4th of July Weekend in Iowa

So...Duane and I were going to try to go somewhere like New York City or Vancouver for the long weekend, but, it didn't work out, so he headed to North Dakota to see his family, and I headed to Tingley to see mine.  It was actually a very nice, yet brief, visit, and it was REALLY good to just do "nothing" for a day and a half.

I decided to drive down on Friday afternoon.  I was going to leave on Saturday morning, but the plumber came to fix the dripping tub Friday morning, and one of the parts was defective.  He had other jobs to get to, so left it all where it was.  I decided to GET OUT OF DODGE. so that I wouldn't have to deal with all of the closet stuff piled in the bedroom, and the whole "not having a shower" thing...

I managed to get to Tingley before Robin, Dave, and the girls got there, since they "antiqued" their way down, and stopped for dinner at Carlos O'Kelly's in Des Moines.  We spent a LOVELY hour or two on the porch swing in the back yard, and caught up for the rest of the evening.

Saturday morning, Robin and I walked the three mile trail (which turned out to be FOUR) in Mt. Ayr.  They converted an old railroad line into a paved walking/biking/jogging path.  It was LOVELY, but Robin and I decided we were WAY more acclimated to the city...especially when two birds, which were chasing each other. flew into the path in front of us, and we BOTH screamed like girls....

The rest of the day was spent in the porch swing, and putting together mom and dad's new grill (so that we could barbecue that night). I HATE assembling things!  I think everything should come ALREADY ASSEMBLED.  Dad and I got a good start on it, but LUCKILY Dave came to help, and it actually got done correctly...

Before grilling commenced, dad took Abigail and I out to see what the wild plum "crop" looked like this year.  Last year, we weren't able to find ANY wild plums at all, so I only made crabapple jelly.  This year...it looks good.  I think jelly making in August will be very "fruitful" (pun intended)...

The COOLEST part of the search was sitting in the back of the pickup in a downpour, speeding down a dirt road to get through before it became a MUD road.  We had stopped in a couple of places to look for cool rocks in the ditch, and dad suggested that we GO, since the clouds looked like they could cut loose at any time.  They did, and it was SO COOL to feel the rain pelting against my head as we zipped back to the house!

We watched "Toy Story II" after dinner, and went to bed.  I FORGOT how cool those movies are!  I recently saw "Toy Story III", and now need to watch the original "Toy Story" to see how it all began!

Yesterday was rainy and humid, so I spent most of my time, before leaving, on the porch swing on the front porch.  It was EXTREMELY weird to go to Tingley for the 4th of July and NOT be at Sun Valley Lake, but it was nice, and relaxing, and mom and dad have done GREAT things with the yard, so it was fun to just hang out there...who knew??!!

I did NOT take my camera, so I have NO pictures to post from the weekend.  Robin and  Dave DID take a photo of Abigail and I after our ride in the rain.  If they send it to me, I'll post it!

Here's hoping YOU were able to have a relaxing and family-filled 4th of July weekend!