Thanksgiving in Iowa

What a remarkably blessed trip we had to Iowa at Thanksgiving time. 

To help set the stage a bit, the week prior to leaving for our 10 day excursion to Iowa Emily was having a major mental break down and dissertation disaster! Upon the spurring of her advisor "it was time that rubber met the road" and work needed to get done. So, the seven days leading up to the departure, Emily could be found at her trusty old computer, headphones on, fingers flying with fury, and pages upon pages of brilliance were being written (let's us the word "brilliance" lightly in this case)! The reason for this frantic attempt was twofold: (1) chapters 1-3 needed to be defended in front of her committee only 3 short weeks away and (2) if the chapters were not finished before Friday, Emily would not be able to leave on Thanksgiving vacation to see friends and family. So, needless to say, time was of the essence. Brandon was patient and kind although Emily was not patient or very kind during this stressful period. 

From the photos to follow, you will see that both of us made it up to Iowa. Emily was able to get her chapters "done" and in for edits and Brandon was able to survive the wrath of his crazy wife  (that'd be me!) Enjoy the photos, we'll walk you through the incredible trip - with all of the wonderful friends and family members we were able to see and spend time with.

 Sorry they are not in order.