Taylor and I spent much of yesterday flying to Iowa for my Grandma Virg's 90th birthday celebration. We had a layover in Dallas before landing in Moline, Ill. We rented a car, drove across the Mississippi River into Iowa and had a nice chinese dinner with most of the family in Dewitt.
My cousin, Bethany, was nice enough to let us stay at her house and we had a fun night catching up before heading to bed.
I was up early and made a quick trip to Barnes Foodland. My grandfather started the store in 1950 and ran it until his passing in 1979. My uncles then took it over and sold it just last week to an investor. It was the family business for 65 years! Thankfully, the new owners are keeping the family name, keeping all of the current employees (including my Uncle Greg as Store Manager and my Uncle Pat) and keeping my favorite donut recipes!!
After breakfast, Taylor and I went over to Grandma's house. There is still snow on the ground from a brutal winter, but we brought the So Cal sun with us for a beautiful weather weekend.
At 90, Grandma spends quite a bit of time in this chair crocheting and watching basketball, but she still lives alone and gets around pretty well with her walker. She still drives about 4 blocks each time she needs to get her hair done!
Before taking a tour by car, we went for a walk with my Mom around town. We stopped by the house my grandma lived in prior to moving to her condo…such wonderful memories of holidays, fun with cousins and Uncle Brian in the basement (pool table, ping pong, arcade games), and catching lightning bugs on the back porch.
I knocked on the door to see if the new owners would let us take a peek, but no luck.
After lunch, my Dad and Grandma joined us for a car ride for a little history lesson. We first stopped by the cemetery in Dewitt to see my Grandpa who passed of a heart attack in 1979.
Then we drove to the neighboring town of Grand Mound to see the house where my Grandpa was raised
and where my Grandma's parents lived.
This home was owned by Darlene and Lowell (Darlene was my Grandma's sister).
We visited the Grand Mound cemetery. I wanted to get photos of all of the grave stones so I can document family history. Here are my Grandma's parents, Camiel and Lillian, and her sister Rosemary.
Darlene and Lowell Rothbart
My Grandpa's parents, Clarence and Selma
Clarence's parents, John and Mary
Once back at Grandma's, Taylor had fun going through old family albums and reading letters about the family's history. Here is my Grandma and Grandpa with the 7 Barnes children. There are 20 years between my mom and her youngest brother Brian.
I love this photo of my Great Grandma Lillian!
We finished the night with a fun dinner at Greg and Sheri's. They are the proud grandparents of 1 month old, Oliver. We ate pizza and salad and shared stories for hours.
Taylor and I loved learning so much history and having so much family in the same room!
