First road trip

This weekend was so much fun! We went to Wisconsin to visit Josh's Aunt Janice and Uncle Tim. I had a meeting in Minneapolis on Friday regarding jobshare. So, I got up early and drove to Minneapolis with Char (district HR manager.) That was 4 hours one way, had a 3 hour meeting and drove back. Then I met Josh and McKenna and we drove another 5 hours to Wisconsin. In the fog and the dark we got lost and somehow ended up 10 miles off course in Madison. I am SO glad we did! Madison is basically like the Seattle of the midwest. Beautiful buildings, trees, water, rolling hills (sorta like mountains :) and of all places we ended up in the U district. The University of Wisconsin (UW) is gorgeous. Realizing that we had a tierd, fussy baby and that we had at least an hour to get there, we opted to stay in a hotel that night. We slept really well and made it to Lodi the next morning. We had the BEST time! I got to meet Jennie (cousin) and Josh's other aunt and uncle on his dad's side (Billy and Ellen.) Emmi, Mark, Kade and Tali came later that morning as well. We got to see their beautifully decorated condo that is right on the water of Lake Wisconsin. Then we all went boating after having lunch at the local fish place called Fitz's. Emmi and Tali waterskiied, and Kade, Mark and Josh went tubing. We took turns watching McKenna back at home while she took a nap. That night we had brats and burgers and somehow managed to fit everyone around the dinner table! After dinner we talked and plotted to set up Logan (Tim and Janice's son) with our friend Cyndi (who was recently on the reality show the ultimate coyote ugly.) The next morning we had fritatta, biscuits, and a great time talking about Janice's nursing experiences in Vietnam. We left midmorning to get back at a decent hour. Next time I think we need to stay a week! What fun!!!

Growing up

McKenna was feeling a little under the weather yesteday, but seems to be doing a little better today. My pysical therapy is over. I got discharged today with a clean bill of health. He says I need to continue stretching, and if my tendon bothers me again, to come see him.

We are packing for our weekend trip to Wisconsin to visit Tim and Janice. I was going through McKenna's closet and putting away all her 0-3M stuff when I came across some of my old dresses. The first one is a ducky dress that she was very happy with. As far as the pink one is concerned, it doesn't look like she is quite as pleased. I thought we better try them on before they are too small! I can't believe she is growing so fast! We are almost in size 2 diapers and can only wear a few of her 0-3 outfits...time flies!

Gona's fish tank

This Sunday was spent playing with Gona's new fish tank. There is a battle between her and her brother, Mike, as to who can get the biggest tank....I think she won. She bought a 125 gallon tank and put it in her Barbados room. It looks really great there, and once there are some fish in it, it will probably look even better :) Tim and Janice were visiting this weekend, and met McKenna. In true Skinner style McKenna proceeded to poop all over Aunt Janice's lap. According to Denny and Josh, she deserved it, but I was embarrassed none the less. As soon as we get pictures of the gargantuan tank, I will post them!

Busy weekend

This weekend has been very busy. On Thursday we went to the Iowa State Fair; and for anyone who hasn't been, it is quite the experience. Only in Iowa are there such attractions as a lifesized cow and superman carved out of butter, tractor pulls, and over 20 items you can eat on a stick; including deep fried twinkies, oreos, and hohos. We went mainly to see Hairball, a cover hits 80s band. They were pretty good, and I sang along to most of the songs!

Friday, Josh went to Scott's house in Boone and played poker. He won 2 of the 4 games, and his winnings more than covered fair expenses, as well as many more poker buy ins in the future. Brandi speant all day Friday driving back and forth from doctor to physical therapist and back again. It seems that I pulled my achelis tendon, probably pushing myself too hard in aerobics classes. So I have been given some excersies to do and have two appointments next week to check on my progress. So, since we were running around like crazy Friday, McKenna had no naps and was very tierd. So we speant Friday night watching movies and relaxing!

Saturday Scott, Melissa, Char, and Jamie came over for dinner. We speant the whole night talking and didn't quite get to the games, but had a great time! We tried out a new roast chicken recipe, and Scott gave away his secret to the infamous strawberry dip, YUM!

Fun Workout

I know this is kind of pointless, and has nothing to do with our family - but these guys look like they are having much more fun on their workout than I am!

Luau

Yesterday we waited FOREVER for the air conditioning guy to come. Our air conditioner has been working overtime this summer, and finally needed service. Luckily it was a simple repair, and we are back to a nice cool house today! After the air conditioner was fixed, we went to Valley Junction to go shopping. Valley Junction is a really neat area of old West Des Moines. It is reminiscent of old downtowns with store fronts all lined up. Lots of unique and fun stores. We had to try and find something fun for Brian and Rika's wedding gift :) Finally we went to Scott and Melissa's luau in Boone. We planned on staying a few hours, and ended up staying until way past midnight. Luckily McKenna fell asleep at Gona and Bacas. They were nice enough to let us barge in at 1 in the morning to shuttle sleeping baby home! She didn't make a peep until we tried to put her in her crib....of course!

Fish Fry at Gona and Baca

On Thursday we went to Gona and Baca's for a fish fry. We ate fish that the boys caught in Canada on thier fishing trip. We had a "shore lunch" that Baca made with fried fish, Lewis beans (made with beer), fruit, bread and brownies. I made my parchment fish that I learned at a cooking class in Seattle. Was pretty fun! Emmi, Kade and Aaron came too! Even though it was a little warm, McKenna wore the outfit that Connie and Jim got her; very stylish!

Bath Time

Yesterday we had a great time going out to lunch with Kim-Marie. She trained at our store and now runs the biggest Best Buy in Iowa in Des Moines. We went to Mojo's in Johnston; great food! She gave McKenna a very cute Woodstock stuffed animal from Charlie Brown. Today was pretty uneventful; but we managed to get some very cute pictures from bathtime! Denise and Rhett Faaborg gave McKenna the cutest lamb towel with her name embroidered on the back. She LOVES it!

Dinner with Friends

Last night we went out with Jason, Letisha, Chad and Tara. We went to dinner at a very nice italian place in downtown Des Moines called Centro. We talked about Jason and Letisha's wedding plans and Sorin and Amy's wedding. We were glad to hear that Chloe is doing fine and that the bladder infection that she had before will not require any surgery. She will have to take antibiotics but that sounds much better to us than anything invasive! Aunti Em was nice enough to come down and babysit McKenna. They went on a walk and tried on a bunch of clothes that she hadn't worn yet. Sounds like it was a good time :) Earlier in the day we played on the blanky that Aunti Chelsey made McKenna - as shown in the picture!

Met Nanny Heather

Today we ventured off to Ames (about 20 miles from our house) to meet McKenna's new nanny. She is about 1 mile from both Josh's office and my Best Buy; we couldn't ask for a better location. This way if either one of us wants to drop in at lunch, or in case there is an emergency, she is very close. Also - we get to spend an extra hour with her (half an hour there, and half an hour home) even if it is only a car ride. Then we had lunch with Daddy and Aunti Em at Applebees. I also went to Best Buy while waiting for Josh so that McKenna's many admirers could play with and hold her. We found out GREAT news that our good friend Scott is NOT accepting a job in Conneticut. Some big wig high end appliance company has been wining and dining him in an attempt to steal him away. But apparently he made his decision today to stay with Best Buy. That is very good news for me, becuase we have a blast at work, and he helps make the time fly!

Heather is going to be a great nanny. She has a house full of fun toys, and a backyard with the biggest playground I have ever seen. She is limiting her daycare to just a few babies, one of which is only a month older than McKenna. Hopefully her and Abbey will be great friends! Things just seem to be coming together!