I'll sure miss Iowa Falls

We're moving on Friday and I'm WAY sad. But I am sooooooooooo glad we came up here- the best decision ever. I am not looking forward to the actual move but I'd do it all again, even for such a short time. We've had a great time recently:

• We went camping at Beeds Lake north of I.F. -gorgeous lake, we took Baby Evan out on a paddle boat!
• We went tubing on the Iowa River- thanks to the Bernards for babysitting
• Speaking of the Bernards (ward friends and James' boss) we babysat for them- way fun- we caught frogs and cruised around their huge property in the ranger (like a golf cart)
• We got home from the Bernards and a huge frog was sitting in our driveway, so I caught it and took it over to them
• Playing in the baby pool with Karin and her 1 year old daughter Selena (mormon neighbor)
• Karin made us DELICIOUS Peruvian food for dinner and we talked and watched the olympics
• spent more time visiting Wilma (80 year old neighbor)
• Road trip to Nauvoo for the Nauvoo pageant, went to the Field of Dreams- I've wanted to go there for a long time! Drove through Cedar Rapids and saw the tragic flood devastation, went to an awesome Mississippi River Museum in Dubuque- way fun museum-drove through Amish areas and went into cute Amish stores

Okay, okay, okay, what do I have to complain about? It has been an AWESOME summer. We've made the best memories and some great friends. I really never expected to get to know the neighbors with us being here such a short time. I was just excited about living in such a beautiful place and having my walks, etc. But now the neighbors are one of the biggest things I'll miss. I can run down to Wilmas anytime to borrow flour or have Evan visit or just chat. I've learned so much from her- she is so positive about life even though she lost her husband to cancer and only has one son who lives far away. She said she could go live near her son but he has a family and is happy and she doesn't expect him to make her happy- she just lives her own life. We've had some great religious discussions- she's asked about polygamy and hard subjects but it's all been really friendly- and a good experience for me.

Karin next door has had major challenges. She had cancer while she was pregnant with her daughter and her intestines were full of poisons that were hurting the baby so they were forced to take the baby by c-section at 27 weeks. After 4 months in the hospital her daughter was released from the hospital. She went through chemotherapy and now mother and daughter are doing very well. But I've thought I had a bad labor- I can't imagine how hard that must have been. It's a miracle her daughter survived.

You learn from everyone you meet and I'm so glad I got to make new friends if even for a short time. And I live close enough that maybe I can stop by and visit every once in a while. So anyway, I'll post pictures later but right now I just want to sum up AGAIN some of the things I'll miss. And say how GRATEFUL I am for the great experiences I've had. When James first got this job I thought it would be such a HARD summer- I thought I'd never see him with him commuting so much- and with him going to Mexico right off I really worried it would be a long summer. He first mentioned moving up here and I IMMEDIATELY turned it down- I thought it would be pointless to move for such a short time- but then he drove me up to see his work and I was in love right away. And you know the rest of the story. So here's the list:

• My Walks- River Road over to Weaver's Cove or over the swinging bridge to Foster Park or the LONG WALKS either to the Bernards or the big loop down Siloam Road (let's just say I had several different routes)
• stopping at parks on my walks to read by the river-I did so much reading up here
• bike rides
• My cute apartment- I love the front door back door house feel, the no coin laundry (I'll miss that SO MUCH), the GARAGE- never having to haul the stroller up the stairs, just throw it in the garage- I'll miss that!
• Tennis at Assembly Park and walking across the swinging bridge to get there
• lifting the stroller all by myself over the posts to cross the swinging bridge without James-they have these posts to keep wide things like vehicles from going over the bridge- and it keeps the stroller out too- so I got tough lifting it!
• the town shutting down at 9 pm except Walmart- 11 pm wahoo-
• getting pulled over a block from my house- this is a little secret James doesn't know about- I didn't get a ticket!
• cute little shops and trying out new places to eat- hated the Pizza Ranch buffet but loved their take-out, loved Porters on Main and the Princess Cafe...
• the Library- walking there to read to Evan- checking out movies, and yes, racking up late fines even for such a short time here
• beautiful drives with James
• such a scenic place- river, trees and cornfields- the best combination
• scrapbooking by my big window or doing embroidery
• Just feeling like we were away from big cities and fast paced life
• THE fact that I got to live out in the country in Iowa- my dream- even if it sounds crazy to some people- but I never thought I'd get to live in rural Iowa

Now for the things I won't miss, so I'll feel better:

• House issues- the bottom plugs on each outlet don't work
• no blinds in the second bedroom
• hate the living room carpet-shows every little thing
• no garbage disposal or dishwasher- can't WAIT to have a dishwasher
• I love the back door but I hate how we never come in the front door- we never use it and neither do neighbors, so everyone enters in the laundry room-I wish they'd enter in the front but it's just not practical to go all the way around the house when we all park in back

Most the house issues we could complain about and fix but we just didnt' think it was worth it- we have a really nice landlord. But anyway, just had to be negative so I'd realize it's okay to move. Now for what I'm looking forward to in Des Moines:

• We have a great apartment in Des Moines
• half the ward will be living there it seems- okay, this could be good could be bad-jk- we just feel sorry for our neighbors!
• friends close by, especially since James'll be so busy- really good for winter to have friends near
• Beautiful walking trail, park-ish place behind our apartment-fun trail to get to it
• all the awesome walking trails in Des Moines
• playgroup again
• dishwasher, bigger apartment even than here
• feeling more permanent and able to really unpack and get settled

I'm sure there's lots more to look forward to. So pictures later but it's really late and I'm tired. James' family will be in town Tuesday so we'll be busy with them and moving, so a busy week ahead. Long enough post?????