Iowa Trip

Our trip was great! We had a really good time. It was so nice to get away for a while. The weather was kind of crappy, so that made it hard to do much..but other than that I think it was a total blast. We got to spend a lot of time with family. And of course Aubry won everyone's hearts! :) Speaking of, she did really really well on the plane! I should have known she would!

The day after we landed was Jon's memorial. We woke up to snow that morning! It was supposed to be in the 60's & sunny while we were there! Heck no it wasn't! Ha! The memorial was rough, just like I knew it would be. Jon was a wonderful man, & it was really nice to see so many people come to pay their respects & tell their stories about him. I wish we wouldn't have been seeing his family under those terms, but it is what it is I suppose. They are all really great, sweet people.  

Like I said before, the weather was pretty crappy, but there were a few days we got to take Aubry out & let her burn off some energy. My grandma has a big beautiful back yard & Aubry absolutely loved running around back there. It was so pretty & so nice to feel the grass under my toes!

The next exciting thing was Easter! Aubry got to color eggs for the first time. Though she really wasn't very interested. Todd, Jess, & the boys were there by that point, so it was a lot of fun coloring the eggs. The boys are so silly. Then we did an Easter egg hunt the next morning. Aubry had fun, I think. It was funny, we had real eggs of course, then we had plastic ones with candy in them, & once Aubry figured out the plastic ones had candy, she wanted nothing to do with the real eggs! haha. She's a silly kid. She had way too much candy that day, I'm sure. But hey, it was Easter. She also got barbies, a big pink bunny, hot wheels (Richard's doing, if you hadn't guessed) & the movie Tangled. SUCH a cute movie! The night we bought it, Aubry went to bed & me, Richard & mom stayed up until like 11:30 watching it. haha! Everyone went over to grandma's for Easter dinner, & that was really nice too. Aubry had fun playing with Kylan (my cousin Jill's son). My cousin Nick also called that day, I can't remember the last time I heard from him. It was really great to talk to him, & know he is doing well. 

 Coloring eggs

 Shoving candy in her mouth as fast as she could haha

 Aubry coloring with Auntie Jess

 Aubry & Kylan

One of grandma's neighbor's was amazing with chalk! We all had to walk down to see his driveway haha

The rest of the trip was tons of fun, we got to do lots of different things. But most important was spending time with family. We got to spend a lot of time with my cousin Randi & her husband Ian, & that was seriously SO much fun! They're awesome! We also got to spend a lot of time with my uncle Jim, who has always been my favorite. Aubry totally adored him! Seeing Robin & Tommy was also great. The last time I saw them Tommy was about 4 or 5 years old. Now he's 20! Crazy, crazy. We had so much fun & created so many memories. I can't wait to go do the same in Montana with Richard's family! :)

Aubry got to pet 2 baby cows! They were only 10 & 11 days old

 This was the first night we got to hang out with Randi & Ian. I wish I had taken more pictures. Me, Randi & Jess

 The guys had a lot of fun too. Todd, Ian & Richard

 Aubry seriously adored Uncle Jim! The first day she met him she was going to leave with him, no problem! haha

 Us & Grandma. I got up early every morning with grandma (not by choice, Aubry made me!) & we got to spend a lot of extra time together & bond. It was really nice.

Aubry learned how to say "grapa" while we were there, because every time we turned around she was either going in his room to see him, or he was coming out asking where she was. <3

I can't leave out the most important part of this blog post...the day after we got back, Aubry had an appointment with her orthopedic doctor, and...HER BRACE IS OFF!!!! We could not be more happy!! He said her hips looked beautiful & that they were completely normal. The angles were 24 & 25 degrees (25 is normal). We have to go back every 3-4 months for a few years to get x-rays, then if everything is looking okay they will stretch it out to every 6 months. It's something we will have to watch for the rest o f her life, & her as well. We will have to make sure to let her know how important it is that she does her check ups. The surgeon did say that if they start to go back & get bad, we are past the point of a brace & she would need surgery. Of course all we can do is hope & pray that never happens. All I know is that I am so thankful that she has it off & she is looking fine for now. She is such a blessing in our lives & she's absolutely amazing!