Iowa Ups and Downs

We just got back from our trip to Iowa last night. It was overall a good trip, but had a lot more ups and downs than usual:

Ups:

1. We saw Derek's whole (maternal) family, and didn't even have to stay in a hotel or eat bad food. Derek's mom made dinner Friday night and we ate at our favorite Mexican restaraunt Sat night, El Ranchero. We also got to eat at the Hamburg Inn on Sat morning for a classic Iowa City breakfast (those of you who were fans of the Chill-N-Grill, it exists no more - however, Taste of China is still going strong.
2. The weather was great, despite bad predictions (never trust weather predictions)

3. I got to spend some quality time with my mom, my brother and my horse.

4. We took both Friday and Monday off, so the vacation was extra long and extra nice.

5. Derek is at a conference today (Tuesday) that he didn't need to be at until 9:30, so we got to sleep in

6. We saw a HUGE rainbow on our drive back (no pot of gold or skittles, however, they both appear to be rather elusive)

Downs:

1. My mom's horse revealed his nervous side in full blast and she has finally decided to sell him - since she has only had him a year she isn't too attached, however it is a pain in the neck to sell a horse and was a hard decision to make.

2. Since my mom is selling her horse she has to decide now whether to continue with horses and manage a farm by herself. If she decides not to, then I have to find a new home for my horse, which is an incredibly difficult move (although may actually be easier for me than for her, since giving away my horse will probably mean giving up riding forever).

3. My mom's beautiful Samoyed dog, Lady, disappeared on Sunday and hasn't returned - she may have been picked up by some stranger looking for a pretty dog! We're very sad.