Day Thirty-Two through Thirty-Five

This weekend has been a whirlwind! No time for blogging when you're having so much fun!

Thursday late morning began with my mom and brother, Connor coming to Iowa City. This was the first I had seen any family since I moved to Iowa City and I was so excited to finally get to see them! We started off the weekend right with pizza and nachos as Airliner. Connor came with my mom because he was visiting the school and meeting with the gymnastics coach. Oh yeah, and to see me! Connor and my mom went over to the Field House for the gymnastics practice while I gave a tour in the splintering heat. Connor has several friends on the gymnastics team at Iowa and he decided to spend the night with them catching up and hanging out. This gave my mom and I some quality time to hang out and chat, and of course, to have some well deserved gluten. We went into town for dinner and indulged in some delicious pasta. To overcome our food comas, showers, and My Fair Lady followed. We embarrassingly crashed around 10 o'clock. Oops.

The only downer to Friday was that I had class. Not the ideal way to start a Friday morning, but it was over soon enough. Connor had his scheduled visit with the University of Iowa on Friday morning. I ended up being his tour guide, which I have to admit was awkward for me in the beginning, but it was actually okay. They got to see my work and I, to their surprise, presented some information that they didn't know. Friday, unfortunately, was scorching hot. Giving tours in that heat isn't fun for anyone, including the bug that landed in my hair while I was standing in front of my tour group talking. We stopped for a quick lunch following the tour at Buffalo Wild Wings for some refreshment, air conditioning, water, and the infamous Pro/Con lists on Connor's part. College decisions can be so difficult, but I think everyone knows where I'm hoping he goes! ;)

Through my year at Iowa and Andrew going to Nebraska, my family has definitely become very familiar with I80. Friday afternoon was no exception. The drive home wasn't too bad, but I was just very excited for some Jimano's Pizza, friends and some quality shower pressure. My cousin Lindsay and her husband Brian came over Friday night to prepare for Saturday's Porkapolooza, so our house was full of friends and family, which is how it's supposed to be in my mind!

The third annual Porkapolooza began very early on Saturday morning when Brian set up the smoker and delicately placed 3 pork shoulders and baked beans inside to cook all day. After a very inappropriate trip to the grocery store, cooking and the occasional drink began around noon. My other cousin Jake and his wife Jen joined the fun shortly after when Mother Nature decided to give us the most perfect weather for our day in the backyard. After the heat of last week, low 80's felt like heaven. It was the perfect day! Family and food and fun. What else could I have asked for this weekend?

The only thing that made the day better was the pulled pork that came from the smoker. To. Die. For. Everyone soon entered a food coma and the gathering got much quieter. It's just so hard to stop eating when it's absolutely delicious! In addition to the perfect food, there were five dogs at my house. Yes, five. All of them were adorable and indulged in the sneak attack on the food here and there.

I am now back in Iowa City, thanks to my parents who are loving I80East this afternoon. I have a very busy three weeks ahead of me, but I think I'm ready. I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel of this summer and it saddens me and makes me so excited for what comes next. Right now, I would give anything to have a week off of tests and homework and lab reports, but it's all worth it. Completely worth it.