Who Says You Can't Go Home?!

I always love going home. I remember in college I would get so excited for a weekend at home - seeing high school friends, visiting relatives, and eating a home cooked meal. I always had to stop at the high school to catch up with old teachers, too. Now I look forward to going "home" just as much. Even though Spirit Lake is our home now and where we own a house and are starting a family, I can't drive down one street in Spirit lake and have a thousand memories flood back to me. When I go home it's the football field and all those nights cheering under the lights, the dance studio where I spent so many hours, the Hy-Vee where I knew exactly where everything was that I needed & everyone knew my name, the hair salon where the same lady cut my hair for years, the farm I grew up on & even though my house has been torn down - I can still drive by & think of every moment we shared as a family, and the high school where I fell in love with my sweetheart! It's crazy to think that my children will have those memories .. but here. (or maybe not - you never know where we'll end up!) Some people just couldn't wait to get out of my hometown, and while I can't say I could ever go back to living there - I sure do get homesick sometimes.

I got my favorite doughnut (the filled long john with the crumbles on top!) at the bakery, my favorite pizza (Breadeaux) and got to catch up with quite a few people. My grandma was sick with the flu, but I couldn't keep myself from stopping by her room to show her my baby bump and tell her I love her. I stayed with my aunt & uncle & cousins which is always fun! Uncle Jerry had picked out a pair of Iowa State slippers for Poppy. Saturday morning I got to watch my little brother play in two basketball games. I was such a proud sister - he's quite aggressive out there. I didn't know I was so competitive, but I got really excited when he had a good move or play! Saturday afternoon I visited some friends and got to catch up! Then it was off to Clarinda fto spend the night with Robyn & Lily. If you don't know this already, I LOVE Lily. She has had me wrapped around her finger since the minute she was born. We spent the evening twirling around, doing moves from her dance class, and singing from a church bulletin while she played the piano. We finished the night watching "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" and Robyn actually zonked out before me for once.

Sunday was one of the best days ever!! We loaded up Robyn's truck and headed to David's Bridal in Omaha. We met the other ladies in Red Oak and made our way! I felt like I was on an episode of "Say 'Yes' to the Dress" because I've never go to be part of someone's wedding dress experience. Our big party sat in the chairs and waited for her to come out with the first dress. I'll admit it was a little emotional for me .. she's so pretty that I'm pretty sure she could've come out in a potato sack and rocked it, but she was gorgeous!! Every dress she tried on was SO pretty. She did say YES before we left -- I got very anxious when the lady asked, "Is this your dress?" because I really didn't know what she was going to say (but really hoped she said YES because in my opinion it was PERFECT). We went out for lunch and then we met up with Benny and we headed home. Benny finally got to meet Baby Emma who was born in December - I'm way jealous I haven't met her yet, but I have a bad cold anyway so it was probably best I stayed away. He keeps talking all about her & it makes me so excited for when we have our own little one!

Our Wedding - May 22, 2010 - Can't wait to get
the reverse of this picture on June 1, 2013!!

It was a wonderful weekend at home - it always is! I'm always glad to be back at our house with just the two of us, but I look forward to the next time we get to go back for a visit .. and the best part is I have today off!!

Baby Enma smiling at Benny!

The AWESOME wreath Emma's mommy made us!