Iowa 2013

Tommy and I are in Iowa visiting our son Luke, daughter in law YuJueng (otherwise affectionately known as Aunt YuYu), and Mae.  Lee and family are with us.  We made it in one day with everyone in tact, though a bit disheveled.  Twenty one hours. T w e n t y  o n e  h o u r s.  I was actually impressed with attitudes along the way.  We stopped once in Oklahoma for a picnic lunch and a hundred other places for breaks of a personal nature. ;)

The tree house in Luke's backyard is the main attraction.  It is about twelve feet above the ground in stages.  There is a landing and then a step up to the first story and you enter the second story by way of a ladder through a hole in the ceiling.  It is that hole that holds my attention the most when I am out there.  I keep a steady watch should a foot or - dare I say it - head come through with rapid speed.  So far, they have managed to avoid any mishaps.

 Whoever built it years ago, had the ingenious idea of installing a pulley.  Luke had an extra clothesline and YuYu contributed a colander and poof!  They were in business.  Everything imaginable has been lifted up in that contraption...with the exception of Mae and Ivy.  Luke says no one has been up there except for a visiting grandchild of the neighbors next door.  He said for all he knows there may be a body up there.
We are reading an Agatha Christie novel together.  We have never done this before, but have enjoyed theorizing about the suspects each night.  We have an old movie version it and we will watch it on Thursday night.
As I sit at Luke's desk, I can see the backyard where Lee is playing baseball with Luke and Emma and Tommy is in the lawn chair....reading, of course.  The guys all got up and played a round of golf early this morning, so they are walking around right now with one eye open.

We spend most of our days outdoors because the weather is amazing.  Highs in the 70's and lows in the 50's.  Cooler than we expected, but we don't mind grabbing a sweater or long sleeved shirt.  Raspberry picking and firefly hunting are favorite past times and Emma tried in vain to keep a firefly as a nightlight.  She did manage to capture a jar of them for a sweet, though short lived glow.
Bella is DEATHLY afraid of bugs and so she comes out for small intervals of time.  In fact, I began to set the timer on my phone to see how long she would last with each appearance.  Her best time was 4 minutes.

Can you see Emma's face through the jar?

We went to church on Sunday - Cornerstone Baptist Church.  The building is beautiful and its tower is undergoing renovation, being the oldest church building in the city. The people were warm and friendly and tonight we will go to Pizza Ranch, where the tips and 10% of the purchases will go to the visiting missionaries from China.  What a great idea!
Mae is getting used to us and our overwhelming intrusion into her quiet world.  She and Ivy are a constant source of entertainment.  I think Mae is teaching Ivy to speak Korean.  All of the kids are learning Korean songs and you can hear them singing throughout the day.

It is always so wonderful to see where my children live and spend time with them in their worlds,  if only for a week.  As long as I have my trusty camera, memories can last a lifetime.

Shoes on the landing.

Two Lukes