U.S. Trip - Part 2

Ok, once we arrived in Iowa, we had a nice visit.  Admittedly, it was pretty cold.  Too cold for sledding, which we had intended to take the girls.

We went to one of our favorite places in Cedar Rapids, NewBo market.  I've written about it before.  Anyway, we had a couple of tasty lunches there.  More importantly, the balloon guy was there, so the girls were quite happy.

Balloons!

Behind them is an enjoyable Mexican restaurant.  I particularly like the "Hecho in Iowa" sign with the Hawkeye.

Anyway, it was great to see the family and give the kids some quality Jepsen time.  They got to see Frozen in the theatre - on the second attempt.  Given the lousy weather and lack of kids movies, the movie sold out quickly.  But they were able to get tickets for the next showing.

The girls also got to have a sleepover with PL (my sister) and UM (brother-in-law).  So LBJ and I had a nice dinner (later birthday dinner for LBJ) at the restaurant run by the local community college - called A Class Act.  It was an excellent dinner, only hampered by the steady snowfall outside.  But the rental car handled the snow with no troubles.

Another highlight for the girls was a New Year's Eve event for kids sponsored by the Cedar Rapids arena football team.  It was a lot of fun for them - bouncy castle, slides, etc.  At noon there was a big balloon drop.

A rare sighting of the two-headed giggle monster

The balloons shortly before dropping

One of the highlights for me was going to a University of Iowa basketball game.  The next night, PL and Papa took Fiona to a University of Northern Iowa basketball game.

The biggest smile seen on Papa in years!

Although the weather was too cold for sledding, it didn't stop FABJ, LBJ, and Papa from throwing a few snowballs:

FABJ strikes first

Check out the action photography by PL, not to mention LBJ's good aim

It was great to see the family, but it's a tough time of year to visit - can't do much outside, and the heating makes everything so dry inside.  Maybe we'll visit at Easter next year.