A Thanksgiving Journey

Gather round, children, and listen to the tale of the year we traveled to Iowa for Thanksgiving...

Emerson was ready with reading material for the 5-hour trip to Cedar Falls, home of the Hays family.

We stopped along the way to stretch our legs and check out a big tractor at Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, home of the Iowa State Cyclones. (Why was there a tractor at the football stadium? I don't know--it's Iowa!)

Things got a little silly along the way...

We arrived in Cedar Falls and headed to a great group Thanksgiving dinner.

Emerson made many new friends--it was a baby party!

On Black Friday, we only ventured out to one store--Blain's Farm and Fleet. We made one purchase (a pair of John Deere socks for Emerson), but we got to test out some possible future Christmas presents.

OK, maybe not this one...

Emerson enjoyed the decor at Rudy's Tacos.

After a fun couple of days, it was time to head home. We ate at the Drake Diner in Des Moines, where Emerson happily waved at every customer and server that walked by.

We also took a moment to pose in front of the Iowa State Capitol. It was very cold and windy, but Brandon was wearing shorts--brrr!

At every stage of the trip, Emerson was ready to "go, go, go!" (And drooling, apparently.)

We checked out one of the famed covered bridges of Madison County (yes, those bridges).

Iowa in November...

Tennessee Trip

One little skeleton had a happy Halloween...

He helped Mommy and Daddy collect some of the toys he's outgrown, and Brisquette watched.

This week, he got to go on an exciting trip. Brandon presented some research at the National Academy of Neuropsychology conference in Nashville, and Alison and Emerson came along. (Grandma Lori was supposed to join us, but her flights were cancelled due to some bad weather on the East Coast...maybe you heard about that...) We missed her a lot, but we stayed busy and had a good time!

One highlight was exploring the hotel where the conference was held. The Gaylord Opryland is huge and has some incredible indoor gardens and water features. Alison thinks she and Emerson walked several miles while Brandon was in meetings.

We also had some time to see the sights in Nashville. We walked around the campus of Vanderbilt University, although Emerson slept through most of that.

We also saw one of the more unique landmarks of the city--a full-scale replica of the Parthenon, complete with a 42-foot gold-plated statue of Athena. It was pretty impressive!

Of course, it was important to keep up our energy with some good food. Emerson recommends squeezy food from a pouch; Mom and Dad recommend the Phat Bites deli (weird name, awesome food).

On the flight home, someone was tuckered out from all his adventures.

He was a big boy while Mommy sat far away on the airport shuttle.

Now he's happy to be lounging around at home (and Mommy's ready to fold lots of laundry)!