Des Moines Date

After religiously playing The Lumineers on Pandora Radio for the last 6 months, Dave booked us tickets to their show in Des Moines. Maggie was able to watch the kids, so the uphill battles of a overnight get-away were all conquered. We hit the road on Friday at 11, listened to the Lumineers the whole way there and arrived around 4pm. It's amazing how relaxing a road trip can be when the kids aren't along ;). We checked in to our hotel room, freshened up and went to dinner at Roca, a favorite place of mine from a previous girls trips. I had attempted to make a reservation earlier in the week with no success, so we took our chances on a bar spot. Fortunately, we lucked out. We shared small plates and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the busy restaurant while sipping wine and beer. It was like the longer we sat there, the more we relaxed and soaked in each other's company. Home life is pretty monotonous, which isn't a bad thing, but its easy to get into a rut with schedules, kids, and maintaining the chaos. It is so good to be reminded of what makes us work as a couple.

The concert was amazing. Dave scored us front row seats which was a first for me. We drank wine while dancing and singing to the songs which so frequently fill our den in the evenings while cleaning up from the day's mess. It was so fun to unwind and take it all in. Thanks Dave, for purchasing those tickets, it was just what we needed xoxox.

The following morning, we slept in and hit the road with hopes of having time to catch a pizza at Zio's in Omaha, an old local favorite of mine from my college days. We arrived just in time for lunch and it was the perfect pit stop. After all of that wine the night before, a hot pizza was just what I needed. We arrived home around 4 and when we walked in, Sullivan's first question was if he could sleep over at the Oliver's again that night. So that basically sums up our 30 hour vacation.

The kids had a blast with the Oliver family, they basically just slipping in to their routine. Maggie had her hands full, but was in a good mood when we came home and said how nice it was to have her kids as big helpers for my three. There will definitely be more kids trades in our future, we just gotta get Isaac old enough to babysit ;). Big thanks to them for taking our kids on and giving us a completely worry free night away.

Old school GPS.

Pre dinner selfie (the first of many ;)).

Dinner. 

Preshow. 

The Lumineers. 

End of the show selfie. 

Zio's, foggy-day-after smiles. 

Meanwhile- post quiet time fun at the Oliver's. 

After school fun at Barnes and Noble.
(yes, Mag temporarily lost her mind)

Mag and the crew at B & N.

A Saturday morning fun run benefiting the SFCS.