Jamaica

We went to Ocho Rios, Jamaica this past week and it was awesome. Just seeing the sun and feeling the warm temperature put a smile to my face. It was a very relaxing trip even though our luggage didn't make it there until the next day. 

The water was such a beautiful blue color. This picture does not do it justice. 

This is just a small section of the hotel. We were in the deluxe ADULT only section. When we got there it was so late we didn't notice the hotel was purple! We woke up to be surprised because it looked white at night and in pics we had seen. 

Our room was awesome! It had two whirlpools. One inside the room and one on the terrace. See the spiral staircase? It goes up to the second floor balcony! What's up there?

A whirlpool pool that fits two with a gorgeous view!

We went on a cruise to the Dunn River Falls and snorkeling. The water was so rough I got sea sick. On all the trips I have been on I have never gotten sea sick. It feels horrible!!!!

I was holding on for dear life!!!! Can you tell by the look on my face?

Yay! We made it! This is the falls, it's a 600 ft. slippery Climb. You form a human chain with your tour group in order to make it to the top.

It was beautiful! 

Next day Kyle went Scuba diving and I hung out on the beach. When he got back some guys were walking around with a wheel barrow filled with coconuts and a machete. They would chop the top off the coconut for you so you could drink it. Oh yeah, we also took a kayak out on the water. KYLE FLIPPED US! We had to swim back to shore! 

By the last day we were so sunburned we had to cover up. 

The dark spot in the water was a reef. On the last day Kyle took his snorkel gear and swam out there. He said there were a lot of nice fish. On our way home we had a long day 6 hours in the air and 3 in the car. Luckily on the 4 hour flight we got bumped up to first class. Couldn't have ended the trip in a better way. Back to reality! 

Birthday Cake!

We decided to have my birthday cake early since we will be in Jamaica for the big day. Kyle baked it for me yellow cake with Almond Joy frosting and Almond Joy candies on top. It was delicious! Kyle making my birthday cake, I think we just started a tradition. 

Parents Visit

We were able to visit a lot of places while my parents came to visit. The weather was beautiful their entire stay. We went to Galena, Il to do a little shopping( pic above). We also went to visit this place called the House on the Rock built by Alex Jordan. It was this crazy house filled with a bunch of collections of this man. It had three sections and we only made it through 2. It was huge. In there is the world's largest carousel, crowns, gun collection, music collection, world's largest doll house collection, a statue of a sea creature that was larger than the Statue of Liberty. I could go on and on. The man was so eccentric. 

Another day we went to Antique Archaeology better known as American Pickers. We heard that Frank and Mike are breaking up from the show. Kyle looks like he would fit right in. Maybe he should audition. 

We also had a chance to go to the Mississippi Museum and Aquarium. Mom had an adventure there. We were feeding the fish and she dropped her cane in the pond! And then to top it off she got stuck in an elevator. She really wanted to top Nico and Jake's story. Lol. We had a great time and enjoyed their visit. Now that they know we don't live in the middle of no where and that there are two casinos for dad maybe they will visit more often. 

4th of July Weekend

Mom and Dad came to visit and I had a several things planned. There is something to do everyday in the Dubuque and surrounding area. It might be a small town but there is so much to do and see. We really hadn't ventured out so now was as good as time as any. This was a look out point in Ballwood,Iowa. About 20 minutes from our house. Can you see the Mississippi in the background?

We took a river cruise on the Mississippi to see the fireworks! 

Weekend trip to Chicago

We went to the top of the Sear's tower and stood on the sky box, which is a box made of glass sticking out of the building. You could see 4 different states from up there. After that we went to eat some pizza at Gino's East. Mikie recommended it so I was expecting something fabulous since I am such a fan of his homemade pizza. Nah his is better. 

The next day we went to Shedds aquarium and walked to Millineum Park to see the famous bean structure. It seems like we walked forever! Pic was in front of Buckingham Fountain( got tired of taking the same pose so I had to change it up a bit) It was so hot that day I was about ready to jump in. 

We have died and gone to pizza heaven!  This is the best pizza either of us have ever eaten. We had to wait about Two hours for it but it was worth it. They actually had a good system. First you had to wait in line just to get your name on the waiting list. The line was out the door and around the corner but as soon as you got on the list you could preorder your pizza so when you got a table your pizza would be waiting for you. We got their famous stuffed pizza!

it was so good I asked if you could order online and have it delivered. They said they don't have an online ordering service but you could just call directly and they could ship it. It was so much better than Gino east that I contemplated sending one to Mike so he could compare.

We also went to Navy pier and got on the ferris wheel and did an architectural boat tour which was nice. 

Our first tree

Driving around town this weekend I kept seeing this beautiful white tree everywhere and I was determined to find out what it was and have Kyle plant it. Ace Hardware had some planted in front of their store so I decided to go back over there and ask the Gardner. They are called Cleveland select flowering pear tree and ours looks nothing like the ones around town. The one we bought (at Lowes) hasn't bloomed yet, it is so tiny compare to the ones they had at Ace (that were huge and very expensive). Anyways, I hope we live in this house long enough to see this beautiful tree bloom and change colors.  

This is what it is suppose to look like in the spring!

In the fall! 

We finally found lemon grass!!!

 Becky has been looking for lemon grass for several weeks now, we she finally found it.  She had the option to mow the lawn or plant the pots

Chevy was enjoying a pig ear as mom works!

The finished products, several hours later.