The Importance of Date Night

We forgot! We forgot how much we liked each other's company! I guess it is one of those things that creeps up on you as you settle into the routine of life with a toddler.
Ruthie went to grandma and grandpa Walsh's house Friday and Saturday and we found ourselves with the rare opportunity to spend some time just us. Friday after work we headed downtown Iowa City and had a fun time going to a couple different places for appetizers and drinks.
Then when we got home we started a movie but stopped it to instead talk for a few hours. Saturday we went our separate ways (me to a gardening expo with mom and Mike to meet clients out of town for work) for the day then met up again to enjoy a nice meal together. It was restaurant week in Cedar Rapids so that was fun to check out.
This weekend was a reminder to me that just like gardening you have to constantly care for and tend to your marriage or the weeds can take over.

Cheap Entertainment

This week I decided we are getting out of the house! So much cabin fever has descended upon us, it was time. 

Rockwell Collins sponsored a free day at the Children's Museum last Saturday so we partook. It was busy and crowded cause, well, free! But Mike and I both thought it was an awesome place and Ruthie was surely entertained. My favorite was watching her play the instruments in the music room, and check out the video...ummm she's kind of good right!? 

link to video with sound

And yesterday, I spent the best $5 ever. We headed to AirFx trampoline park to burn some energy during Toddler Time. We were joined by Ruthie's BFF Lila. Her running back and forth on the giant trampoline runways was the most hilarious thing ever. And she loved building towers with the giant foam blocks in the foam pit. 

link to video with sound

Just a short 3 year hiatus is all...

So I may have taken a few years off blogging but it's never too late to get up and running again, right? So here I go! To catch you up...here's what's happened in the 3 years since my last post- I guess you could say there has been at least one major life change...

who happens to be turning 2 in a few short weeks!

isn't she the sweetest?! 

So besides Ruthie joining our family & uprooting everything we thought we had figured out about life and love we're still trucking along day by day, so blessed. 

In other personal news, Mike made a big career change a couple years ago and is now a Financial Advisor with Principal Financial. 

I now work part time, 3 days a week, for the same orthopedic office. I am lucky to spend the other 2 week days at home with Ruthie.  

I hope to keep up on blogging more often as a way to document our family adventures and the funniest, cutest little gal named Ruthie. 

p.s. Xena says hi 

#5

Checking off #5 (Travel somewhere new!) took Mike & I to Isla Mujeres, Mexico for the most amazing vacation last December. It was beautiful (they film the Corona commercials here), relaxing, authenitic and chill- just what we needed. We spent a week on the island and we already can't wait to go back. Simply put, we fell in love with this small little island. Most days were spent on the beach reading (7 books between the 2 of us) and one day we took an excursion around the whole island on a golf cart- the most popular mode of transportation on the island.
Here is our paradise vacay in a few pictures:


                                      

                                      

Home Stretch

Well I'm on the home stretch to the big 3-0 (a few weeks away!) which leave me a bit anxious about THE LIST and actually being able to complete it. I'm pretty excited about the recent things I've checked off, though...see for yourself!

#23

Visiting 1 new MLB and 1 new NFL stadium took us to Kansas City for both!

#20

Mom & I made 2 kinds of homemade cheese! Mozzerella (see me stretching the curd below) and Farmhouse Cheddar (packed into a mold and covered in wax- to be enjoyed in a few short months)

 

#29

I'd call this photographing something beautiful- hubby & a sunset while on a beautiful island (which caused us to travel somewhere new # 5) is always a good subject!

and there have & will be more- stay tuned to see if I can do it!

#19 CHECK

#19 might be my favorite check-off so far as Mom & I explored the bike trails of Cedar Rapids including parts of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. We totally lucked out on weather and we couldn't believe all of the new things we discovered in Cedar Rapids on our 20 mile bike ride! We biked from the Hoover Trail at Ely (near my house) all the way north to my brother's house. We went through downtown Cedar Rapids on the Cedar River Trail, stopped for a pick me up mocha, continued around Cedar Lake and up the trail which runs along the east side of I-380 -but feels very protected and you don't even notice the traffic! to Blairs Ferry Road. We discovered Cedar Rapids' urban trout stream along the way, too, which happens to be Iowa's only. It took us about 4 hours including all of our dawdling and stops along the way. We went 20.2 miles (and burned 805 calories, too!)

It was a blast and I'm so thankful to have got the chance to do it with my mom who is always up for an adventure!

#22 Done

 

#22 was check off 2 weeks ago (yay!) as I joined Mike, his Dad and family friend Sam for a pheasant hunting outing during the youth pheasant hunting weekend (the weekend before opening weekend set aside for kids to get their shot at one bird). Since it's my list and interpreted however I please, I am completely satisfied with counting "go hunting" as completed- I didn't feel the need to actually shoot at anything. For me, it was more about the experience of going along which I quite enjoyed thanks to the beautiful day and good company. Although, I have to say I mostly enjoyed watching the dogs in their element; happily bounding, pouncing, sniffing and running between us as we foraged the CRP. Sam didn't get his pheasant but we did see 2 hens take off for the cover of the corn, 2 roosters on the side of the road and 1 rooster scared up but just out of reach.