Jeff, Laura, and Ada came to visit!

This weekend Brian's brother Jeff, his wife Laura and their daughter Ada came to visit (all the way from Boston)! They had to brave some bad weather to make it to Iowa, but they arrived safe and sound. We were able to do lots of visiting- helping us get to know Ada again. She's grown so much since we last saw her in June. Here's Ada playing with Brian's guitar. Ada's Dad plays a lot of guitar and Ada already knows what a guitar pick is for! (She's very advanced.)Here's Ada with her Mom......and her Dad.

While chatting we realized that none of us were able to eat chili and cinnamon rolls this holiday season (a Bickmeier holiday tradition), so we decided that we needed to. Laura made kicker chili (perhaps some of the best we've ever had) and I made cinnamon rolls with cream cheese frosting.
Add some red wine and sharp cheddar cheese and you have a perfect meal! Combine that with a highly entertaining couple (Jeff and Laura), and you have the making of an excellent evening.
Here's a photo of Brian and Jeff waiting for dinner to be served.


After dinner we had an intense game of Parcheesi (the best game ever invented). There were some tough times for Brian. Jeff and Laura showed no mercy and became grand champions. This is sad because they had never played the game before. Alas!


The next day we had to go out for pork tenderloin sandwiches. (Iowa is the pork capital of the world). Our favorite restaurant Rustix was closed for the holiday (so no big beers), but we managed to find a substitute restaurant. After homemade onion rings and fried cheese appetizers, Jeff still managed to finish his tenderloin sandwich. Nice work keeping up with Brian, Jeff. It takes a lot.Thanks for coming Jeff, Laura, and Ada! See you again soon!