E's Summertime Favorite

Besides playing outdoors, one of E's most favorite summertime things is:

CORN ON THE COB!!

Sugie's Chicago Adventure

After many years of saying "no", I finally said "yes" to the question from Dad and Mims - Can Sugie join us on the annual grandkids trip? It was so hard for me to let her go!! But, this year's trip was within driving distance and just for a few days.

Sugie was sooooo excited to Chicago with her cousins! Mims had a full bag of candy packed for her, new shoes, and three new bathing suits!!

It was so weird not having our little girl around. But, we took advantage of the reduced number of kids by finding a babysitter and going on a date!
Sugie had a great time on her trip. They visited the Science & Technology Museum, took a boat ride through the city, went up in the Willis (formerly Sears) tower, went to Wrigley Field, and did a lot of walking. I hope to get some pics soon!

A Visit from Mims & Grandpa

Right after we returned from our Missouri adventure, Dad and Mims drove in from Arizona to visit everyone!! Buddy was so thrilled they brought one of their dogs, "Rocky".

Dad also came loaded with presents for the kids and ice cream for everyone!!
Little E really liked intereacting with Dad. He wouldn't leave his side. It was pretty cute!

Grant's Farm

Part 2 of our Missouri adventure was a stop in St. Louis. I was excited to take Little E to Grant's Farm because the other kids have always had a good time there. It starts out with a tram ride around the property, looking at the animals and Grant's house.

Then, it's goat feeding time!! We bought the kids bottles of milk to feed the goats. Sugie and Buddy opted to stay outside of their pen to feed them.
I took Little E inside so that he could get an up close view of the goats. The sign, "Goats may be aggessive", is an understatement! They were jumping on us and scratching us. It wasn't fun for either one of us, so we quickly joined the other kids.


Little E LOVED feeding the goats their bottle!! He got upset when it was empty!


Our visit took place during the oppressive heat wave. At 9 am, it was already 91 degrees!! So, the kids soaked themselves in the mist!
The kids aren't sweaty in this pic; just wet from the sprayer!
Camel feeding was interesting. Sugie, who is afraid of her own shadow, dropped the food when the camel tried to eat.
Buddy is usually a good sport when it comes to trying new things. He did an awesome job feeding the camels!
Funny faces! (I really hope the hubby isn't licking the baby!)


After making our way through the farm, we went to see the Clydesdales. There is a horse stable behind our property and Little E LOVES to see the horses each day.

I love this pic of Little E. He really loved those horses!

It was a fun day at the farm, but we ready to get back in some air conditioning!!

The New Keyboard

My grandparents love to give away things when you visit. Buddy received a treasure box and farm animal toys. Grandma tried to give me a ring. Sugie ended up with a pretty cool gift - a new keyboard!!

Within minutes of it being set up, she was in full costume singing and playing her little heart out. She even rigged her microphone on the music stand. She loves the keyboard! At school, she has keyboarding class (not typing, like I initially thought) once a week, so hopefully she'll do a lot of practicing.

Of course, the boys had to get their hands on it. They love the sounds effects, like the helicopter, gunshot, and telephone. Thanks so much, Grandma and Grandpa!!

Visit with the Grandparents

We visited my grandparent's near Springfield, MO. They had never met Little E, so we were excited to show off our precious boy.

They showed us off to all of the neighbors!
The kids were really good during the visit and thankfully didn't destroy anything.
Grandma and my Aunt Judy prepared a huge lunch for us and invited family in from surrounding areas.
I'm so glad we made the trip to visit them.
One regret is that we didn't go to Joplin to see the devastation from the tornado. It would have added two hours on our already 7 hour trip, so I was afraid that was pushing it with the kids.

Hotel Fun

July was a crazy month for us! Seems like we were out of town more than we were home. The kids loved our next vacation destination, Springfield, MO, mostly for the hotel. The hotel allowed dogs, so the kids went nuts when they saw one.
Hotel rooms also mean jumping on the bed without getting in trouble!! I'm not sure why they stripped down to their skivvies, but they had a great time!
The next night, we were in a suite in St. Louis, MO for part 2 of our trip.

The pool at the hotel was packed with kids!! No one could swim b/c it was so full. We were confined to our little area. Then, the manager came around to tell us that the pool was closing early. One of the million kids in the pool apparently vomitted in it. That's highly disgusting.
So, we grabbed some popcorn and root beer and headed back to the room to chill.