Just the two of us

This past weekend Mason and Desi went on their first weekend getaway together visiting grandparents. They had a blast and so did we. Of course, it was wonderful to see their sweet faces again and listen to all of their fun adventures.
Here are some of ours...

Spanning a half-mile long and 12-stories tall, this is the fifth largest bridge in the world. It's on the High Trestle Trail just north of DSM. Matt ran and I roller-bladed, which made for a nice pace for the both of us.

After breakfast and coffee we watched a couple YouTube videos of how to build a glass block window. I attribute the success mostly to Matt's good craftsmanship as the YouTube videos were lacking. Here's what the process looked like:

 Taking out the old.

 Take a look at this beautiful new brick.

And here's the end product... it seems most house projects are rarely 100% finished in a day. The block is in, needs to be cleaned and caulked once the mortar sets, but it's pretty much done.

Our last outing before the kids came home was visiting "Seed", an urban/organic gardening and plant store with an artsy edge. It's an inspiring store that I hope to visit again. They don't have a website, so if you're ever in DSM, you'll have to check them out in the east village.

We had a great weekend. The house was quiet, clean and calm. Now the kids are back and it's not that quiet, calm or quite as clean, but feels more like home. We're thankful God's blessed us with such sweet kiddos.