With the wedding in March, June was Jayden's first visit back to Iowa for the year. She flew in on Thursday and Karen and Orrie picked her up at the airport and ate supper. She greeted her grandparents with a little onesie and made her baby announcement. Of course, they were surprised and excited. Jayden got to our house and went straight to a horse project meeting with Luke and I. While watching Luke on Tex and all the kids, she was asked to give the pole bending demonstration. She was more than happy to and jumped on Tex. She is so good at teaching and giving instruction. She does it in a simple way that kids can understand and follow. I think she had fun and Luke was proud of his siter. The caliber of horse kids has changed so much from the years that Jayden was in 4H. There are a lot of green horses and green riders and the combination is scary. Then there are some parents that make you question why?
Friday Jayden and I ran errands in Boone, then met in Ames for lunch with the boys, Mawgee, Carina, and Levi. She made her baby announcement again with a onesie that said, "New to the herd." We spent the rest of our time out and about in Ames. We came back and Karen invited us to dinner along with Suzy and Verna Mae, who were staying.
After telling all the family, Jayden sent out a cousins group message to share that she was expecting. Then it was out and public knowledge. On Saturday we attended Maggie's bridal shower. It was fun to see so many babies. They are all so adorable. Titus seemed to scream and get mad a lot for Ali. We got a good photo with all the mamas and babies and the new mama with a bun in the oven. The shower was light fruit and snacks so we ordered a Casey's lunch pizza on the car ride home. It hit the spot.
Sunday was church in Ames, El Azteca for lunch and we saw Jaynie in church parking lot so she joined us too. In the evening we had a family grill out with grandparents and Ali's family. It was super nice outside and lots of food was made. Jayden made her announcement to Peepaw, and Uncle Wade with the little onesie.
Monday we had an all day shopping outing in Des Moines with Alivia, Carina, and Mawgee. It was a nice mall day. We were at Jordan Creek mall and enjoyed Cheesecake for lunch. In the evening we had smores and movies at night with beautiful weather. I bought a projector for the wedding and had always wanted to try the outdoor movie night. It was great! We invited Jaynie and Rylie to join us and they chose an animated movie, "Rio," one they had all seen a few times. It was neat to be outside watching and we had popcorn and cats and dogs joined us. Jake pulled out his gold apartment chair for the best seat in the house.
Tuesday was the last day with Jayden in Iowa. We wanted a quiet day and took a horse ride in the morning on Tex and Roanie. We took a relaxing ride through the grass way and then back through the hayfield. It was already getting really warm mid-morning. We then went to Karen's for lunch. She is always making nice meals and loves to have us all over when there is a special occasion. Jayden and I rested watching a couple shows before heading out again. Mark had a Grand Community meeting, so the kids and I went to the golf range and hit some balls. Luke is really a good hitter and can critique us and help us fix our problems. He gave Jake a few tips and he was hitting balls way out on the range too. The Grand Junction golf range is fun because a train or two will go by. It's probably 500 yards out, but it is fun to try and aim for the train. For me a great hit is about 100 yards. We went into Jefferson for A&W, and of course I always get a frosty mug for my root beer. It takes me back to my childhood days having A&W when everyone drank from a frosty mug. The plan was to get ice cream at Spring Lake after the meal. We drove to the lake only to find out the concessions closed. We were very bummed, but took a walk around the area on such a perfect evening. It is tradition to go to Spring Lake and play disc golf, ride bikes, camp, or boat and get ice cream. Well, this time we just got to take a walk.
We squeezed a lot into our time with Jayden and did some really fun things. Life will change a lot for her and travels home will be much more of a challenge. Wednesday morning bright and early, I drove Jayden and Luke to the airport and left them at the door at 8AM. It was hugs and goodbye's. Luke was excited to get to spend a week with Jayden and I am excited for him. The next time I see Jayden, she will probably have a big tummy. She plans to have a baby reveal in a week or so. I am asking God to keep Jayden healthy and the baby to thrive and be healthy too! Wow, I am still soaking in the fact that my little girl is going to be a mama!
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