Only In IOWA...

In Honor of Our First Month of becoming Iowan's,
I Present...

Only In IOWA...

Only In Iowa do you have Barns EVERYWHERE!!!

It's kinda Ironic, driving around and seeing a Kohls followed by a Barn, Sams Club, and then yup you guessed it A Barn!! Such a change of scenery. I guess I never noticed how much I am in love with this Huge Structures!!! Somehow being amidst all of these Barns it kinda seems like home.... Perhaps being drawn to these in the first place were another testament of where we were headed.

Only in Iowa are you CONSTANTLY listening for a Tornado Siren...

Alan laughs at me, because since arriving in Iowa, I am on alert. Subconsciously, I have been listening for such a siren. I am so worried!!! That I wont wake up or hear it when it goes off! I have already mistaken our Master Bedroom Fan, kids magnet alphabet fridge toy, kids sonicare toothbrushes and even Brenton yelling in the playroom in the basement. Needless to say, I think I have a Giant Paper Bag with My name on it in the tornado room for when I hyperventilate due to shattered nerves.

Only In Iowa, does your Weatherbug go off WARNING you that you are in a TORNADO WATCH.

We experienced Our first Severe Thunderstorm aka Tornado Watch. The storm moved in extremely fast and almost appeared from no where on the Doppler. (yes I watch the Doppler... I even animate it to see its progression) I have never seen lightning like this, except for once in my life. (back in navuoo on a family vacation when I was 9.. and which is only 3 hours South of us) The lightning literally does not stop lighting up the sky. The clouds were low and unsettling. Before the storm it was 62 degrees... within the hour we hit almost 80 with 75% humidity. I am guessing the barometer level changed so drastically it triggered some minor anxiety. We live 4 miles from downtown where they experienced Softball size hail from this storm!! I was not prepared for a Tornado Watch so soon upon our arrival to Iowa. For some reason I had it in my head that we still had a good month to prepare. Our House actually has a Tornado Room in the back corner of the basement consisting of all 4 walls of cement. We spent Sunday 4/3 quickly gathering emergency kits, flashlights, snack foods, blankets, camping chairs, ect to go into our room. Lets hope we never have to use it!

Only in Iowa, while driving around town do you hear such a joke...

As I was driving to Sams Club the other day (a whole whopping mile). I heard a commercial...

guy 1: Do you have Hail dents on your car??

guy 2: HAIL YAH!!!

We are still laughing about this and between my siblings this has been our reply for everything!!! (photos are from our local newspaper!)

"How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"

Only In Iowa Wood you have a Woodchuck as a Pet aka Groundhog...

First mistaken for a Beaver we named him Beav...(as pointed out in the first video) However after much analysis of our photos we have come to the conclusion it is a Groundhog. Hence Beav has been named Wood. (what can I say our kids are original! ;)) Every day we see this guy come out of the woods and partake of our scrumptious backyard grass. :) Best part is we do not have to worry about feeding it or cleaning up after it... What a perfect pet!!

Only In Iowa do the Birds chirp at Night?!

On our Anniversary the kids had gone to bed. And Alan & I were enjoying some yummy spinach & cheese filled Raviolis while tuning into the Jersey Shore. (Yes we like to keep things classy! lol) It was probably around 10pm and we could still hear the birds chirping!! I thought this was so strange. And so every night after the kids were asleep, I opened the door and low and behold they keep going!!! I especially love the Woodpecker that woke me up this morning at 4am. But that aside Iowa has the most stunning birds I have ever seen EVER! Here is a list in our area..I promise to do a future post on the gorgeous birds in our backyard. :)

Only In Iowa do you have CORN in your gasoline!!!

Hey!! I really don't mind because it usually means cheaper gas by a whole whopping 10 cents!!! HAIL YA!!!

Only In Iowa do your pets BECOME Bird Prey...

Just in the few weeks of being here our poor dogs have been the apple of multiple birds eyes... (especially Red Tailed Hawks) Going outside with them every time has already become old. However this is the price you pay when you live within 5 miles of the great Mississippi River. In one months time we have already seen Osprey, (catching a fish over the Mississippi... gorgeous bird in flight!!) Bald Eagles, Turkey Vultures, & Red Tailed Hawk!!! Thank you Dubuque for your wide selection of GIANT Birds!! For a good story go here...

So as you can see Our Adventures never have a dull moment!! And I am sure since, I have this many story's to share in the first Month. There will be more in 2 months time... Special Thanks to the BFF Ginny for the Inspired Blog Title!!!

To Be Continued....