Part 2: Road Trip to Iowa

Gaskill Clan at the splash pad

Gaskill Adults

Alyssa and Kaylee

Adventureland Here We Come!!!!

Cousins

BFF Cousins

Trace's owies- he flipped over a post while standing in line

Trevor thought I looked like Supermom here

Bonfire Fun- Sisters

Bonfire Fun- Trevor and Da Ladies

Bonfire Fun- Cousins

Mom and Grandma

4th of July Piñata

Cousins

Gangster Cousins

Bruxen

Kianna reading to Bruxen

Kids with Grandpa Bob

After a wonderful week in Colorado, we began our trek back to Michigan with a week long pit stop in Iowa. The first stop in Iowa being to Adventureland in Des Moines. We hadn't been there since before we moved to Michigan. Again it was a childhood favorite for both Trevor and I, so we were excited to share it with our kids. Aunt Sam, Bryker and Aliyah met us at Adventureland for a fun filled day of rides, both land and water.

The rest of our time in Iowa was spent in Cedar Rapids with our family. Some highlights include:

• Bonfire & Smore's- Bree invited us over to her house for a bonfire and smore's one evening. Everyone on my mom's side was able to come, so it was a great evening.  It was Bree's first time hosting a family event, so that made it extra special. 
• Visiting with Tom and Katie- My uncle and cousin from Dallas, TX happened to be in Cedar Rapids at the same time we were. Katie is pregnant with her first baby, so it was really fun getting to see her and her little baby bump. We even played some peanuts. Kaylee played with us too. It was a fast paced game and she did great. She even won a round. 
• Touring the condo- My dad and Sue just purchased a condo which they gain possession of on August 15th. This is a big step for them as they have lived in their current house for 31 years. We are very excited for them. This condo is a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom ranch. It is much larger than their current home and has an open floor plan. It will be perfect for hosting events. Their current home was pretty cramped for space when trying to fit all of their six kids, grandkids and great-grandkids in for family events. 
• Seeing Bob and Becki's condo- We hadn't seen their new condo since they moved into it in May. It looks great. Becki has it decorated so nice, it looks like they have lived there for years. 
• Paintings- Becki has begun a new painting hobby. She painted the girls each a beautiful owl picture for them to hang in their rooms. She is very talented.
• Fourth of July- We spent the afternoon at Stacie and Patrick's house eating yummy food, visiting, having a potato sack race, and swinging at a piñata. The potato sack race was hilarious. I was the clear winner, so Stacie tried to grab my feet to take me down, but missed. Then about 10 seconds after I had won the race Shelli crossed the line and began celebrating her win because Trace told her she had won. Trevor recorded the whole thing. We watched it several times and had lots of laughs!
• Picnic with Gaskill's- We had a potluck picnic at a park and then let the kids play at a splash pad while the adults visited. It was a fun time for all. 
• Lots of cousin time. 
• The Cook/Langfald pile up...

We had fun times in Iowa, but also had plenty of sad times. When we were in Iowa in April it was because Bob had just been diagnosed with the aggressive form of lymphoma again. Since then he has been getting chemotherapy and has completed two doses. He was supposed to receive his 3rd dose of chemo while we were in Iowa this week. However, a biopsy on Monday revealed that the cancer was still growing despite the chemotherapy. On Weds, the doctors decided to stop chemotherapy. By Saturday, Bob was in the hospital and placed on hospice. Things have moved quickly in the wrong direction. This news has been devastating and obviously is not what any of us were hoping for.

It is hard to know what to say during times like these. We put our hope and trust in God! Romans 5:8-9 says "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."