Did You Miss Us?!

Greetings blogonauts. You have entered the Iowagner Universe. We hope you enjoy your stay.

After a brief hiatus from blogdom, we have returned. It has been a busy couple of weeks for the Iowagners. SuperMom had to use her power of patience to care for the SuperKids whilst SuperDad travelled southward to the dual metropolis of Kansas City, Kansas and Missouri. He was on assignment for a week doing some covert training.

SPATULA CITY! (close enough)

The Wagner Influence Spreads to Kansas City

With frigid fall weather encroaching we spent some time this past weekend to beautify Iowagner HQ's extensive grounds (a.k.a.-backyard). The work mainly entailed transplanting, weeding, and mowing. Exciting is the life of superheroes! Sunday morning we received a surprise visit from a fellow Wagner. He was on his way to Illinois from the wild western state of Utah (pronounced Yew-tah) and decided to drop by unannounced. As you can see from the picture, the SuperKids, especially Monkey, loved him.

Cousin with Monkey (she doesn't snuggle with anyone!)

P.S. Have you watched the video at the top of the blog yet? Don't worry L & P is a lemonade from New Zealand.

Corn, Corn, Corn...

Hey there kiddies! Are you ready for another action-packed episode of the Iowagners?! If so, keep on reading. If not, click here. Strap in tight, because it is going to be a bumpy ride...

We started out by Monkey having her first ever visit to the dentist. Expecting the worst, we were surprised to hear her laughing her head off throughout the whole examination. She also exclaimed such things as, "No, silly doctor!". SuperDad is ashamed to say that he was visiting the dentist for the first time in over four years. Thankfully, we both passed with flying colors.

SuperDad, believing that driving to Minnesota was not enough, spent the rest of the week traversing the great state of Iowa. He went from one corner of the state to the other trying to recruit young minds for the cause. Throughout his travels he glimpsed many a cornfield and small town. He also reaffirmed that, contrary to popular belief, Iowa is not flat. Throughout his travels he managed to amass over 1,000 miles without ever leaving the state. Oh, and one blown out tire as well (the perils of driving on farm roads).





Quintessential Small Town Downtown



Medieval Castle or Dubuque High School?

CORN!!!

We ended the week by staying home and playing in the backyard of Iowagner HQ. The air was nice and cool and as you can see by the pictures, Fall is coming. We will not even begin to discuss what comes next!

Bear Being Adorable, as Usual

Monkey 'Lost Her Smiles'

So Many Leaves...in September!

This is SuperDad signing off.

Monkey goes to preschool!!

Our little Monkey is growing up and is going to school; Preschool that is. She actually started last week, but I've had a sudden aversion to being on the computer. Does anyone else ever feel that way? Plus, it was my turn to post. That's why this posting is so late.

Anyway, she had a wonderful time and almost didn't want to leave. The teachers coaxed her out the door by handing her a sucker on the way out. I'm glad the teachers were thinking ahead.

Bear seems a bit lost without his sister. He can't wait till we go pick her up. He looks up to her so much. It's funny when we are driving to the school to pick her up, he just sits in the back seat calling, "Sister!" and laughing his head off. I can't believe how much love they have for each other already. Well, at least on Bear's part. Monkey mostly just puts up with him.

Monkey blinded by the morning sun as she gets out of the car. She had to have a pink backpack with wheels. There's even a little monkey dangling from one of the zipper pulls.

Using her power of SuperSpeed to run into the school. I barely had enough time to snap the picture.

She painted for the first time ever and was so proud of herself. I know what you're thinking, Bad SuperMom! I make my kids miss out on stuff like that because I don't want to have to deal with the mess. That's what Preschool is for, right?

I guess they missed each other so much they decided to both squish into a box. A pretty small one at that.

-SuperMom

North, To the Twin Cities!

Greetings my favorite SuperFan! (yes, I mean you). This past week found us on many adventures inside and outside the great state of Iowa. We had the privilege and opportunity to attend Monkey's preschool orientation. To say the least, she is excited to be starting school.

For our Labor Day weekend we decided to head northward to the state known as Minnesota (pronounced Minnie-soootah by the natives). There we met up with SuperMom's brother and his super significant other. He is an aspiring politician and was in Minneapolis/St. Paul attending the 'Convention' as a delegate for the Arizona Republican Party. DISCLAIMER: The Iowagners do not endorse or support any political party or candidate on this blog. We only suggest you vote for someone who upholds and supports the daring lives of superheroes and families everywhere.

Bear Shows His Excitement for the Mall of America

Monkey and Uncle C

Bear Really Gets Into His Work

We also met up with another SuperFamily from our past. The Wardle's!!! Their address is ---TOP SECRET--- and home phone ---TOP SECRET---. We enjoyed reminiscing about our many adventures in another 'M' state many years ago. The SuperKids also enjoyed playing with their new SuperFriends. We invited them to venture southward to partake of the untold beauty and friendliness in the secret and wonderful land known as, 'Iowa'.

Bringing out the CHEESE!

Before returning home we visited the very impressive Como Park Zoo and Conservatory in St. Paul. It is a free zoo and one of the nicest and cleanest ones we have ever seen. The Conservatory and Japanese Garden with their varied plants and landscapes are definitely a sight to see. Fatigued, we returned to Iowagner HQ to rest from our labors. SuperDad could use a vacation from his vacation!

The Magnificent Como Conservatory in St. Paul, MN

A Missing Family Member?!

Mommy, the Kitty Wants to Eat Me!

Finally, Something Taller Than SuperDad

Beautiful Indoor Gardens

The Long Road Home

Until next time faithful followers...

A Wedding and General Wackiness

I ended up on a whirl wind trip out to Utah a week and a half ago. One of my SuperFriends was getting married and I was a surprise guest at her wedding. I got in town just in time for a girls night out. One of my friends and I went over to the brides house to pick her up and we were immediately stopped by the family. Apparently, the bride's apartment building back in Pennsylvania was on fire and it was a total loss and she was on the phone at the very moment trying to get more details. Everything they owned, most of their wedding presents and a new car went up in flames. What a devastating loss to have two days before you get married!!! The bride, I think, took everything in stride and even though she was very upset handled the news reasonably well. I was very impressed. I even had the privilege to help her file insurance claims the morning of her wedding.

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Girls Night Out

For the girls night out we went miniature golfing. I hadn't done it in years and it was good just to be silly and hang out with some of my girls. A couple of them I hadn't seen in years!! I had a lot of fun catching up and hearing all the fun adventures all of them are having (except for the fire of course). The entire trip was a little crazy and I was all over the place, but it was a nice rest from the kids. Plus, now that the SuperKids are a little older, SuperDad was up to the challenge of watching them for a few days on his own. I also got a new mom to add to my family while I was out there. The Bride's Aunt from Australia and I had a great time together and she offered to be one of my mommies. Australian Moms Rock!! How could I refuse?! For an sixty-eight year old she was kicking it up on the dance floor the entire night of the wedding. The Bride's entire family is so awesome and have always been so good to me. The wedding and reception took place up a beautiful canyon and it was such a nice, cool, perfect night.

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The Beautiful, Blushing Bride and Handsome Groom

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A SuperFriend and her hubby

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My newest Mommy!

With all the wedding stuff going on I was still able to visit a few other people. I was able to meet up with my sister and her four kids to meet the latest addition to the family. My sister and I were able to take the kids to this roller skating rink (yes, they still exist) that also had tons of those huge bouncer things and climbing mazes and such. It was so cool!! We need one of those in Iowa! We were all able to go out to lunch with my mother (the real one), my brother-in-law, my sister and all the kids. I had another lunch out with my mother and mother-in-law. Right before I got on the plane to go home I was able to visit with one of my other favorite families. Brouhaha Brienne is soon to be married as well and I couldn't be happier for her!!!! It was really good to see their SuperFamily again!

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The nieces and nephews

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Brouhaha Brienne and Family

It was really good to see the kids again. I didn't get to talk to them till the next day because my flights were delayed due to SNOW in Denver. SNOW in AUGUST!!! What's up with that? So I got in really late and the kids were already in bed. The kids were ridiculously excited the next morning though. That made up for it. I spent the next week recovering from the whirlwind trip. For some reason I don't fly east very well. I travel west just fine every time whether I'm going somewhere or going home. Does anyone have any insight as to why this happens? Till next time SuperFans!!

-SuperMom

Ho-Hum...

Well, it appears another week has slipped by with us barely noticing. That means its time to update our SuperFans (yes...I mean you!). The week started with a continued heat wave that dissipated by Tuesday. Then the fun really began! Well...not really. It was a fairly uneventful week at Iowagners HQ. The world did not appear to be in peril for the time being. So...here are a few pictures of the SuperKids for your enjoyment!

The Many Sleeping Positions of Bear

Monkey Feeding Rocks to the Ducks and Geese

Monkey Honing Her New Telepathic Powers

Heat, Humidity, and Hava Nagila!

Lately, we've been cleaning the secret lair (a.k.a.-basement) so we are ready for more tornado warnings and/or tornadoes. For some strange reason we've been feeling a really strong need to work on our 72-hour emergency kits and food storage. My sister and I brainstormed what to put in the kits and food storage over the phone. She had a lot of great ideas and SuperDad and I have decided to buy at least on item on our lists each time we go to the store. If anyone has any suggestions on food storage please let us know.

Saturday we went to the Cultural Festival here in town. It was really fun, but we were disappointed that not more people showed up. When we got there a group called the Israeli Celebration Dancers were performing. Monkey and I went out and danced with them a few times. They showed us how to Kibbutz and everything. We only got SuperDad out once to dance with us, while I danced holding Bear.

It was ridiculously hot out and humid and we were shocked to see an 80 year-old woman and an at least 8 month along pregnant lady in the dance group. They were both keeping up with the best of them. There was also a man there with a Green Bay Packers yarmulke. Go Packers!!



Hava Nagila

We then went inside to the air conditioning and tasted food from countries like Greece, Ethiopia, Bosnia, Mexico, etc. One man was brave enough to take on an entire continent and had a table display for Africa. It was really fun to learn about all those different countries and taste the yummy (free) food! Bear really liked the Greek spinakopata (we're not sure how to spell that), a spinach and feta cheese filled pastry.

Speaking of the heat, on Sunday we reached 97 degrees F. It may not seem like much for those of you in Arizona and other 'dry' states, but once the humidity factor was accounted for the heat index reached 118 F! Needless to say, we did not go outside much.

Later that night we went to visit with the Super Schloemer's. They put on a very delicious shrimp boil. We also met a great new SuperFamily that just moved here from Idaho (not to be confused with Ohio or Iowa). Good eats and good friends, what could be better?!

Stay tuned for more advertures of the Iowagners!!!