We've Been Through...

Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and back through the lower tip of Illinois and all the way back across Missouri. Woooo... What a trip! Over three thousand miles with only one small, or maybe not so small, misadventure (more on that later).

Alex did a lot of this... read I think three books on the drive.

While Zach did a lot of this. Playing on his new computer he bought right before we left town with some of his hard earned money.

The boys were never so happy to be back home. Zach and Alex officially do not like traveling that far by car. I think they enjoyed Washington D.C., Virginia and Tennessee, but other than that the car ride was torture for them. It was really all about being away from their girls for 8 or 9 days. You'd think we had them over the rack and coals.

I'll blog some more pics later and give the deets on the misadventure in Virginia... I'm kinda tired now.

More Chicago Fun...

I can't believe I forgot to put this picture up... The guys were sitting waiting for the train and I don't know for some reason this shot popped into my head... so being nice guys and humoring me... we have... Speak no Evil, See no Evil, and Hear no Evil... I probably got them in the wrong order... but I liked it... It's going to go on my wall of fame.

Here are just a few move random shots of Chicago. Zach absolutely fell in love with the R2D2 mailbox. So of course we had to get a picture. Then some man pointed out the sign for the Beginning of the Famous Route 66, so I had to get a picture of that too... Brent's cousin, Linda, has a great Antique store on Route 66 in Lebanon, MO... so family ties, sorta.... the shot in the bottom left is one of the cool buildings and happens to be where the came up with the names for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles... It has the names across the top edge of the building.... so that's it in terms of pictures from Chi Town, but we loved it and I am ready to go again.

The Windy City...

Here are just a few shots from the Windy City. I loved these taken of the light house on Lake Michagan by Navy Pier. They looked postcard perfect. Brent took them. He has quite the eye.

Two of these shots were taken from the top of the Sears Tower and two shots were taken from the Tall Boat/Pirate Sailboat we went out on our last night in Chicago. Pretty sure you can tell which was which.

This was taken on the sailboat as well. Not real sure what we were doing... oh well... I know we were having fun.

This was the best shot Zach got of Brent and I... he would snap the picture without giving any warning... you can tell I'm getting a little ticked... I should learn to go with the flow more.... any who... I will put up some more pictures later... I think we took somewhere around 300 pictures... totally not kidding... I won't be posting them all.

What I did on my Summer Vacation...

So over the long Memorial Weekend Brent, the kids and I went down to Lebanon, MO (close to Branson) and visited with Dad and Phyllis. Dad went with us to Steel Your Dollar City, aka... Silver Dollar City. Phyllis stayed home, bummer, because her allergies were going crazy. There was no way she could be outside all day. We sure love her and missed having her along. But you can see we had a great time.















Here is a picture of Brent's pet squirrel... crazy little thing thought it needed to dig up all the flowers.

We took Zach's friend, Taylor, with us and she fit right in. Didn't mind all the family harassment that is dished out either. She is such a sweet girl. We just love her.

The next day it rained to beat the band in the morning, but by noon the sun was out and it was beautiful. We took the kids to the Nation's longest foot bridge. Ya, we thought we were pretty much torturing them. But no, it was actually really neat and the kids loved it. The bridge was built in 1902 and spanned 13 railroad tracks. We followed the bridge up with a scenic tour of the finer side of Springfield, MO... or maybe the slums... Brent can get us in some pretty scary places sometimes, then on to the Bass Pro Shop. We had a great day over all. Hey, I got some new shoes... yeah, yeah!

The last day there Brent and I and the three kids went on a 9 mile canoe trip. It was great fun for everyone, except for mom (me) during the hour and a half where dad thought it would be fine if the kids took one leg and we went another. Needless to say, I didn't think that part was too neat... I think it's the mom thing. The kids were fine, all three had been on a canoe trip before. But I watched I can't tell you how many boats of adults tip over and lose everything in their canoes. Now I don't know why this would make me nervous, but for some reason it did. Brent was sure the kids had taken the more difficult route, not so much... theirs was the much easier leg... so they were way ahead of us. We however, had to cross trees criss crossing our section of the river, then carry our canoe... technically, Brent and another guy carried ours and his... across a large sand bar, because the other side kept tipping canoes over... We waited at the sand bar FOREVER for the kids... you know they were behind us.... not so much.... any who... an hour and a half later all was well when we spotted the kids waiting for us on another little beach area.... picnic lunched then finished up the trip with everyone in sight. It really was a great day.... more pics later... BIG THANK YOU!!!! to dad and momma Phyllis for putting us up and playing cards and games and having an overall great time with them! WE LOVE YOU!!

Just a few more Jadie shots...

Forgot to add these additional shots of Jade and Tim's Wedding. I love my silly, wonderful, marvelous, stupendous, super good looking family. Oh, did I forget to mention how incredibly modest and humble they are also.... he he he. Our crazy, long, sleepless four days in Utah. Oh... check out Jade's fake cake in the center shot... all the little boys wanted to know... when are you gonna cut that cake? Next thing I know... someone took a bite out of it... boy weren't they surprised when they got a mouth full of fondant and Styrofoam... he he he.

Here are a few shots of the mountains and the wind machines, oh and the crazy flame in the sky. Pretty much other than these, it was flat, flat, flat... and dark... and did I say... really, really long... but... Gid was super and the rest of the babies didn't complain too much either.

Ha Ha Tonka State Park...

We took a little scenic detour on the way home. Alexander had mentioned he would like to go back to Ha Ha Tonka State Park and show us a few of the sites. We were driving home and happened to pass right by the turn off, and much to Zach's dismay... one more stop was added to our trip. I am so glad we stopped. I love this state park. These first pictures are of the water tower that supplied the water for the Ha Ha Tonka Castle. We had to trek quite aways up the wooden steps to get to the top of the tower. I thought it was well worth the trek, even if it left me a little shaky. I'm a wimp. Don't you just love the shot of the guy's back... they were being a little difficult... didn't want to be models... to bad for them.

This group of pictures includes pictures of the stable/carriage house. I wish you could tell how large this was... The stable alone was larger than most modern homes.

Here are some shots of the ruins of the Ha Ha Tonka Castle. It is truly amazing. Just a little history... The castle was the dream of Robert McClure Synder,a wealthy Kansas City businessman. He visited the area in 1903 and was so impressed he purchased Ha Ha Tonka Lake, the Spring, and more than 5,000 acres in Camden County in 1904. He immediately began constructing roads and making extensive improvements. He envisioned a private retreat with a European-style castle, with a center atrium rising three and one-half stories to a skylight. Snyder also planned an 80-foot-high water tower, greenhouses, and a carriage house. He once said, "Here I will spend my leisure, secure from the worries of business and the excitement of city life. I will fish and loaf and explore the caves of these hills, with no fear of intrusion." Construction began in 1905 only to be halted a year later. Unfortunately he did not live to see his dream realized. His tragic death in 1906 was one of Missouri's first automobile fatalities.

His obituary in the Kansas City Journal on Oct. 29, 1906, said, "He maintained ideals for which he was recognized, never failing to accentuate the importance of family values. In a personal message to his son Robert Jr., he encouraged him to "lay down for yourself principles of truth ~ of honor ~ of self respect ~ and of unselfishness ~ and do not violate them ~ thus will your life be a success and a pleasure to you and everyone who knows or meets you." It was said that Snyder's business dealings were honorable and his name was synonymous with commercial integrity. His tragic death brought an end to his dream, however his sons finished building their father's dream, though not quite as elaborately as originally planned. The entire interior was gutted by fire when sparks from a chimney ignited the roof. The stable burned the same day. The water tower was burned by vandals in 1976. Only ruins remain... but they are lovely and you can still imagine the splendor.

These are picture of the Natural Bridge, 70 feet wide, spans 60 feet, and reaches more than 100 feet in the air. It is located in the State Park and can be reached by a half mile trek through the woods. Alex of course climbed to the top of the bridge. Zach had on flip flops (and designer shorts - he might have been a girl in a former life... jk) so he wasn't able or willing to climb up. You can see I was red faced just by all the walking and climbing. Brent snapped this oh so flattering picture of me. It's my proof I actually made it... It was gorgeous and certainly worth the effort. What a beautiful end to a truly wonderful family vacation.

More Vacation Fun....

Here are a few random shots of vacation fun and things we did and saw... notice Gid stuffing his face... he was so funny... he would grunt every time his plate got empty... Misty was like... use your words... funny, funny. The center shot is a picture of Dad and Phyl; Uncle Bobbie and Aunt Elsie; Misty, Jake and Gid... and then Me... I tried to cut me out but Misty got cranky... she said I was not allowed to delete all photos of me... I don't know why not. It's a cute picture in spite of me. Then we have Jake and Uncle Bobbie with the boat "The River King" which he designed and built from scratch. He has a boat manufacturer interested in his unique design. He is quite brilliant. Notice Jake admiring Uncle Bobbie's Mustang Shelby. Misty drools over it. Gotta love the family picture of the kids enjoying the breakfast the Grandpa Skip made for them. Oh, and then we have the fruits of Misty and my shopping expedition for the Gidmeister... score one for the Gid... we had a blast and the prices were great. The center picture at the top, is a picture of Brent's mom's grave with the flowers we took her. I think that pretty much covers it.

Fantastic Cavern...

This was pretty much the only shots of Fantastic Cavern that turned out. It was pretty cool. Fantastic Cavern is one of only 4 caves in the world where you ride through the cave on cars. It is the only cave in the United States that you can ride through. It was very pretty and interesting... at least to me.

After we finished at Fantastic Cavern we went to some wildlife aquarium thing... I liked the aquarium part... not so fond of the stuffed dead things though. Everyone enjoyed it... even our Gid. He was such a good boy for the entire vacation.

Have to add a special thanks to the Springfield Chamber of Commerce for all the neat free tickets. Bj scammed some free stuff again... yeah for Bj Scott... isn't he neat?

Time out for story time...

Here are some sweet shots of G.G.'Pa and G'Ma Phyllis reading to the little guys. This is a shot of Phyllis' grandson, Spencer, with our Gideon. What cute photos they made... isn't it neat that both boys love books so much? We start them young in our family.

Poor Miss Phyllis became a grandma for the first time and a great-grandma barely a year a part. That just almost doesn't seem right. I teased her when dad asked her to marry him if that would scare her off... she said it was a close call... jk... gosh we love her.

Aren't They Beautiful!?!

I love these shots of Misty and her sweet Gideon... they are so beautiful together. I love to see the sweet tender moments.... had to share.

Senior Tubin'

This shows what sports... and really how athletic Dad and Phyllis are. Some of the shots of dad are a bit blurred, but he and Phyl did great. She looks pretty dang good too! They are a pretty cute couple. We had so much fun with them. They were pretty much up for anything. Gotta love 'em!

More Tubin'

Alex did pretty great... he hung in there even when dad was tryin' to lose him. He looks pretty dang cute too!

This was as close as he got to standing up like the Jake and Zach... I thought he did awesome!

Then we have me... I know for a fact that Brent was tryin' to dump me... I could hear them laughing... oh, maybe that was me... what a hoot. Never dreamed it would make you so tired hangin' on for dear life. Sure didn't want to be the only one that got dumped.

I had a blast, held on to the bitter end too. Pretty much had numb arms when I was through.

Tubin'

So Jake and Zach were the first up for tubin'... it was kinda funny... no one wanted to be first... so the guys decided they could go together.... what a hoot!

You can tell they were really getting in to it... They were pretty much the bravest all around.

Then we have Miss Misty... she even looks great tubin'... what is that all about?

I loved this shot... she was having a blast... I love the water shot.

Day 3... Lake of the Ozark

On Friday, day two, we just did a little site seeing in and around the Lebanon area... a little shopping thrown in for good measure. Misty, Jake, and Gid joined us on day three... Brent rented a boat at Lake of the Ozark, we had a great time. Here are a few random shots through out the day. The weather was PERFECT! We could not have asked for better. Everyone seemed to really enjoy the day.

1st Day at Silver Dollar City

Silver Dollar City.... or as Brent likes to say... steal your dollar city.... was lovely. The weather was perfect, we went on a Thursday and there were no lines... yeah for no lines... it was a great day!

You can see Alex was way excited to have his picture taken.... I almost cut him out and then I thought.... no this is life.

Ok... they loved this ride... I tried to get the picture of Brent and dad, but couldn't get is snapped in time.

I had to put this in... Phyllis is such a good sport.... as you can see, she got totally drenched. All in all it was a great day... if you take out the yucky food.