'to boldly go where no man has gone before...'

we just got back from a fun week in Illinois/Iowa visiting bobbys family. because of bobbys work schedule we spent the week before thanksgiving there and it was awesome. we had such a great time!

iowa is a land of many hidden treasures and bobbys parents always take us to visit some of the many cool sites.

we have been to antique archeology (american pickers store), adventureland, and state fairs. 

this year we ventured to riverside, iowa.

the future birthplace of captain james t. kirk

you know, the captain of the u.s.s. enterprise.

yes. we are that cool.

but really it was a really fun little trip. they had a fun little museum and a 'birthstone', and we got to stop at a cool cheese factory in the Amish town nearby.

and lets face it.....i love stuff like that. 

i may not be a trekky, but how fun is it that we can say that we have been there, right?? :)

outside the museum

bobby paying his respects haha. you cant see his flower very well.

proof of just how cool we are.

love this one.

 we had a great week of relaxing, hanging out, playing cards, and we even had a fun 'mini thanksgiving'.

plus, as usual, brielle got spoiled by her grandma and grandpa wolfe.

newest iowa hawkeye fan!

my two favorite hawkeyes :)

daddy and bri having fun at the park!

 we got to visit with alot of other family too.

we love playing cards with aunt granny, pappy, and alta.
and bri loves playing with her cousin a.j.!

these two are pretty funny kiddos.

a.j. was such a nice big cousin to bri! and also that is one of grandma wolfes puppies and bri loves them soooo much!

 the only downside to the whole trip was that brielle got her first 'learning to walk battle wound'.

she loves walking while we are holding her hand but wont dare attempt it by herself yet. 

but she almost gave herself a black eye but trying to sit down next to the piano bench too quickly when trying to chase the puppies.

luckily it didnt swell as much as expected.

we think it makes her look tough.

unfortunately this isnt a very good picture, her bruise was much darker than this.

we had such a great time visiting with everyone!

our next adventure is going to be having our first thanksgiving on our own here in rexburg.

luckily, we will be celebrating with our good friends the judys so we will basically be with family. 

wish us luck with our turkey cooking!! :)