Iowa State Fair

The Iowa State Fair was a few weeks ago. The state fair is pretty new to me. Growing up in Sioux City, we never went to the fair. But if you live in Des Moines, you HAVE to go. I don't know why... it's the same thing every year. The food is ok - I'd rather eat at McDonalds.

Mike eating meatballs on a stick:





Me drinking a jug of root beer.













Here is a picture of me and my 4-H cow.









My favorite part of the fair - the animals! What a cute pig!

Cutest dog ever!

Please vote for Darrell as Des Moines Cutest Dog EVER! Click on the link below and be sure to vote him a perfect 10! If (when) he wins, he'll be on the cover of a local magazine here in Des Moines!!!

http://apps.desmoinesregister.com/contests/ratephoto.php?c=juice_pets&photoID=75cababd-48ba-40c3-b8b0-21c9474c0099

It's out!

Mom... this blog's for you.

It's out! I took out my belly button ring tonight. I've been thinking about taking it out for a few months now... and I just did it. It was time. My days of tan skin and bikinis are just about over. I got my belly button pierced 10 years ago - on my Mom's birthday of all days. She was so mad! My sister Brooke did it too so I wasn't the only one in trouble. It hurt so much. I would never do it again. I still like my nose piercing. I will leave that in for now. By the way, this is not a picture of my stomach.

Minneapolis weekend

Last weekend my family all met up in Minneapolis where my sister lives. Friday night we went on a riverboat dinner cruise. It was fantastic! We had dinner and drinks and a chance to relax and chat. I felt a little sea sick at the beginning but it faded fast. The weather was rainy at first but it quit soon.Saturday we went mini-golfing. My parents tied for first place. Billy got a hole in one. I was awful but had a blast anyway. Saturday night my brother and Dad went to the Ultimate Fighting thing and the girls went to the Mall of America. What great shopping! It was great to be together as a family. We always have a fun time together with lots of laughs. The only bad part of the weekend was that Mike and my brother's wife couldn't be there. Mike was in Chicago at a Cubs game and Leah had to work. Darrell got to come. He was a good boy except for getting into the garbage one time... his Mom forgot to put the garbage can up. Whoops!

Handstands

I've been hearing about a Jack Russell at the Iowa State Fair that can do a handstand. What??? I am feeling a lot of pressure to teach my Jack Russell to do such a fascinating trick. I mean, Darrell is one awesome dog, but I never dreamed of him doing a handstand. I came home from work determined to see if I could teach him to stand on his front paws. But... I didn't want to upset him. I didn't want him to feel frustrated and scared as I hung him upside down from his hind legs. So maybe I won't have the most talented dog in the world. Maybe he will never win a gold medal in the doggie olympics. Who cares? I can't do a flippin' handstand so why should I expect my dog to? I guess I'll have to settle for a dog that plays blackjack:

365 days of married bliss

Today marks the one year anniversary of our wedding. This year went by fast! I've heard that the first and seventh years of marriage are the hardest - I hope so, because this year wasn't bad! I want to give ya'll a glimpse into our past (in case you don't already know)...

February 2002 (Iowa City) - A mutual friend introduces Mike and I to each other. I remember thinking - this guy is so hot! I was so impressed with him because he was a junior (I was a lowly freshman) and he had his own car (I didn't) and he lived in a house (I lived in Quad dorm). Mike was so shy and I couldn't tell right away if he was interested in me. I had a boyfriend at the time - but that wasn't stopping me from getting a chance with Mike! Mike called me a couple weeks later and I swear I saved the message on my answering machine for months. It said, "Hey Becka, this is Mike. I was just calling to see what you were up to night. Talk to you later. Bye." Doesn't sound too important, right? But to me it said, "I love you. I want to date you, marry you, you're all I think about. Bye."

March 2002 - Our first date! Mike took me to the Brown Bottle in Iowa City. Afterwards I met a few of his friends - who scared me to death! They were so drunk and wild. Five guys, one house, one keg-a-rator, three couches on the porch. I laugh now because these guys are some of our best friends - and I love them because they're so wild!

Dating continues.....

Summer of 2004 - Mike moved to Ankeny to start working for an insurance company in Des Moines. And so starts the long-distance dating... I was bummed about it but it gave me time to focus on nursing school.

Dating continues.....

April 1, 2006 - Engaged! The story of how Mike proposed is another blog in itself. Ask me to tell you the story if you haven't already heard it.

May 2006 - I graduated from nursing school and moved into an apartment with Mike in Johnston. Living in sin... I know, I know. But living apart is too expensive.

2006 to 2007 - Wedding planning

August 4, 2007 - Our wedding day. It was perfect!

I am so lucky to be married to Mike. He is such a fantastic husband. He's just a lucky to be married to me. I'm pretty flippin' awesome.

Then:


Now:

Tax-free Weekend

We went to Tanger Outlets in Williamsburg today... not realizing it was "tax-free weekend" until it was too late. The place was packed. I mean loaded with people. Ugh. We had Darrell with us so I sat outside with him while Mike shopped 'til he dropped. I had to cut him off after 30 minutes in the Nike store. Anyway, my point to this blog is - What's the big deal about "tax-free weekend?" So you're telling me I can save a whopping 7 cents for every dollar I spend? Even if you spend a lot of money... say $500... your savings would be $35. Big whoop. If you can afford to spend $500 dollars on back-to-school clothes then I doubt you need to worry about an extra $35 savings. It's a huge scam to get people to shop.