Alex's Visit

Ok so I know that I said I would update this thing once a week-ish and clearly I havent yet. BUT I do have a good excuse since I had so many visitors lately and so much going on. Therefore you are getting multiple posts today AND they will prlly be pretty long. lucky you :)

Alex arrived safe and sound on the evening of the 14th with a huge migraine and sniffles. He had the sniffles/a cold the entire time he was here (which I ended up getting as well and I actually felt rather yucky for a few days as well). We did not do much on that Thursday since he was tired and not feeling well ect. but we were both very excited about him being here and the realization that we were really no longer going to have to be in a long distance relationship. yay us!

Friday - Our anniversary and the 50's dance!

We didn't ever really do much in celebration of our anniversary because we were so busy that day and the whole time he was here. We intended on getting dressed up and having a nice dinner but that never happened. He did have to return the really nice shirt and vest I got for him due to it not fitting and unfortunately had to get a different shirt (we were both pissed about that for sure). Then we ate at HuHot and it was extra yummy. The 50's dance was super fun!! We were in charge of changing the boxes of wine when they were empty. A lot of people dressed up and there were 2 Harley Davidson bikes on display by the stage where the band played. Alex learned to swing dance, foxtrot, and waltz (even though we never made it to the dance floor for a waltz). We also did the stroll (the dance they do in the 2 lines in the movie Grease) with everyone and participated in the costume contest....although we did not win. But really that would have been silly since the prize was a bowling pin trophy I made and tickets to next months dance that we (1) wont be here for and (2) would be able to go to for free anyways. The night went way too fast sitting with Sam, Jared, Christy, and Sara....we all had a very good time.

Saturday and Sunday - Marion Arts Festival, hiking, and arcade time

This first weekend Jared was here as well so we spent some time doing things with Sam and Jared. We went to the Marion Arts Festival where they did not stay long. We looked at all the art and walked downtown to check out some of the shops. There was a lot of art - some of it cool, some of it not so impressive, a lot of it over priced. It was a fine weekend until we had a bit of a bump in the road over a church issue that kind of through things off with my parents for a few days. We made our way around the arcades in the area and used up Sam's tokens she never got around to spending. We played at CEC, Planet X (he won minigolf this time!), and Happy Joes. Got some not so impressive but kind of fun prizes while we were at it. We also went on a rather long walk with my parents, Bella, Sam, and Jared that was quite nice due to the beautiful weather.

Monday and Tuesday - shopping, double date, more arcades, Star Trek

We finally got around to finishing up all the tokens and got to some shopping. Alex didnt end up finding anything he NEEDED which was a disappointment. He did end up buying a few things a couple days later that were nice. We went to see the movie Star Trek with Sam, Christy, and Sara. Alex was delighted to see it again and I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Still not all into it but it was interesting. I am even considering going to this Kirkfest thingy next weekend in the town where Captain Kirk is/was/will be born in. That should be interesting. We also got to go on a double date sort of dealy with Brynn and her Alex. It was fun despite both the boys being quiet and shy. Brynn and I very much enjoyed the chance to get our guys out and about and hanging with one another. I think the boys enjoyed it too :) Its definitely going to be something we do a lot if I have anything to say about it.

Wednesday - a day in Des Moines!

First if all Id like to say that it took FOREVER to get to Des Moines because of the way the Garmin was set. it was quite ridiculous. However, we sure did have a blast!!! We went to the Blank Zoo where we got $2 off admission due to the giraffes not being out......they did not tell us that they also didnt have any penguins or gibbons out either and no elephants at all. I was pissed since penguins are my favorite animal but we made due. We got to walk in the Australian outback with the emus, see a huge round take of jellyfish, and fed llamas and other animals out of our hands. We enjoyed one llama so very much that we named her Sally. Her upper lip cracked us up because its split in two and the parts move separately. its crazy. we also saw a gigantic Bison thing that Sam fed out of her hand even though we didnt know we werent supposed to. There was also a Coy fish pond that was crazy to watch kids feed because the Coy fish would pile up on one another and several had bloody spots on them from the feeding frenzy. From there we attempted to find the Science Center which also took forever due to the Garmin not being able to find it. I stopped and asked for directions and we eventually found that it was like a block away from Peoples Court downtown (where the concert was). We only got 2 hrs in the Science Center but I thought it was totally worth it. I couldve spent longer in there. Unfortunately my camera died at the zoo so I couldnt take pictures of all the cool stuff....we built a dam, created a complex domino structure, launched paper rockets we could create (altho Sam was the only one of us to actually make one), tried to position all these levers to allow a wall-sized ball structure to work, attempted to make a tornado and a padded structure that wouldnt break an egg on impact, as well as watched the pendulum clock swing. It was super amounts of fun. We then made our way to the long time of underaged emos at the Peoples Court to see The Used.....it was worth the wait and an amazing concert. Prlly one of the best Ive seen. They sang lots of older songs that i knew and the support bands were quite good we well. The merch was the only sucky part. Due to being exhausted, we ended up staying at a hotel and eating Perkins before bed, then headed back on the FOREVER long trip to CR on Thursday afternoon.

Thursday - Cocktails and Company

We met everyone at Cocktails for a bit of a night out. it was quite the multipurpose event and I think people enjoyed themselves. Alex and I were at first a bit unexcited because it was comedy night and most of them....ok all of them....sucked with the exception of an occasional good joke. Luckily all of that mess was over before most people showed up. Thanks to everyone who came out on Thursday. Alex and I appreciated it. I again want to apologize for being a sucky host. I feel awful that due to all the people I didnt get to spend quality time with many people at all. Good news is I think that none of you hate me for it and that most of you understand....unrelated but also good news, Alex and I got to practice his dance moves. I was quite proud that he noticed a Journey song as being a swing....so out on the floor we went to dance a bit. Brynn said once we started other people would join us but no such luck. oh well, we may have looked silly but we had a good time. I have to say tho, one of the best parts of the night was after most people left and 2 people got on the dance floor and dance battled one another. it was sooooo funny and very enjoyable. Thanks again if you attended.

Friday to Sunday - Family time and Renaissance festival

Friday night Beth Paul and baby Seamus got here. We celebrated his birthday late by getting him a bike and decorating a cake. the weekend went by fast! we made our way out to the Amana Colonies to go to the Renaissance festival. Paul and Alex had never been to one so we were all sad (with the exception of Sam who hates things of that nature) that it was raining and we couldnt go.....however, we did spend time in the shops within the community before the rain stopped and I convinced my dad to go. Alex got to become a pirate, we saw a joust, there were tons of people in costume, Alex held some swords, and he gave me away for free to 3 different creepy people all dressed up. it was very fun and very touristy and i couldve easily spent longer there. Then we ate at a German restaurant in the colony before coming back home and hanging out. It was nice and fun and always a good time being around Beth and Paul. Sunday morning we had a big breakfast and then drove Alex out to the airport to say goodbye. We all huddled up by the line on the floor we couldnt pass next to the security checkpoint, waving and yelling goodbye to Alex. I am sure it was distracting but we all thought it was enjoyable and also a nice 'welcome to the family' kind of gesture. as Paul said - it only will go downhill from here for Alex as a member of our family :)

All in all we had a fantastic visit full of much more amazingness than I can write down for you. that was quite the brief overview if you want me to be honest. But Im sure you get the gist of the time we spent.