Winnie & Papa C Visit Iowa

A few weeks ago, my parents visited from Texas!  They were the first family to come visit, and we had a great time showing them our house, neighborhood, and town.  We did lots of fun things, but we pretty much did all there is to do in the Quad Cities!  We joked that the first time anyone comes to visit, it is super fun, but any subsequent times will be a little on the boring side since we've already done all there is to do!  Midway through my parents' visit, my sister flew in from Virginia to surprise them.  She and I had been planning it for weeks, but mom & dad were REALLY surprised.  We had to tell a great number of elaborate lies to make it happen, but the surprise remained in tact, and it was pretty fun.  Come visit again soon, Winnie, Papa C, and Aunt Julia!  Warning: Picture Overload.

Morning playtime with Papa C

Mom & Dad getting a John Deere factory tour

Play time with Winnie 

Visiting the John Deere Pavilion

Saturday morning at the Freight House Farmer's Market

Walking along the Mississippi

Downtown Davenport skybridge

Out for walks in the neighborhood.  Yes, our neighborhood is in a corn field.  You can't make this stuff up.

Being silly with Aunt Julia

A little backyard pool time

Out to dinner at Iowa Machine Shed 

Lots of snuggles

Showing off our "almost crawling" skills

And, just showing off in general!

Thanks to my mom and sister for taking all of these fabulous pictures!  I didn't even get out my camera since they are such great photographers!  We had a blast... come visit again soon!

On the Road Again...

The Nomadic Norwoods are on the move again!  

This time, we're loadin' up the ole tractor and moving to Bettendorf, Iowa!

To help prepare you for our move, I'm going to answer some frequently asked questions.

Q:  What does Bettendorf, Iowa look like?

A:  This.

Q:  What do the people in Bettendorf, Iowa look like?  

A:  Here's a sneak peek of what our family will look like in a few years. 

Q:  Where the heck is Bettendorf, Iowa?  

A:  Here's a visual aid.  Bettendorf is part of the "Quad Cities".

Q:  Haven't you moved like one million times?  

A:  Yes.  Here are the stats.

Years of Marriage:  8

Academic Degrees:  5

Cities Lived In:  4

Homes Lived In:  6

Companies Worked For:  7

Job Titles:  10

Q:  Are y'all ever going to settle down and just live in one place?

A:  Probably not.

Q:  What is Brent going to do in Iowa?

A:  This.

{just kidding.  Brent is going to be a Project Manager for John Deere managing the development of a new product!}

Q:  What is Katie going to do in Iowa?

A:  I'm transitioning out of my current role with YES Prep.  I'm going to take care of Ava and work from home part time for YES Prep doing project work, communication, and logistics.

Q:  Where are you going to live in Bettendorf?

A:  When Ava was 10 weeks old, Brent flew to Iowa and looked at 12 houses in one day.  I had to stay home with Ava because, well, do YOU want to take a 10 week old on a cross-country house-hunting trip?  Didn't think so.  Brent picked out a house for us and bought it.  I haven't actually seen it.  That's how we roll.  I hear it's lovely.  :-)  Yeah, that's snow.

Q:  When are you moving?

A:  Thursday.

{Yep, Thursday.  You can pray for us!  I'm choosing not to think about the 1.5 million details that have to fall into place to move us, Ava, Blazer, all our stuff, two cars, and a partridge in a pear tree across the country.  Denial is the best policy.}

Q:  What are you excited about and not excited about when you think about moving to Iowa?

Not Excited About:

Moving a newborn across the country

Living 4 days in an empty house in Iowa while we wait for our things to be delivered

Missing all the amazing restaurants and fun places in Durham

Missing our friends and neighbors in Durham

Digging out of snowdrifts daily

Excited About:

Fresh corn all the time

Awesome, new, bigger house

Decorating a new house

Small town living - no traffic and no stress

Finding a new church and getting involved

Making new friends 

Going to Chicago to buy anything (see.. I could have made that a negative, but I'm thinking positive)

Exploring the surrounding areas

So that's it, folks!  If you have any other questions, feel free to ask in the comments section.  Here's to a new adventure in America's heartland!