FARMERS' MARKET!

One of the best things about Iowa is that there are amazing Farmers' Markets! We went to one that is considered to be one of the largest open-air markets in the mid-West. It was great fun and absolutely huge (12 city blocks with over 200 vendors). The video at the end is of a guy making pottery at the fair. We walked away with a yummy snow cone and a beautifully crocheted baby blanket!

Afterwards we went to our new favorite "Sushi House" restaurant, where I ordered a whole plate of sushi... Our server thought we were sharing it, and looked at me like I was crazy when I said it was just for me. Raw fish is out during pregnancy, but I can still enjoy cucumber avocado rolls!

THE BIG 22!

Here's a birthday update from a few weeks ago - When Jared got home from work, I opened my wonderful cards and gifts... I was so excited to find Prenatal Yoga and Pilates DVDs along with new UGGs for this coming winter! I am in love with UGG boots, and I have worn out my current pair so badly that they have holes and tears up the back of them. They also used to be pink and now are the color of dirt. So, for the coming cold winter, my feet will be cuddled inside new boots! Jared then took me out to dinner at a place called "Sushi House," where I rekindled my love for sushi! It was amazing, and I'm sad that we can't just transport this restaurant to Logan. To finish off our night we rented Harry Potter (which about gave me nightmares) and ate cake from our favorite bakery up the street. It was a fabulous birthday!

THINGS TO DO IN IOWA...

EAT ICEEs!

MEET ME IN ST LOUIS!

To celebrate our 4th of July weekend, we headed south to St Louis, Missouri.

On Saturday, we arrived during the air show, which was part of the weekend festivities. The St Louis Cardinals baseball stadium is located right next to the interstate, which was also neat to see. We had planned to eat lunch at "Sweetie Pie's", which we had seen on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. However, upon arriving in the area of the "dive", all we could see were abandoned buildings, graffiti, numerous "homies" from "da hood." Needless to say, we braved the area and got out of our car...only to jump back in it less than a minute later.

Later that night, we went to Gateway Arch in downtown St Louis. There was a fair and John Legend also performed before the fireworks begun. The fireworks were great but our favorite part was the little girl sitting behind us. While the fireworks went off, she said things like, "I'm having so much fun!" and other funny sayings. You can hear her voice in the fireworks video. We enjoyed everything...except for all the smokers in the area. The traffic going home was horrendous, but we finally made it back to our hotel 90 minutes later.

Sunday, we attended a new ward in a very poor area of East St Louis. Testimony meeting was very touching and funny. First off, an older black woman stood up and rather than bearing a testimony, she announced that she loved everyone but had her "favorites" in the ward. She then proceeded to invite her "favorites" over for a BBQ lunch after church. Unfortunately, I dont think she understood that she probably made all of the "non-favorites" feel left out. Later, a young black man with a 6 month old baby stood up and bore a great testimony. He shared that he and his family had not been to church in a long time and their lives were getting worse. He then concluded that you can't blame God if you aren't doing your part. It was a humbling and spiritual meeting as we realized how much we actually have and how blessed we are. After church, we visited the beautiful St Louis temple, which is also located directly next to the interstate. It was a wonderful Sunday.

Monday morning, we visited the St Louis Zoo. It is FREE and was very impressive. Our favorite part was the penguin house, which allows guests to see penguins in their habitat just feet away from them. We also liked the leaping lemurs, which, as usual, provided hilarious entertainment!

We had a great time in St Louis!

WE LOVE OUR FAMILIES

We are so grateful for wonderful families! After spending a memorable vacation with Karen's family, we were able to spend a great weekend with my parents! They came here Friday night and arrived after a full day of travel, bless their hearts! We watched the Cedar Rapids parade, went for walks, explored the mall, and played cards. But most of all, Karen and I enjoyed just being with them. Thank you for being so supportive and traveling one whole day each way to come and spend a few days with us! We love our families!

PHOTOS OF TOMMY(S) THE TURKEY

We have officially caught 3 Tommies on camera! They are very large and very scary, but they look smaller without their feathers all fluffed up. On our walk tonight, we also saw a wild bunny and lots of fireflies! It was the first time I had ever seen a firefly, but Jared had seen many on his mission. We have very interesting wildlife here in Iowa!

THE HARTVIGSEN FAMILY CRUISE!

One of the most amazing vacations we have been on is the Hartvigsen Family Cruise! Here is a short summary of each day:

San Juan, Puerto Rico - We were able to visit and learn about the Fort of San Juan. It kind of reminded me of the Alamo in San Antonio. Some of the fort dates back to the 1400s.

Day at Sea - Besides eating GREAT food at every possible moment, there were some other fun things that happened. At a comedy show, Karen's Dad was chosen to come up on stage with the comedian. The comedian writes for many TV shows including "Whose Line is it Anyway." He had Phil do sound effects as he told a story. Of course, it was hilarious and over 20 times during the course of the cruise, we would be walking on the ship or an island and people would shout, "Hey, It's Phil!" The best part is that Karen's Mom got it all on film. Phil will be in Hollywood in no time!

Bridgetown, Barbados - Our first stop on a Caribbean island! How beautiful and clear the water was! We had a introductory scuba dive and went snorkeling in an area known to have sea turtles. Sure enough, the sea turtles were out and about, but so were the tourists! There were so many snorklers in the water that you could barely move without bumping into others. However, the turtles would swim up for air and it was very fun to be so close to them.

Castries, St Lucia - We rented a car and drove on the left side of the road (wierd) for an adventurous drive through lush forested areas on narrow and windy roads before arriving at Treetop Adventures. There, we put on harnesses and ziplined from platform to platform in for dense forest. It was very fun! It was raining hard that day but the experience was so fun that we didn't even notice.

St. Johns, Antigua - Our activity on this day was very fun. After sea kayaking around a beautiful cove and learning about the sea life, we went to a beautiful Bird Island and saw many pelicans and other birds. Some of the pelicans were diving for fish from 50 feet above the water! Then, we snorkeled at a reef for about 30 minutes. The reef is beautiful! Jared managed to cut his foot on the shallow reef. After the snorkeling we rode motor boats back to where we started and got to hold some land turtles and a parrot.

Philipsburg, St Maarten - This island had a beautiful beach where we gladly spent many hours that day. The water was beautiful and there were great snorkeling reefs right off shore. The Caribbean islands are so beautiful and have such picturesque beaches.

St Croix - We rented a car here (the steering wheel was on the left but you also drive on the left???) and drove around the island getting lost and exploring. We soon arrived at a beach that almost looked Hawaii-like. There were beautiful green mountains and a perfect sandy beach that had great waves. Somehow we ended up on the beach of a very nice beach front hotel resort. After a day full of boogey boarding, scuba diving, and snorkeling, we sadly drove back to the cruise ship to leave our final island :(

This vacation was absolutely amazing! The Caribbean islands are awesome! We had a great time with Karen's family. Unfortunately, like all good things, all good vacations must come to an end.