Summer: Iowa

Summer for us means home, which this summer, actually meant more traveling. Thankfully, this travel included time with people we love, so we were happy to do it! Because our summer included multiple destinations, we will write about it in three parts. The first part is Iowa!

We hit the ground in Iowa running, with Rachel’s sister Sarah’s wedding in Chicago and a lineup of friends to reconnect with as soon as possible.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful.  It was held at a small restaurant just outside of downtown with a quaint little garden/patio in back. The ceremony was kept small, intimate, and extremely meaningful. We spent the weekend in Chicago with everyone involved/attending the wedding, and enjoyed experiencing more of the city, as well as getting to know Sarah and Peter's closest circle of friends better.

The Grove siblings with the new additions!

The tradition of the morning of the wedding sibling coffee.

The epic wedding selfie.

 The next week was Rachel’s birthday, which included a flat tire that the five men gracefully changed in the sun while the girls cheered them on from the sidelines, a trip to a cider house that ended up being closed, and most importantly, a bonfire and ice cream bar with our favorite Iowa City crew.

Such hard workers! Thanks, guys!!!

So glad these two were in town!

Post-flat tire refreshments in Solon.

We spent many evenings downtown, enjoyed a lot of live music, shopped sidewalk sales, caught up with dear friends (though not enough!), ran through the woods, went to a state park, biked around the reservoire, barbequed everything we could think of, built many bonfires, played many rounds of yard games, and sewed a quilt (okay only one of us did that)! It was as perfect as we could imagine a month in Iowa, we only wish it had been longer.

Jazz Festival Sunset

The land we love :)