My girls

I miss my girls. Of course, if they were here, I wouldn't be able to type up a blog post about it. So I suppose I should be grateful for this time to myself, right? It's just me and Eli and Steve this week, which equals me and Eli because Steve is working late every night, which is actually just me because Eli has fallen asleep at 6:00 pm the last two nights leaving me to myself which is a very odd feeling that I am not used to.

What do I do with this time? A lot of pacing around looking for things to do. It seems my crazy busy life has come to an abrupt screeching halt this week and I just don't know what to do with myself. You can sing that song now if you want because I am.

I'm really happy that my mom took the girls this week. I love that she is such a great Grandma/"Bam" to them. They love her so much and I know she loves them too. She has the perfect counselor/Grandma combo that turns them into little problem solving using their words to calm disputes ANGELS. Why can't I achieve this greatness from day to day? Ehhh....this is unclear. Or maybe it is clear. But don't tell me.

Anyway, they are having lots of fun this week with Grandma in IC. And I am enjoying our phone conversations where Olivia sounds like a tiny grown up. Today she told me how she had written a story about a bird named Nacho and how she was on her way to the craft store to buy bird houses and how she was then going to go to my sister's preschool and be the teacher for her kids. First she'd read them the story. Then they'd all paint bird houses as a craft, based off the story she'd written. But, she added, she wouldn't be painting her bird house at the same time as the other kids, because....she was the oldest and the younger ones would just copy hers instead of using their own imagination.

Man, I love that kid.

And Sophie. I was lucky enough to snag her on the phone today, on the premise that I was aware first that she had the hiccups but she'd still say hi if I wanted her too. I did. She said it. She is the one word answer queen on the phone. That's alright. It saves me on my cellular bill in the future. I can already see it.

Man, I love that kid.

So while I sit here in my quiet house, with all the laundry and dishes done (weird), I miss them, but I'm happy they are there, living it up with their Bam, and giving me the opportunity to sit here and revel in how cool they really are, and how blessed I am to be their mama. I love you girls.

Bike it

Steve and I do not like spandex. 

That being said, we have miles upon miles of beautiful bike trails connecting every possible central Iowa town and area to one another. We love living in Polk City for that reason. There's lots of trails, lots of recreational areas to picnic and camp, all surrounding Saylorville Lake. We love it. 

I'll give you a free trip to Polk City if you listen to my timeshare talk.

Just kidding. There's no timeshare. Unless you want to rent out pTERRY, which might be quite fun! Think about it. 

I'll be calling you. 

Back to spandex. While I do not own spandex (you're welcome), I do love to bike. Trails, that is. It is a perfect activity for a family of a billion. Like us. When I say the "perfect activity", I mean it doesn't suck a lot. In fact, between the whining and multiple water breaks, I would say it was enjoyable! Over Memorial Day, we went to the High Trestle Trail Bridge, a new trail that connects several of our little towns surrounding Des Moines and giving us a spectacular view of the river. Here it is:

High Trestle Trail Bridge outlook

I was made to be a biker chick so I sported my bandana. Orrr..It was windy.

Eli was under that hat...sleeping.

Awake now! He loved the trail.

There's no picture of us on the ride back. I guess it was a smee easier to ride the 2.6 miles there with the 30 mph winds at our backs. It's amazing how much that helps. The way back was a little rough, but we made it. And it was a good day. We can't wait to do it again!