Iowa

So, at the beginning of the month, Mike and I went to Iowa for his Grandma's 80th surprise birthday party. It was soo exciting and Malinda (his grandma) was soo surprised she couldn't keep herself still. After she had seen everyone in the party there was a slide show with people telling stories about her, and then food and presents proceeded. The party was a huge hit and tons of fun. Here's some pics from it:

Malinda (in the middle) with 5 of 7 of her children

(Luanne, Jane, Malinda, Gail, Barry, Denny)

Malinda and Grandkids
(Halle, Mike, Luke, Sara, Troy)


Mike and his parents (Phil and Gail)

The quilt they are all standing in front of was made with squares from all the family. Each square has pictures or images or something that reminded the person of Malinda. There are also Malinda's favorite quotes, wedding pictures, birthdays of her kids and grandkids. It's a gorgeous quilt. Also, each person wrote a note going along with the square and a book was made with a picture of the square and the note along with it. It was such a great gift and everyone was amazed.

Mike and I outside the church.

The location of the party and Malinda's church.

Mike in front of the Iowa sites (a.k.a. cornfields)!!!!

Overall, the trip was great! We just wished it could have been longer! And it was also really nice to meet most of Mike's extended family.