play in concert. Afterwards there was a fantastic fireworks display. However, at that time, I didn't really get to see all the fair stuff (or at least I don't recall). Aside from that, Kirk and I had a great time there. I had my first ever Iowa famous Guinnea Grinder, which has now been changed to the Jennie Grinder (due to being politically correct ). It was pretty good. We also visited the cows, pigs, butter cow, rode the sky tram, did a lot of walking (it was extremely hot), had fried oreos, turkey legs, and probably other stuff I'm not mentioning. We also met Nate and Mason there and spent a little time with them. Mason loved the oreo. This particular Saturday just happened to be when all the republican candidates (or at least most of them) were there to speak on the Soapbox Stage. Trump flew over the fair in his helicopter and walked through the streets. All in all we had a great time. The fair lasts for 10 days, and on 8/21 while I was at work, Kirk rode his motorcycle back to the fair to see Nate and his band (Nate Nelson and the State Street Band) play on the Bud Light stage early afternoon. Earlier in the day, the band had an interview on the television morning show in Des Moines. Kirk said they did a great job. They were allowed to play for 45 minutes which is typical of the bands playing at the fair and had a good amount of people attending.
Riding over the Iowa St Fair; kinda nervous on this ride
Selfie at the State fair
Yummy fried oreos
Mason enjoying his first fried oreo
Look for the red hat....Trump!
Three generations of Nelsons.
What's a fair without a butter cow.
Kirk and grandson, Damon enjoying Nate and band playing at the fair.
Nate and the State Street Band at the Iowa State Fair.
That same evening after I got off work and Kirk was home we ate out in downtown Albia at the Albia Brewing Co. I had my very first "flight". It contained 6 samples of the beers made there. There was only one of the six that I really could have done without. Sure glad Kirk is my designated driver.
My first "flight", and that would be because I'm not a big beer drinker.
On 8/25 Nate met Kirk in Pella, Iowa where they spent the day golfing. Kirk says they had a really good father/son day.
Bos Landen Golf Course in Pella
On 8/28 Kirk and I drove to Wonewoc for the weekend to Chapparal Campground. Dennis and Diane (owners of the campground) have been good friends of ours since we first stayed there 5 years ago. We were able to visits with Kurt and Laurie, Tracy and Michelle, and several other seasonals. We also made it a point to visit with Ron and Arlene at their home. Ron took us to his garden and gave us some of his homegrown tomatoes, and jalepeno peppers. We stayed in one of the cabins as we didn't take the RV this trip. Also that weekend, Ben and Nicki were DJ'ing at her cousins wedding, so we took Bella and Isaac and had them spend the night with us in the cabin. We had a great time. Those kiddos love to camp. On our way home to Albia, we stopped at the Costco in Coralville, Iowa. This was a neat Costco as ALL their customer parking was in a single floor garage. Great concept. Especially since they get lots of snow in the winter. Costco treats their customers right.
Breakfast with our good friends from Chapparal Campground. Sure do miss those guys!
Got our cheese fix. Nothing like Wisconsin cheese, especially with these ladies!
One of two favorite things these kiddos love to do at Chapparal. The other is having blue moon ice cream.
My first batch of pickled jalepenos. Thanks Ron and Arlene.
Our last weekend in Albia (9/12) we drove to Monmouth for the day to see Robyn and Ady. They were staying with their grandma/great grandma for a couple of months. It just happened to be the weekend of the Prime Beef Festival. When I was growing up in Monmouth, the PBF was a huge event, starting with the parade on Wednesday. We did have a good day. I ran into a couple of old school friends, had ribeye sandwiches, and enjoyed a ride or two. I was really looking forward to the Industrial tent, however, it was a huge disappointment. Anyway, this day was about Robyn and Ady which we ended with dinner at Petey's. As always, it was hard saying good-bye. We would be heading to Texas in a few days.
Stopped at the church tent for pie...ate it all up!
Ady trying to win at bumper cars
Robyn having fun at the PBF.
