Sunday

We left home at 7:30am and drove until 5:30 pm.  We had been excitedly anticipating seeing our family friends for months!  We couldn’t wait to see them again!  After arriving and unloading we played with some toys, ate some pizza, and happily collapsed into bed.

Seeing the St. Louis arch made Brooke ecstatic that we were almost close… (only three and half hours to go!)

Super Ed was requested to wrap up and deliver each child multiple times. I am pretty sure Ed needed a hot tub and a night off after the kids were through with him.

Let the silliness begin!

Monday – Biking, Park, Water Pump Replacement, Bike Ride, Lambert’s

I couldn’t help but try to soak in some of the morning sunshine each day.  The temps started in the mid thirties in the morning, but one or two days it was up into the low sixties by the late afternoon.

We headed on our bikes to the neighborhood park.  It helped that Cody kept his bike helmet on at the park.  He walked right into a wood crossbeam at least once with full force and just kept right on walking…  He is one tough kid!

Scott couldn’t help himself, he had the urge to have another on-the-road car repair.  Alright, I might be exaggerating just by a little… Scott discovered the water pump was leaking badly right before we left for our trip.  We took the smaller car because the larger car originally had a worse leak… Oh how we miss the journey van.  Sadly the journey van was sold in November.  Scott offered to let us keep it if I started the upkeep on the van.  Needless to say it is gone. :-(  We are currently on the hunt for a mini journey van.

A picture from our 1 hour - 14 mile bike ride. We took the picture mid-ride, so my smile is still large. Despite the intense hills there was a strange satisfaction in surviving those hills even when I was struggling to “just keep swimming” (Finding Nemo). Kayla’s cheering me on helped quite a bit too!  I wish I had her back home!  I was so exhausted and euphoric near the end of the ride that I was chatting with the horses and cows who seemed to be the only members of the Neighborhood Watch they advertised every few fences!

Lambert’s!!! Home of the “throwed” rolls!

Cody’s sorghum and hot throwed roll face is priceless!

Our friends are amazing!  They not only put up with us invading their home, but they willingly trek off to Lambert’s with us every trip!  I can still feel how full I was that night.

We had enough leftovers for another meal. See Scott carrying the to-go containers? The balloons are the best way to end a fantastic evening at Lambert’s.

Tuesday

Ice Cream – Orange Leaf – Swimming Center – Chinese – drive through (Who knew?)

We stopped at an Orange Leaf (very similar to a Yum’s) ice cream shop before heading into our bathing suits.  I loved listening to my kids giggle with delight at the Ozark Community Center. We had an absolute blast with the giant pail of water dumping on us, the “toilet” bowl whirlpool that we went around and around in for what seemed like forever, and even the lockers in the locker room.  With adorable kids and boundless energy the fun never stops! Well, until bedtime… :-)