Iowa State Fair

Two hours of driving, but we made it to the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines!! We stayed for 6 hours and had to drag Hadley away!! It was a great time..very crowded. We spent a great deal of time in the carnival area and then saw all the animals..Hadley's favorite was the baby pigs that were born the day before! She also LOVED petting the horses and wanted to buy one! We snacked all day on the food..chicken on a stick, pork chop on a stick, smores on a stick, you name it and it was on a stick!! Here are some pics of the day...


Eating a pork chop on a stick!!

A tissue please

So today was Hadley's first day of kindergarten. We had been preparing for this, talking about it, reading a few books on kindergarten. We headed out to the ice cream social very excited to meet her new teacher, who turns out is Mrs. Jepson. Hadley saw her classroom, played on the playground and we very excited for school to start. Last night we got all her stuff out, her school bag, supplies, outfit and Hadley let me know what she wanted in her lunch bag.
Made our way to school this morning, she was very excited and ready to go. She was happy to find her hook and placed her bag on it, put her lunch bag where it goes, placed her water bottle on her table, and was happy. Then, Mommy told her I had to go..Hadley was not so happy! She gave me a big hug, clinging to my neck. I got her back to her table and said I would wait until another kid came to her table. Within 3 minutes two other kdis came that were at her table. Second attempt to leave, Hadley's face got sad and she said that she wanted Mommy to stay. This is where Mommy's heart started to break. I held back the emotions and got her playing with the other kids at the table and Jason looked at me and said, "We just need to leave." So I told her I would be there to pick her up after school, blew her a big kiss and walked off. She didn't get up this time, so I think she is okay. That is the worst part, you leave them there, thinking (and knowing) they are okay. I made it to the car before some tears fell..and then was okay. Once I walked in the door at home I realized...my Hadley wasn't her with me anymore. My buddy who I have done everything with the last 6 weeks is at school. I knew being home with her this summer would make it harder, but I wouldn't change the time we had together. So here are the many pics...
Here are some pics of Hadley at the ice cream social:
Standing by her name on the door, she made this..

hanging around outside....


And here are the pics of her today:
With Daddy:

With Mommy:

Proud of her Ariel Backpack and Lunch Tote:

My big girl...


The shot all Mom's dread..

Her name on her desk:

Very happy once we got there...


The shot that broke my heart..her sad when I told her we were leaving..

Iowa City Happenings

You would think that I would be posting like crazy since I have been home with Hadley, not working, and just playing..well..and cleaning, laundry, etc! But I have been so busy that I haven't even thought about it. These last 6 weeks have gone so fast! We have gotten "settled" here in Iowa City. We all miss Chicago and our condo more than we thought we would, and all agree the small town life is a little too small for us. At least the small town college life. We have found some great new restaurants, love the outlets..coach outlet and gymboree outlet only 30 minutes away is going to be dangerous! The mall is good; there is the Children't Museum, indoor ice skating, and good indoor play area. But there is no Disney Store. And anyone who knows my daughter, she is all about the Disney Store (and her mother too!)The closest Disney Store is Kansas or the Mall of America!! So we had to get all Hadley's school things when we were home in Kansas! The parks, well, they are okay. We will never find parks like the ones in Chicago, and we will never have 4 parks within walking distance. The closest park here is about half a mile walk, which we do often!
But the town has some nice benefits. It is a very nice town, people are very helpful and talkative. Jason loves his fellowship and is learning a ton, which is great since he starts practicing on his own in July 2010!! And we have met some great people for me and Hadley to hang around thanks to a program the residency/fellowship has. And I love that my old college friend Carolyn is only 35 minutes away..we have really enjoyed catching back up!
So overall the city has been fun, and I have been busy with Hadley and have been very blessed to be home with her. I think it has done great for her too. Yes we do still have her attitude at times, but she has been so much easier than she was 6 weeks ago.
So, in the end Iowa City will be a nice place for the next year, but really, starting in 6 months, I will be getting us ready to find a house and move to Kansas!!