At Home in Bettendorf

You never know what kind of hovel your children are living in, or what seedy characters they're hanging out with, until you actually visit.  That was our motivation for visiting Jonny and Jenny at their new home in Bettendorf, Iowa, over the weekend of November 9, 2018.  We were pleasantly surprised.  Their home was spacious, new, and beautiful, their children were thriving, and their friends whom we met at Church seemed most respectable.  Even Bettendorf was charming.  It is one of the "quad cities" nestled together along the Mississippi River, near the John Deere headquarters in Moline, Illinois,where Jonny works.  In addition to the good schools and the warm, Midwestern feel to the community, there were picturesque ethnic restaurants nearby, and a number of interesting museums within an hour's drive.  Chicago, with all its exciting culture, is just three hours away. 

 Jonny and Jenny's new home has four bedrooms, an attractive living room and dining area, a three-car garage, and an enormous playroom in the walk-out basement.  The backyard is a huge, green open space through which children run from one house to another.  Henry's friend, Timmy, lives just a house or two away.

 When Dave and I arrived, we offered to feed Henry a snack while Jenny picked up Sam at kindergarten.  Henry howled as Dave cut a collection of bananas first one way and then another, trying to please him, and then tried to smear on the peanut butter just right.  Henry had definite opinions, but couldn't quite tell us what they were!

 We went to dinner at The Crust, Bettendorf's best pizza place.  As my mother used to say, Henry and Sam were "just as good as little kids can be."  Sam carefully colored the pictures the waitress handed him, and Henry had some quiet moments sipping Sprite.  When the pizza took longer to arrive than they could handle, Henry and Sam were under the table and around the room, just like their dad was at the same age! 

 Dave gets tired of making happy faces for my photos.

 The pizza was worth waiting for!

Henry celebrated his third birthday on November 5, so Dave and I brought him a big, plastic truck that opened up into a track for little cars.  Henry loves all vehicles, small and large, so the gift seemed to please.  We also brought Sam a foos ball game, which it took all of Jonny's attention to assemble.

Thomas appreciated his new box toy, with its bright and whirring balls and levers.  Jonny and Jenny left Salt Lake in mid-July, when Thomas was less than a month old, so we applauded Thomas' new tricks.  He could flip over, rock back and forth on the carpet, and give beautiful smiles.  He was just learning to get that arm out from under him when he rolled over.   "I think he's very smart," Jonny said.  Of course.

 Sam loved his new foos ball game.  "Sam is very athletic," Jonny also said.  Of course.

And we already knew that Sam is both smart and charming.  We played shape games with Sam. And then we went to bed, to rest up for our adventures in the morning.