Ben and I had quite the adventure going to and from New Haven and Iowa for the holidays. We tried to fly into Moline, Illinois on Christmas Eve, then drive to Harlan. Our flight to Moline was cancelled (probably due to a large amount of snow in Moline), but we were able to fly to Omaha instead. Then, since we had to change our car rental to a one-way (instead of the round-trip from and to Moline) Hertz tacked on another $500 to the bill! Ben's mom, Sheri, picked us up instead and we went to Harlan and stayed there until Monday, 12/27. Then we all went to Waukee to visit some of Ben's cousins. After that, they gave us a ride to Altoona where my mom and Bob picked us up. We were in IC that night through New Year's Day, and then we went to Moline to fly back home. I was very happy to to be back with my Mom again, I've missed her a lot.
While we were in Iowa City, on 12/29, Ben and I went back to Shambough Auditorium where we met in september 2005. We talked for a few minutes, and then he got down on one knee and proposed!!! While I was volunteering at the Book End just an hour later, he drove out to the mall and bought a ring from Greenberg's. It is white gold with a princess-cut diamond solitaire--exactly what I wanted. We went to dinner at Red Avocado (our favorite IC restaurant) to celebrate. By the way, my sister Megan got engaged at the beginning of December, and they plan on getting married in early-mid June 2012 in Iowa City somewhere outside.
My great-aunt Lois passed away on 12/31. She was 92 years old, and had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease. I wish I could stayed in eastern Iowa for the funeral, but my plane tickets were non-refundable and Ben needed to get back to work today (Monday).
Our flight back home on Saturday was delayed by over three hours, so we changed our flight to Sunday. We received hotel and food vouchers to spend, and we stayed the night at Jumer's Hotel and Casino. I had never been to a casino until then. We didn't gamble anything though. It was interesting to watch.
Our first flight yesterday morning was delayed by 48 minutes, so of course we missed our connecting flight in Detroit. We didn't have to wait too long for our back-up flight. After we landed at JFK in New York, we had to walk down the plane's stairs (because the parked the plane far away from the airport), and take a shuttle bus to take us to the airport. It was raining at the time. Then we found out our checked bag had been put onto another flight, and we had the options of waiting more than two hours for it, or it could be shipped to us for free in 2-3 days. We chose the latter option. I really hope they don't lose the luggage! What a day we had!
While we were in Iowa, New Haven had a blizzard, but the temperatures were so high afterwards, there is not much snow anymore. I'm glad we didn't experience the blizzard because not only were the winds terrible, but I think the city received well over a foot of snow over the course of about two days. I was so happy that we didn't have to dig my car out from the parking lot at Ben's office.
I really enjoyed being back in Iowa, and I wish we could have stayed longer, but I am happy to be back home since I have been living here full-time since mid-July 2010.
Please feel free to share any wedding suggestions. :)
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