Farewell, Iowa!

Mmmmmmm... fresh sweet corn, as far as the eye can see. Will you ever taste as good again?


Dear friends, you will be missed.
(left to right: Kristin, me, Angie)


Nadia's last haircut in Iowa, the day before Moving Day.
Sarah, our hair will miss you. But my pocketbook will NOT.


Here Blake is in the tree unfastening Nadia's swing. He volunteered to climb it when Derek announced that he had no idea how we'd get the darn thing down!

Three years ago when the swing went up, I was a bit more nervous. Derek had backed his truck into the yard and put a ladder in the truck bed to install the swing. The rigged contraption wouldn't bear his weight, so he had coaxed a nervous Blake (then barely seven) to climb the ladder and wrap the ropes around the limbs. He survived. It was a good day.


Dismounting.



Success!




On our last night in the house, we left only the mattresses and our suitcases out of the moving trailer and camped on the floors. This is Sissy's empty bedroom, where she was angry to have to share a bed with her brother! In the morning, she woke him up with some karate kicks!




Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon?



It was a tight squeeze, but who can argue with a free cross-country move???


We even loaded up the truck Beverly Hillbillies Style!



Many of you know the blood and sweat Derek put into this old house for four years. On this day he put in a tear, too. But just one.




Waiting for Mom to sweep this place out and Get On The Road Already!!!




Goodbye, Little House where we changed and grew so very much.....

Goodbye, Iowa. You have a place in my heart forever.