Iowa

Nov 20 UA6151 IAH-DSM, Nov 24 UA1552 DSM-DEN, Nov 25 UA5372 DEN-AUS, UA2101 AUS-IAH

This was our annual Thanksgiving trip to Iowa.  This time we flew directly to Des Moines, which gave us a bit of time there before heading to Iowa City. In Iowa City, we had a full turnout of family and a special celebration for Tom’s mother’s 80th birthday. Unfortunately, there were some snow storms coming into Des Moines at the end of our trip, so we headed to Denver the night before to try to get ahead of the storm. Unfortunately, Denver got a bit of flurries which luckily didn’t impact our flights.

Nov 21

After arriving the day before in Des Moines and checking in on Tom’s parents, we drove to Iowa City in the morning for the main celebration that Rick and Rosie graciously hosted at their home in Iowa City.

Beautifully prepared and photographed appetizers

Tom’s mother’s questioning gaze

Our pre-Thanksgiving pizza feast

Patrick and his girlfriend Tiya making her first family appearance

Aunt Mariann joining the celebration

Catching a game in play

Margaret realizing she’s on camera

Tiya showing her comfort under the family spotlight

Rick in profile

After a wonderful pre-Thanksgiving evening gathering, we made our way back to our hotel for the evening and to ready for the main event.

Nov 22

Iowa City has had a number of new hotels open in the last few years. This year we stayed at the Hyatt Place downtown and had a room with a nice view of the city. Before heading back to Rick and Rosie’s for the main dinner, we had some family time downtown.

Classical architecture in the Johnson County Court house from our hotel window

Old Capital Gold Domed Building, the state capitol building before moving to Des Moines

Matthew supervising Payton and Wilder by the pool hot tub

Ryan showing off his new daugher

Jeanne saying hello to Samantha

Welcoming Andrew

Carol enjoying a great conversation

Covert mirror photo

Mike in serious conversation

Bob enjoying the family time

Alex candid

Celebrating Jeanne’s Dec 2nd 80th Birthday

Time for a birthday speech

Preparing for blowing out the candles, with a little bit of help

Jeanne was presented with a memory cards from the family to commemorate her 80 years

Normally reclusive family cat making a rare appearance

Catching up on some screen time

Cousins, Emma and Margaret, getting to know Tiya, the newest extended family member

Vanessa in game playing mode

Nov 23-24

After the main Thanksgiving festivities ended, we headed back to Des Moines for more time with Tom’s parents. Unfortunately, with some winter storms headed our way, we had to cut it a little short and left Saturday night for Denver to avoid the brunt of the storm. Although ultimately we were successful in avoiding the worst of it, Denver caught the edge of the storm and was quite snowy when we landed.