Oh the glory

So in response to my Glutton Part 2 post my friend Stacey told me about a local farm where you can pick your own blueberries. I was desperate to get there and start picking. I have been there two days in a row. Yesterday I went with my bosom friend, Ali, and her family (husband David and son Josh). It was glorious. So many berries and it is shameful to only have two hand with which to pick. The best part was watching Josh tag behind David like Sal does in "Blueberries for Sal" except instead of David it would be a big black bear. Josh just walked along picking berries and shoving them in his mouth. It was adorable. It was delightful. It was like a dream; surrounded with rows and rows of blueberries just picking and talking and picking and eating and talking some more.

For those 'city folk' (which I was until yesterday) here is a picture of a blueberry bush, more like a small tree. Can you find the butterfly? He sat there as we picked berries around him. What a great perch to have!
Here is Josh picking
and eating
A delighted me with my bounty
A better picture of the bounty of yesterday
I washed all those forgetting I wanted to freeze some and you can't freeze washed blueberries so darn, I had to go back today. I convinced two other girlfriends to journey out to the blueberry farm with me. Again we just had a wonderful time catching up and picking and munching. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a hot humid Iowa morning. Now I have blueberries everywhere in various stages...

freezing

next in line for the freezer
next in line for my mouth
and one glorious blueberry pie made by me. I cannot wait to eat it.

Ali called and David along with our friend Arlyn canned like 24 jars of blueberry jam and 12 jars of blueberry syrup yesterday. That is way out of my league. I am just pleased with the pie. However, I am crossing my fingers that our bosom friend status will get me a jar of jam under the Christmas tree (if there is any left by then).

I have found that there is a certain magic to going to harvest a foodstuff, sweating to bring in the crop, getting your shoes wet and your hands dirty and then bringing it home and preparing it into something wonderful. I think this is what generations have felt living off the land. Oh no I may be converting...

There and back again. our journey

there and back again we went. we added kentucky, tennessee, alabama, georgia and south carolina magnets to our collection on the fridge. it was an eventful trip. i have 7 posts planned with pictures but due to my blogging inexperience they will be posted in reverse order. many times on the trip bill and i commented on how this would be our last family vacation ever. funny how after one day home, a good night sleep in my own bed i'm already scheming for next summer's adventure. seriously though i just care about the magnets; once i get all 50 then we can sit home staring at each other for two weeks in the summer but until then, kids get in the car we are headed out on the road! next summer i plan to get nebraska, kansas, oklahoma, new mexico, arizona, nevada and utah. that's right the iversons are going to head west in a motor home hopefully driven in shifts by bill and my dad. but until that crazinesst, let me tell you about our east coast adventure.

There and Back Again Part 7

So we drove and drove and drove and made it from Tybee Island Georgia to Paducah Kentucky in one day. Susie and her family had to get back sooner than us and they made the whole trip in one day which is a bit more impressive, but they left at 6 am. We left Savannah at 1:48 pm. We rolled into a motel in Paducah sometime around 11; this time the time zone was to our advantage. Bill did a great job driving. I drove for about two hours in the late afternoon through Atlanta rush hour traffic while Bill slept so I am giving myself almost equal credit. On Friday we drove the last 7 or so hours home from Paducah to Iowa City. Not only is Illinois a long state but it is only 65 which made the last 7 hours just crawl by. And I ran out of Bingo prizes so I wasn't allowed to play the last few rounds.. dang! We had to stop in Davenport to pick up our car and drop off the mini van. So we had about 1 hour in our packed to the brim car before we landed back on our driveway. I think driving for one hour in a car packed so full made us all appreciate the gift that the rental minivan was. I took some last pictures because the way we were crammed in was hilarious and we had to leave some stuff at Susie's including those fun but not easily packable boogie boards.

Here is the back seat with a kid to sit on each side of the cooler. Here is Gabby jammed in on her side.
I somehow sat in this seat as we rode home. I didn't complain much because all the fragile stuff my mom and I bought was gently placed at my feet and I didn't want to draw attention to the stuff Bill found impractical. I was too tired for an "I told you so" or a mini lecture about filling our house with more crap.
And here is the trunk. One top is Nile's skim board which is lighter and thinner than a boogie board. My mom got some pictures of him using it at the beach and I'll have to post them when I get them.
So there you have it. There and back again we went.

There and Back Again Part 6

Here are some shots of our last day on the beach. I looked slightly like an out of place prairie girl with my braids and hat. But the hat kept the sun off my face and ears and it was only 99 cents on sale two years ago at Old Navy.Oh yeah the little gingham sleeved babydoll dress I wore as a swimsuit coverup didn't help the Little House on the Prairie image at all. But that was on sale too.
Here is our whole group on our last night after dinner.
We stopped in Savannah with my parents on the way home. The historic part of the city is so beautiful. I love how the Spanish moss looks from the trees. My folks were supposed to stay in Savannah for two more days after we left but my Grandma Scott (mom's mom) fell and broke her hip on Wed so my folks changed their plane tix to fly home on Thursday when we left and then they drove to Michigan to be with grandma. My sweet grandma has 9 lives; she came out of surgery great and is speeding back on the road to recovery.
As we left Savannah we diverted about 5 miles north to cross into South Carolina and put our feet on South Carolina soil so we could get a magnet. As we left Georgia's NW corner to go into Tennessee we diverted again to touch our toes into Alabama for the same purpose. We took this back country hilly road off the main highway to make it across the state line. Here is the view from Alabama looking into Tennessee. It was beautiful.

There and Back Again Part 5

Here is a shot from the pier of the beach. We stayed right near that water tower. The boys went deep sea fishing on Wednesday morning. They had a great time. They went out with a salty old guy named Captain Jerry. Bill caught the most fish. Tim caught the biggest fish. My dad was the least seasick. Nile had a great time with Dad. Tim was the only one to puke over the side of the boat. Bill took all these pictures and I think this is Nile with bait on his hook or else it is a really small fish.
Here is some of the booty. Captain Jerry cleaned their fish afterwards and at the small restaurant at the dock cooked up the fish for their lunch. They ate butterfly fish, sea bass and trigger fish.
Here is a picture of the boys and ol' Captain Jerry.
While the boys were fishing, my mom and I had the most delightful morning shopping at these little artist galleries. We found very unusual things; my dad was very impressed when we arrived home with our loot. My husband was less so. At least we had a bit of room left in the van to take the stuff home. I got the prettiest piece of painted driftwood with seahorses on it and my mom and I got matching penguin scupltures which are really unusual. It was one of the highlights of my trip spending alone time with my mom. The rest of the ladies and Drake played on the beach when we were all gone.

There and Back Again Part 4

So we got to the beach at Tybee Island and then the relaxation started. My folks arrived after a few days in Savannah. I got us rooms at an ocean front hotel which was really clean and nice. They had a great continental breakfast and it was just such a wonderful place to relax and lay around. We rented beach umbrellas everyday and spent our time between the water and the sand. I read several of my chick lit books. My mom and I took long walks. We had to wake up at about 5:30 am when it was still dark to run because of the heat and humidity. We went out to dinner every night, shopped at the tacky tourist traps and wrapped up our evening at the local homemade ice cream shoppe.

Here is me and my folks.One morning we let the kids sleep and went with my folks to the 'World Famous Breakfast Club' which was delightful and filling.
We got a lot of use out of boogie boards which made the trip with them stuffed in the mini van worth it because several times on the way we almost tossed them out the back.
Don't be shocked if you see this picture again sometime. Act surprised if it arrives to your house sometime around Dec 1st in a red/green envelope.
Here is Susie and her family; her husband Tim and kids Megan and Drake.

There and Back Again Part 3

One last picture from the aquarium. Seahorses are my favorite marine animal. It is a long story, but I didn't know seahorses were real until I was 25. I thought they were mythologic like unicorns. The story how I found out is actually quite hysterical and perhaps better for a seahorse dedicated only post. Bill, Gabby and I signed up for the Battle of Atlanta Double Quick 5K to commemorate the Battle of Atlanta which is was the beginning of the end for Atlanta and right before Sherman burned it all and marched to the sea. Nile was supposed to run but he wanted to stay at the hotel and sleep and swim so his cousin Megan took his place. Susie, Bill's sister, went with us as well to run. We were contacted by the race organizers about 2 weeks before we left because they were curious why a family from Iowa was signed up for their race. They wanted to know our story to put us in the press release about the race. We felt the pressure to represent the Hawkeye state. Here is our Iowa gang after the race.
Well Gabby got first in her age group and Bill got second. It was really hot and humid day with lots of hills. I finished only 3 seconds slower than my fastest 5K ever and placed 6th in my age group. We were really pleased and felt we represented the Hawkeye state well. However the winner was this young kid (2os) who is living in California, just visiting his sister in Atlanta but was raised in Iowa. So turns out actually that Hawkeyes came and dominated the race.
We went to the MLK Jr National Historic Site and from outside this room where they said no pictures were allowed I took a picture of the rugged old cart which he was pulled in by mules at his funeral. It was a really impressive museum and very moving.
My maid of honor and childhood friend since I was 5, Marsha who is married to James, had the entire gang over for dinner on Saturday night. We had such a fun time and the evening was topped off by the two of us being able to sit around, drinking diet coke and catching up for hours.
HotLanta lived up to its name for temperature. We had a packed two days and on Sunday morning loaded up to head to the beach about 4 hours away. Nile and Gabby both woke up on the wrong side of the bed Sunday morning and Bill ended up sitting them face to face, giving them a time limit and having them apologize and figure out how to deal with each other or he was taking them home. I don't think he was bluffing. I stayed out of the intervention room and waited at the car. I was unclear how I was going to get to the beach to see my folks who were waiting for us if indeed the kids couldn't work it out and Bill took them home. I had visions of dividing our clothes out of our one suitcase and being left with a few grocery bags of possessions in the hotel parking lot as Bill headed west and my dad came to pick me up. Luckily for all involved, Nile and Gabby worked it out with 1.5 minutes to spare and we loaded up for the beach. No one spoke for the 4 hours it took to get us to the beach but with all due respect the kids worked it out nicely and that was our only major snaffu in terms of behavior on the trip.

There and Back Again Part 2

And they saw this big sad looking fish who appeared to be stuck between the side of the tank and a rock. and they took self portraits (the bingo prize crazed step mom, her neice Megan and step daughter Gabby)
and they saw wicked cool moon jelly fish
the Go Hawks fish
too bad you can't read Gabby's shirt. it says, "i'm not short, i'm fun size."
And she was tired writing in the third person so she'll stop.

One of the things I was praying for on this trip was something special to do with each kid to make some good memories. Nile and I have a love for flattened pennies. You know those machines where you can spend 50 cents to have your penny flattened with a design on it. Nile and I collect them; we even have a little book we keep them in. I actually keep a small change purse in my purse with shiny pennies and quarters in it just in case we run into any such machines. Well the aquarium had some, two that we found with 4 different designs in each one. We made 6 of them including the whale shark, penguin, hammerhead shark and sea lion. His cousin wanted to join in and Nile said (most likely more out of annoyance with his little cousin than anything to do with me) "It's our special thing". Regardless of motive, that made me feel good. The trip to the aquarium was a success.

There and Back Again Part 1

Once upon a time there were two families who decided to take their kids to the ocean. So they loaded up two rental minivans, met up early in the morning and hit the road. Off they went, south through Illinois which is ridiculously long and took forever and into Kentucky. Many rounds of bingo were played before the two families reached Tennessee and this could be heard in either car "I saw a water tower, back there, I swear" "Dad, can we count that Fed Ex truck as a post office?" "My bingo card sucks" "Haystack, Haystack, I saw it" "BINGO". Even the step mom played Bingo and she loves winning more than the kids because she loves prizes. She got a little plastic penguin right as the families passed through Nashville and in honor of her friend, Eric, she named it Nashvegas.

These two families got hungry and stopped to eat in southeastern Tennessee at Jim Oliver's Smokehouse where this BBQ sauce was on their table. Jim Oliver's also boasted the 'best pork skin this side of grandpa's' as well as fried pie. The concept of fried pie was much more thrilling than the actual taste of fried pie which was a little disappointing.

After arriving late (damn that whole time zone thing, right when we thought we were making good time it was a hour later) in Atlanta, these families got up early the next day to go to the Georgia Aquarium. Here they saw these two beluga whales attempting to start a family of their own much to the shock of many moms with small kids but it was awful entertaining to hear the aquarium staff fumble through an appropriate explanation.
They saw penguins.
They saw rays.
And they saw the whale sharks which is the worlds largest fish and the only whale sharks in captivity in North America. They were amazingly impressive.

Blogging Etiquette

Ok here is an etiquette question: when someone comments on my blog, do I

a: email them, thanking them and perhaps comment back on their comment
b: reply to them by commenting back on my own blog but then they may never see it but then my other readers can appreciate more of my consideration and graciousness
c: do nothing

I have been doing mostly C which has gotten me in 'trouble' with some frequent commenters that I never comment on their comments.

Home sweet home

We arrived back at 922 S Summit St this afternoon. It was 'all in all' a great vacation. Pictures and more stories to follow. I'll wet your appetite with one of the last quotes from Gabby at about hour 15.5 out of 16 in the car.

"Do you ever go to sleep holding a stuffed animal that then gets turned around and you wake up hugging its butt?"

Toes dipped in the ocean

So the Iversons have made it to the ocean. I can't blog long and have been taking notes every day of things to say but here are some highlights...

--stopping for dinner in southern Tennessee at homestyle restaurant with a bbq sauce on the table named 'blazin' rectums hot hot hot bbq sauce'

--see two beluga whales mate right in front of gigantic huge window of their tank with like 200 people watching in horror/amazement and with the aquarium personnel trying desperately to explain what was going on to like dozens of little kids and having mom covering up their eyes 

--getting stuck in saturday traffic in downtown atlanta when they closed EVERY single exit downtown for paving with no signs of warning and when nile complained about how he could walk faster i almost just let him out on I-75

--running a super hilly incredibly hot 5K on saturday morning where bill got 2nd in his age group and gabby won her age group and i was only 3 seconds off my best 5K ever

--having dinner and a long long catch up talk with my maid of honor who i have been friends with since i was 5

--gabby saying this morning 'i'm not riding in the f'ing car with him (meaning her brother) today. just letting you know' (it was a long long morning, see below)

--bill sitting the kids down in front of each other this morning and setting a time limit for apologizes and to figure out how to deal with each other. they were 1.5 minutes away from turning around and going back to iowa one week early. i don't think bill was bluffing either. 

--being with my folks as they met us at the beach today

-- dipping my toes in the atlantic and feeling that sense of accomplishment that we all arrived in one piece after 16+ hours on the road and two days in HotLanta

ooo family vacations... making memories to last a lifetime

Fill the container you're in

So like liquid the Iversons flow to fill the container they're in. Tomorrow we leave on a 10 day road trip to Georgia. We'll be able to pick up Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina magnets for the fridge on the way. I couldn't be more excited. Every summer for our road trip we rent a mini van. This year is no exception. I had the choice between mini van with the DVD player and mini van which may have had a bit more storage. Ok multi media which may keep a kid or two kids quiet always wins out. As always we stuffed our mini van full and haven't yet got the family in it yet. Here are some of the pictures of how we will be traveling for the next 12+ hours. Our cooler will go on one seat

Gabby's bag is yet to be put in the back
I may or may not have access to blogging while I'm gone but I'll take plenty of pictures and have plenty of sarcastic comments to make about my time with the family. I am really looking forward to trading heat and humidity for more heat and worse humidity. Yum!

Glutton Part 2

Ok I am a glutton for fresh blueberries. Yes I know I should be eating local fruit and not feeding into the military industrial complex to ship fresh fruit halfway across the county polluting the air and deepening our energy crisis with every mile but I cannot help myself. I should be finding a local blueberry farm and buying from them or picking my own but I haven't the time for that right now. And I know that is an excuse because if no one had the time we would be knee deep in an energy crisis, dependent on foreign oil and unable to free ourselves from the military industrial complex to which we have enslaved our appetites and food choices (wait, we may have already done that). Regardless today I have eaten two pints. One for lunch and one for dinner. I am serious. I'm an addict. I already have 4 pints frozen in the freezer for winter. Today was a busier than busy day at work and I came home to two children who had been home all day, one husband who had been home almost half a day and a kitchen that was messier than messy and my only delight today was popping blueberry after blueberry into my mouth.

It is my mother's fault really. First of all she did not teach me to pace myself with fresh fruit or to share every well (only in regards to fresh fruit). We would buy a pound of fresh cherries from the roadstand on the way home to our house in upper Michigan that my grandfather rented every summer for us and he would be so irritated that half the bag was gone by the time we got home. A few times he sent us out for more. That could be half my dad's fault too because he'd stop for fresh bread on the way home from work for dinner and by the time it got in the kitchen a huge bite/fistful would be taken out of it. He used to tell my mom he got a good deal on it because it was a defective loaf. I always laughed at that. I don't think my mom ever fell for it. The Cooks are not known for their power of delayed gratification when it comes to fruit and baked goods. Secondly, when my brothers went to soccer camp each summer my mom would buy a box of frosted flakes and multiple pints of blueberries as our special no-brothers-for-a-week-treat. She would wash the blueberries in our old yellow colander in the sink and we would eat most of them even before we had them on our sugary dreamy cereal. It was the only time I got sugar cereal growing up (don't cry for me Argentina about being deprived of sweets, my parents did own an ice cream store). And lastly my mom read me Blueberries for Sal (picture above) over and over when I was a kid. It is my favorite children's book. Sal was picking blueberries with his mom and would pick one, drop it in his bucket and then eat one or two or three. Sal fell behind following his mom and ended up following the mama bear and the baby bear ended up following Sal's mom. Unclear why losing your mom and following a bear is a delightful children's story. Maybe bears are delightful when they are popping blueberry after blueberry into their mouths.