Last Weekend: Des Moines edition

A week ago, I was in the Cactus Pearl Corolla, headed north.

I drove the unbelievably charming drive up through Grinnell and over to Des Moines (Iowa farms are the most beautiful you will see, for reals), to visit Lindsay, who was in town with her husband and twin baby girls. Holy COW, we had fun. She summed it up on FB perfectly: Lindsay F. loved reconnecting with Genny today. It's been ten years, but in a lot of ways it feels like we were only out of touch for ten minutes. From the second her sweeter-than-sweet Dad said "Hi, kiddo!" in their driveway as I pulled up (just as he always did when I'd visit their house in high school) to the moment we all hugged goodbye in the parking lot outside the cafe where we had Sunday brunch/lunch, the trip was absolutely fabulous. It wasn't a huge effort on my part to be there, and since Linds lives in Florida, this would be one of the few chances when the babies are this tiny (OMG you should see their toes EEEEEE!) for me to spend some good quality time with everyone.

I stopped by on Friday night, to catch up with Lindsay, meet her husband, and gab with her parents for a bit--a really great chance to start mellow, without the excitement of new babies (they were in bed by then), and to see if we still had that *spark*...which sounds odd when you're talking about friends, but I can't think of a better word. She and I hadn't seen each other since our senior year in college (1999, eek!), and had drifted apart over the years (pretty danged easy to do when you're a half-country apart). We were joined at the hip in high school, and since she went to college an hour away from where I did, it was convenient to see her often during that phase of our lives. After she moved to Florida, though, it grew harder to keep in touch, until gradually, it faded completely. But we reconnected via Facebook, and corresponding since then had been so natural and just-like-old-times that I didn't really have many doubts that it would be the same in person. Still, it WAS great to know that nothing had grown weird or awkward, and even that, as we get older, our friendship can be even more meaningful and (sorry to be corny, but--) precious.

Saturday morning I showed up early to meet the breathtakingly precious Fontana girls, Olivia and Sophia, each SO different, SO charming, and SO hilarious...the second Livi saw me walk through the door she was *laughing*. At four months old! This girl is WAY happy and energetic and looks like a beautiful little papoose (and, in fact, almost exactly like Lindsay did at that age, as we saw in scrapbooks over the weekend). Sophia, on the other hand, looks like a pretty porcelain doll, and is quieter, mellower, and more introspective than Livi. She noted my presence at first, but wasn't giving in so easily--I needed to work to get her to love me. But once I tried my parents' never-fail 'cheer move' (take baby's arms and move them like you're doing a cheer), she was smiling big-time, all "Oh, yeah, you cool." I am SICK that I forgot my camera, but I'll steal some shots of the weekend from Linds sometime.

We all loaded up the van and went to the HUGE and awesome Farmer's Market in downtown Des Moines, the likes of which I had never seen before. The best I can describe it is a conglomeration of Art in the Park, a typical Farmer's Market, Taste of Chicago, and, like, some festival with street performers. It was CRAZY crowded, but in a delightful way, with dogs and babies and Dutch letters and yummy stuff EVERYWHERE. I wanted to buy everything, but only gave in to a six-pack of fresh-baked cupcakes to bring home to Neil. (OKAY, I might have eaten three.) We had a delightful lunch at a brewery there (shredded pork sandwiches with a BBQ sauce made from stout--HOLY CRAP good--and Bloody Marys all 'round, served with pickles and olives), then went back home so the ladies could nap.

Next, Lindsay and I took off for the second AWESOME part of the day: scrapbook shopping! I have not allowed myself to buy much in the last couple years, so I was super looking forward to it. I loved seeing what my favorite companies had released recently, and since I'd been preparing for this trip for awhile, being actually able to buy what I coveted! We went to two really great shops (and a toy store selling almost exclusively Melissa & Doug stuff--sooooo cute!), then returned to the Kem house to play with the babies again and hang out til dinner. Which was an AMAZING home-cooked Iowa meal, the likes of which I hadn't had in a looooong time. (There is absolutely nothing like fresh, sweet Iowa corn!)

Saturday was fantastic in many ways, but also interesting because I got to see what it's like to be a parent ALL DAY. Not just overnight, not just for a couple hours, not just during naptime (which is what I'd mainly been exposed to)--but from morning to night. And it was a pretty atypical day for everyone, to be sure, but I still got a sense of what it's like to be a mother, and how Linds handles it. I don't know how she wrangles two infants every single day, never getting a nap or much down-time at all (and waking up twice as much during the night as any other new mom, since you can't exactly ask the babies to coordinate their feeding times). I mean, as delightful as Soph and Livi are, BOY OH BOY it's got to be exhausting for her!

We were blessed that we did get the afternoon together (thanks, Ann & Dan!)....it was a perfect mix of girl-time with Lindsay and, for the rest of the weekend, GIRLS-time with the twins. I know it's cliche, but those babies were freaking ANGELS. I'd been warned about Soph's moodiness, but the Iowa air must have agreed with her, because aside from her initial "I'm-not-sure-about-this-new-person" sussing-me-out period (which really just consisted of her looking at me with exasperation while I tried various baby tricks), we were total BFFs. And Livi...Livi, my god, that girl could make ANYONE smile. I didn't think these young bundles of cuddliness could have such personalities at just a few months old, but WOW. Like--they are already so cute; they don't need to be CHARMING, too, you know? Enough already with the making-me-fall-in-love-with-you business! I won't see you again for a long time!

I left Sunday after a final meal out with the gang, and reluctantly bid my goodbyes so I could make it home at a resonable hour. It was a completely satisfying, exciting, memorable weekend, but it went by in a flash. I hope we all get the opportunity to see each other again soon...and, as Linds texted me afterward, "not wait another ten years!" "HYEALL no," I responded.

HELL no!