We had ourselves "A Slice of the Good Life"

One thing we have tried to set out to do here in Iowa is check out some of the small town festivals every now and then.  This summer it was Watermelon Day in Stanhope, IA.  We couldn't resist fun and LOTS of free watermelon - all you can eat! 

Rosy, watermelon cheeks!

And 50 cent tickets for the rides.  Where else can you get a deal like that?

We were surprised to run into our new neighbor at this festival as it was 30 minutes from home, but apparently her parents grew up here.  She's around our age, and she said these same rides had been around since she was a kid.

I always wanted a baby with curls.  I just didn't know I would  have to wait 3 1/2 years for them to grow in.

Gotta have a snow cone on a hot Iowa day!

And of course, more rides!

The funny thing was as we were leaving we noticed the two stickers on the back window of the truck right next to us.  You may have to click on it to see the one one the right more clearly, but they are for Texas and Ukraine.  The truck had Iowa plates.  Wow, it's a small world!

(For those who don't know, Robby grew up in TX and served a mission in Ukraine.)

One down, nineteen to go...

And boy was she excited to lose her first tooth!

More gaps on the way!

Everybody knows about Kelley, Iowa!

I have to preface this post with a story.  A few months back we called out an electrician for some repairs at the house.  I called our home warranty company, so I got the electrician they contract with.  The day of the scheduled repairs this middle aged man comes to do the work.  He was nice enough, he did his job, and then I sat down to write him a check.  As I wrote, I made small talk with him, you know, where are you from?  He tell me he's from Kelley, Iowa.  Not being a native Iowan, I asked him where that is.  He looked at me shocked, and said 5 miles south of Ames, as if I should know this.  Then he proceeds to say, "You've heard of the Kelley phone booth haven't you?!"  Uh, no, can't say that I have.  Apparently this important landmark is one of the few remaining phone booths in America.  It even has a facebook page.  Oh and by the way, the guy was the town mayor!

Well, we couldn't resist taking a 15 minute jaunt out of our way the other day when we saw the sign pointing to Kelley.  And here's the phone booth...

It's famous, you know.

The mayor told me that sometimes he will call the phone booth when he sees people taking a picture in it just to see their bewildered faces when it rings.  Too bad we didn't get one of his calls!

Berry Blast!

It has become a yearly tradition for our family to take a trip to the local Berry Patch to pick blueberries.  This trip is always fun, even if it is a little hot in the bright sun.  Here are the highlights in pictures...

(Note: I had the settings off a little on my camera.  It was so bright that day that I couldn't see the pictures on the screen very well and tell that I needed to make further adjustments, but even so, I really like a lot of these pictures.)

Summer time is great, isn't it?!

4th of July Fun!

I never realized how special 4th of July in Iowa was until we tried to get Robby home from Phoenix flying standby a week before the holiday.  Now it might just have been that some of the big name political candidates stopping through Iowa in preparation for the upcoming election attracted an unsual number of people from other states.  Or it's that there's nothing like 4th of July in a small Midwest town - small town pancake breakfasts followed by parades, picnics with grilled goodies, and to top it all off, fireworks, oh and family, of course!  I really think the flights were full because people were flocking home for a grand ole' time in Iowa.  In the end, Robby stayed an extra 4 days in the extreme heat of Phoenix due to full flights.  Luckily he got home in time for the festivities.

We began the day with a ward pancake breakfast followed by the town parade...

Jenna and Olivia were pleased as punch because they got to ride on a float!

This was the dance studio float.

Robby walked in the parade also along side the Library Bookmobile with all the Summer Library Volunteers.

In the afternoon, we joined Kjell and Linley for dinner at their place.  We didn't grill, but I know there were plenty of people who did.

And the 4th of July wouldn't be complete without fireworks! 

It was late, we were tired, but it was certainly worth it!