Daytrip to Ames!

Mission accomplished: we found the world's biggest gnome. He was a little tricky to get in a picture, but thankfully we had the selfie stick! :)

Hickory Park is a must for people who had never been!

In the butterfly garden.

First stop: lunch at Olde Main.

Last stop: Colo bar, which I'd never been in.

I showed them the Campanile on campus, since the gardens had several small campaniles. 

Me and Cy!

Reiman Gardens this year has "treehouses" of all different shapes and sizes. This one is a castle theme, though it's hard to see.

These are at the top of a jack-o-lantern shaped treehouse.

This one is a cake!

This is a little bird's nest area.

This one is like a little school with a chalkboard.

I love this little walkway. It was so pretty!

Giant dandelions...or something...

This one is a little metal house that has words carved into it. It was so cool!

This was an egg type structure.

And a Chinese themed treehouse.

We had such a fun day! 

School's Out!

Fun, free painting session at the library tonight!

We used old library cards to paint the black on the trees.

Taped off the tree limbs!

30 mile bike rides deserve ice cream cones.

Our typical picture by the lions on the bridge.

Picked these yesterday at my parent's house. Nothing beats fresh strawberries, and I don't even like strawberries!

Another thing nothing beats::Hickory Park.

Party bus picture from Friday night! My work crew.

80th birthday girl!

We accidentally wore matching outfits...

:)

Tambourine injuries are real. Blisters, bruises, ouch.

Love this lady! My library coworker!

Kids did chalk the walk--I found robots, titanic, and poems. I think I taught them something!

New obsession: wrap with turkey, sharp cheddar, lettuce, onions & green apples.

And another new obsession::pizza quesadilla. 

And my always obsession: ice cream. This was after a 26 mile ride.

Gotta keep my eye on this guy.

Trying a new fountain...mostly he just spills it.

He is cute though.

Me & Amy, my library working, roller derby playing friend.

Graduation party!

At the first Uptown Friday Night of the year. I love live, outdoor music. And my friend Katie Clime!

The kids always do it, so we did on the last day of school! 

So Many Things!

If I updated this more than once every 2 weeks, there wouldn't be so much to say! 

Handsome cat...complete with water drops on his nose. 

Today we took 21 students to present technology projects at the Eastern Iowa ITEC Fair. Two of our groups got purple ribbons and get to present at ITEC next year! ITEC is the biggest conference in the state, so this is a big deal for our kids!

Yesterday, I stopped at Panera to get bagels and was greeted by this duck. He wanted in so bad!

Sunday was perfect for biking! 16 miles, and not even too sore on Monday.

Giant Jenga on Saturday night!

This burger from the Broken Spoke was AMAZING! It had bacon, fried mac & cheese bites, onion straws, jalepeno straws, cheese, and a fried egg. Yummmmmm.

I hung up my painting! It mostly matches my shower curtain!

Celebrating Miller's birthday and our first night of Volley's last week.

The best thing in the world. They were gone in 3 days. 

Selfie stick time!

Our final paintings...

Saturdays with a selfie stick!

Turns out, there's a bar in Cedar Rapids with a realllll basketball hoop! And I never knew it! We had several free throw contests. At one point I hit 15 in a row! Woo!