Visiting Iowa

Last week we took a short getaway to cedar falls Iowa to visit McKay's awesome cousin Dekan and his wife Elyse. We have been meaning to get together with them ever since we moved to Wisconsin since we now only live 3 hours from each other. Since last week was the end of McKays month long break we figured we had to get it done or it wouldn't happen. So we finally make the short 3 hour trek to see them and boy are we glad we did.

I believe there are two types of people in the world. People who like to play games and people who don't. McKay and I fall under that category of people who like to play games. There is only one game that I can remember playing that I have said, "Please don't ever make me play that crap again!" That was in reference to a game called killer bunnies. I know some people like it, but my introduction to the game did not go well. Anyway, we love to play games. board games, card games, made up games, and video games too even though we don't play them very often. So it is always nice to come across other game people, and Dekan and Elyse are also game people.

I don't think anyone actually explicitly said anything, but we just knew that if we were going to get together we would spend the majority of the time playing games together. And we most certainly did. We enjoyed a nice lunch out at a tapas restaurant in down town Cedar Falls and did a little shopping and bought some cupcakes for dessert and then we got down to the games.

We also learned on this little trip that Madelynn LOVES cats. We already knew that she likes animals because she gets really excited when she sees one, but we got to experience the depth of that love for animals. Deakan and Elyse have two cats. One of them was smart enough to run away and hide for the whole day, but they have a delightfully friendly cat named pixel who was just as interested in Madelynn as she was in him. She had so much fun just chasing the kitty around all day. The cat became slightly disturbed when it realized Madelynn could follow it into all of its typical hiding spots. Under the bed? Yep, Madelynn can get under there too. Behind the couch? She fits behind there too! Under the kitchen table? Seriously not safe. That is one of Madelynn's favorite places as well. It was so cute to watch the two interact all day. McKay might just have to break down his resolve and get a cat someday because his baby princess seriously loves them!

This video is hilarious. Their cat has this weird fascination with raw spaghetti. It will do pretty much anything to get it. Which provided Madelynn with the perfect opportunity to try and catch the cat.

 Another highlight was playing with their ride on tractor. Apparently McKay and Dekan would play on it when they were little boys. Since Elyse now works for John Deere, Dekans family had it refurbished and gave it to her as a gift. Madelynn loved it. She was not quite big enough to reach the pedals, but she had a lot of fun letting daddy and Dekan push her around on it.

Elyse and Dekan, you are awesome. Thank you for opening up your home to us. We will definitely come visit you again.