I rode down with Robin and Dave and the girls on Saturday morning. We stopped at Carlos O'Kelley's in Des Moines (we ALWAYS hit a C O'K if there's one nearby!), then went to the sad, sad Merle Hay Mall to shop for a little while before going to the park for the party (don't ask what park, because I have NO IDEA what the name of it was). We shopped at Kohl's and a Waldenbooks (I didn't know they still HAD Waldenbooks anywhere!), then headed to the party.
It was great to see most of the family there...Swigarts, Webers, Browns, mom and dad...everyone but Darvin and crew (but since they are in Georgia, it's understandable!). As I predicted, the high school friends sat in a group on one side of the gazebo, and the "family" sat on the other, but it was nice to catch up with everyone, and, except for the wind and the pollen and dust blowing everywhere, was a good time.
After the party, we stopped at Hy-Vee (from previous entries, you'll remember this is my FAVORITE grocery store!), and bought "beverages" to drink at the hotel, then ATTEMPTED to get to where we were staying. I should say OUR vehicle got there, but dad called on his cell phone to say that they'd gone ahead and were waiting in the Holiday Inn parking lot. I relayed the message to the people in MY car, and Robin realized that they were at the WRONG hotel (we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn), but I didn't catch it until we got to the RIGHT hotel, and they weren't there. We called them (what DID we do before the invention of cell phones??!!), and directed them to the ACTUAL hotel we were staying in, and EVENTUALLY they made it to the right place, and it was all good from there.
The hotel is located right across the street from Jordan Creek Mall, so OF COURSE we had to do a little MORE shopping. I was WAY SAD to see that the gourmet market that Duane and I LOVED had closed. Apparently there are not enough gourmands in West Des Moines to keep a place like that open. Too bad...it was AWESOME!
After a little shopping and "recouperating" at the hotel we went to Red Robin for dinner. UNFORTUNATELY they'd never heard of the Baja Turkey Club sandwich (my FAVORITE Red Robin entree), so I settled for a Caribbean Jerk Chicken sandwich...good, but not FABULOUS (like the Baja Turkey Club!). I'll have to see if it's still on the menu up here in the cities...it's AMAZING.
Kim came over to the hotel on her motorcycle around 9:00, and we chatted until about midnight. It was great to catch up. She and Ashley used to come up a couple of times a year, and spent SEVERAL memorable weekends with us in the cities...it was AWESOME to have them here, and we got to know them much better because of those visits. We're hoping that they resume coming to see us again...someday.
On Sunday we had breakfast in the hotel...it was WONDERFUL. $8.95 for omelettes, pancakes, waffles, cereal, toast, fried potatoes, sausage, biscuits and gravy, oatmeal, pastries, fruit, yogurt, coffee, juice...whatever you wanted to eat! It was AWESOME...if you need a hotel in Des Moines, the Hilton Garden Inn is the place to stay!
The only UN-WONDERFUL part of the weekend was when Robin and Dave chose BREAKFAST to tell mom and dad that they were no longer going to be Emilie and Abigail's guardians, if anything should happen to Robin and Dave. I can see their point...they want Dave's brother and sister-in-law, who live in Kansas City, to be their guardians (something about "metropolitan area", and younger, more energetic people to raise the girls). The rest of the morning, pretty much, SUCKED. Dad was devastated...TOTALLY blind sided by the announcement...mom had an "inkling" that it was going to happen...so was a little more "prepared", but a REAL downer of a morning!
I understand the rationale behind the change in "guardianship", and I DO think the girls will be better off in a metropolitan area, with "younger" people to watch over them, and it's all "moot" (because Robin and Dave aren't going to die for years and years and years), but it was still a little bit of a "slap in the face" to mom and dad, and I feel very sad for them that this all happened.
After a little "pool time" (jacuzzi for me...!), mom and dad packed up the car, and headed back to Tingley. I think they might have stayed to hang out with us a little longer, but after the "guardianship" bombshell, I think they needed to leave, lick their wounds, and regroup.
We had planned on meeting Kim and Ashley at Valley Junction, a "boutiquey" area near downtown, with lots of antique shops and specialty shops, so went ahead with the plan. It was actually quite fun...they had their spring art fair on Sunday, so we had a chance to see some COOL local arts and crafts, and I got to eat my first "walking taco", or "talking waco" as we dubbed them.
I'd never had one before, but Robin said that they make them sometimes at Tupperware parties to show off some of the plastic. You, basically, take an individual bag of Doritos, slit the side, add seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and taco sauce, stuff a fork in it, and have a taco that you can eat while walking around. It was QUITE tasty!
After a few hours at the art fair, we headed home, and ended up back in the cities around 6:30. It was a (mostly) GREAT weekend to catch up with everyone, and I'm feeling WAY old, now that Ashley is graduating...wasn't she JUST 10??!! She plans on going to Iowa State University to study fashion design, and I think she'll be an AWESOME college student, and a GREAT success in the fashion industry. She really IS an amazing girl!
Hope YOUR weekend was fun, and that YOU got to reconnect with family and friends!
1 comment:
How do you not know what a walking taco is???? Maybe your nieces don't play any sports, but it is the usual fare at sporting event concession stands. They're yummy! :)
BTW, thanks for the text. Everything went well with Dad's surgery. We'll talk soon...
Post a Comment