Vacation 2014 {St. Louis}

We wrapped up vacation week

We left for St. Louis on Monday and came back Thursday evening

We had a great time but I have to say, we won't be visiting St. Louis any time soon

St. Louis was too hectic for our liking

 

Monday we stopped at Mark Twain Caves in Hannibal Mo.

Tuesday we went to the St. Louis Zoo

The elephants were our favorite

 

We went up in the Arch

These boys should have earned a medal for being so patient

We bought tickets at 2:00 for a 5:35 tram ride

 but they don't tell you that you'll still have another hour of waiting

On Wednesday we went to the City Museum

It was amazing and I think the boys were the perfect age for all the climbing
Pictures don't do this place justice- It was AMAZING



We climbed 10 stories of spiral stairway to ride the spiral slide down

 

We also went to Ted Drewes

You haven't had ice cream until you have it from here

 

On Thursday we went to the St. Louis Science Museum

I wish we would have gone to Grants Farm instead

It was pretty disappointing

 Spencer sat down on this piece of glass in the skywalk,

 the speaker above him made a crackling noise and the look on his face was priceless
I wish I would have got it on video

 

On our way home we stopped at the biggest firework shop

The boys were sure it was the best $20 we spent on the entire vacation

 

 We pulled in the drive about 5:00 and couldn't have been happier
I wish I was a better traveler, I guess I'm a home body

Friday and Saturday I attempted to squeeze as many clients in as I could
My sweet hubby took the boys fishing both days

Parker caught this tiny turtle and gave it to Spencer's coach for his boys

On Sunday my nieces came home
Grandma Camp starts today!

It's going to be another GREAT week! 

Baseball 2014

 

 

We're marking off another great year of baseball

Our summer {May and June} was consumed by games but we wouldn't have it any other way

 

Spencer played for Bridgestone again this year

I'm pretty sad that this was his last year with the team

Travis and Henry have been amazing coaches

They are so patient with the boys and know a ton about baseball

I still laugh when Travis asks the boys to do something followed by please...

We had a boy catching balls bare handed during warm up one day

Travis said, use your glove... please

Maybe it's just the way he says it but I laugh every time

I would be like- Seriously this is baseball, use your glove!

 

Not only are the coaches amazing, these boys have developed a special friendship
They know what each particular boy needs to hear to get him out of the funk

It's nice that they get to play with the same kids for several years until they move up

 

Last year the Bridgestone team won second in the tournaments

This year the went into tournaments 14-0 and placed second again in the championships

  

Parker played for Real-estate Resource and Associates

I wish I could say the same thing about Parker's coaches and team mates

It's been a tough season

The coach told us first hand that he knew nothing about baseball

He wasn't kidding

Parker was pitcher, catcher and first baseman this year

He says he loves being behind home plate

Who knew we'd have two catchers in the family

We got a kick out of Parker when he first started catching

He just sat in the same spot and didn't really move around
After some coaxing,

he finally told Chip that he couldn't move because his baseball pants were too tight

Our boys are built totally different,

Parker had been wearing Spencer's pants from last year

So.... we bought new/bigger pants and it made a world of difference

He dives after the ball and is becoming quite the catcher
Spencer likes to say he taught him everything he knows

 

 

Parker also did some pitching this year

 

It was a great ball season

Now we have to figure out what to do with all of our spare time

 

 

 



Whirl wind

 

 

This last week has been a whirl wind

My head is swirling like a tornado

I'm sleep deprived

and

my emotions have got the best of me

 

Last Saturday we spent 6 hours at church preparing for VBS

 

Last Sunday we had church in the park,

followed by an awesome game of kickball

We came home long enough to get some laundry going

and went back to church for a few more hours to prepare for VBS

We got home about 8:00, put the kids in the showers and finally sat down to breathe

 I heard Spencer yell-

Dad, Mom, Somebody......... {my children can't shower without yelling at least once}

When he yelled somebody, there was panic and I could tell something bad was happening

My guess was the toilet was overflowing

I ran in there to find him buck naked sitting on the toilet seat

I asked what was wrong and he told me that he slipped in water and cut his foot on the vanity

It wasn't until he lifted his foot off the towel that I saw blood

I took a look and saw that he sliced it between the toes {pretty deep}

I called my mom and she was pretty sure she could wave her wand and fix him up

but when she got there, she agreed that it was too deep and it needed stitches

All Spencer could say was-

I can't let me team down, I have to catch tomorrow

I don't want stitches!

My mom assured him that if he got stitches, he would be able to catch

We had a great experience in the ER

9 shots of novocain and 4 stitches later he was ready to play ball

 

He was NOT happy about being there

 

It hasn't bruised a bit and is healing nicely

 

Monday through Friday we had VBS from 9-12 in Wilton,

Spencer went to show choir camp from 1-4,

we had ball tournaments and championship games Monday, Wednesday and Thursday night

and Spencer had his show choir show on Friday night

 

Pictures from our last week of ball

Doing what he loves

Tanner and Spencer

Bridgestone took 2nd place in the championship

Can't play ball without gum or seeds

In the midst of all the chaos,

I applied for a job and got a call for an interview

I interviewed on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30

and accepted the job with the City of Muscatine on Thursday morning

I'm excited, nervous, scared and sad as I step away from my business and clients

The pay and benefits are amazing and I'm excited to start this new chapter

 

Through this crazy week, we have seen God move in so many ways

 

Here's a  video of our kids rocking out at VBS

We don't attend your "normal" church and we like it that way 

 

 

 It's been a great week but is it time for our vacation yet? 

 

 



Turning three

It's been a while since we've had a three year old in the house

Okay, it's not quite the same but she's like one of our kids

This beauty turns three today

 

We absolutely love her

She has such a cute personality





 

 

 

Things she loves:

Hide and go seek

Cheetos

Trying to get outside

kitty treats

Being loved on
Sleeping in high places

 Being in the bathroom while dad takes his shower

 

 

 

Things she hates:

Being groomed

Crumbs in the bottom of her bowl
The rug in the bathroom
Tornado sirens
Being left alone inside while everyone else is outside



Happy Birthday Amelia Pearl
We can't imagine life without you