Oswald visit (cont'd)

On Friday we headed to Nauvoo to camp and to see the Nauvoo Pageant. It was SUPER hot, but we went anyway! We got there around 7pm, set up our camper, and headed to see the pageant. The next morning we walked around the town and my sister, her husband, and my mom went to the Nauvoo Temple. We met back together for lunch, then they left to head back to CO and we headed back home as well. We had planned on staying Saturday night, but just felt like we should head home then. We got about 1 mile out of town when it started to storm so terribly! Lots of rain, wind, and even some hail! We were so glad that our camper wasn't still up and that we were headed to the safety of our home.

Sydney's Magic Socks

Nonnie brought these special magic socks for Sydney. She bought them for herself while she was on her mission in Chile. Sydney needs these special socks because she wakes up with feet pain sometimes at night and it helps to put her feet in warm water, then put on warm socks. Thanks Nonnie!

Oswald visit (cont'd)

After the Riverboat Cruise, we drove over the the City Garden downtown. The kids had lots of fun playing in the fountains.

We let Reagan air out. A group of Asian tourists stopped to take pictures of her and tell us how cute she is! It was funny.

Oswald visit (cont'd)

On Thursday we went on a Riverboat Cruise on the Mississippi. It was super hot, but we stayed cool with lots of drinks and enjoyed the view of the city.

Oswald Visit

My sister and her family came to visit us this past week. They arrived on Sunday night after driving 13 hours from Colorado.

On Monday we went to the St. Louis Zoo. We had fun riding the train, seeing the Sea Lion show, and riding the Carousel. As we were heading out of the zoo, a huge storm blew in and we had to hang out in the Living World building until it passed.

On Tuesday, we took the kids to have their portraits made together. They turned out really well. I'll scan it when I have a chance. After the portraits we had lunch at Chick-Fil-A. Then we went to Zachary's park to play.

On Wednesday, we went to the library in the morning, then roller skating in the afternoon. It was the girls first time and they were SO excited to go! That sure didn't last long. The minute they stepped foot onto the skating rink, they had definitely changed their minds. The poor little girls thought they were going to step out there and fly around the rink, but they couldn't even stand up! It took us, literally, 20 minutes to make it around once! After that they said they didn't want to skate anymore. I was so disappointed for me and for them! I had just spent money for us to stake and they were done after one lap??? So, I let Sydney stop because she didn't even want to try to do it anymore, but I could tell Kathryn wanted to learn, so I pushed her to keep going. She screamed at me for a good 5 minutes that she wanted to stop, but I told her that she was never going to learn how if she stopped. So, this first video is part of her second lap around and the second video is how she was skating at the end of 2 hours. I know that seems like a long time, but we took some pretty long breaks. I'm really proud of her for keeping at it. We're definitely taking Mike with us next time we go. He's a great skater and I think he'll be a good coach.

U-Pick

On Friday we went blackberry and peach picking. The days have been really hot, so we got there when they opened (8am), but we were already about 50th in line! It worked out once they opened the fields, though. We picked on the thorned bushes (because there were less people there) and were just very careful. Then we picked 11 peaches. The peach picking goes really quickly and often it's easy to pick way more than was intended. After we paid for our fruit, I accidentally dumped it all on Reagans head as she was sitting in the stroller! Not so fun, but I managed to pick most of it up. A helpful (sarcastic) lady walked by and said, "Oh, you spilled all your fruit!", and just kept walking. Tomorrow I'm going to make a peach cobbler and a fruit pizza.

Do you like my earrings?

The girls thought Reagan would look cute with the princess earrings on. They were right!

She's Got Style

Here is Sydney modeling one of her birthday presents. So fancy!

Sydney's 4th Birthday!

Our sweet Sydney just turned 4 years old! We drove home from vacation on her birthday, so we celebrated on Tuesday, the day of her party. We went to Red Robin for her birthday lunch and then came home and had her party.

Opening presents. I just love the look their giving each other.

Sydney hitting the pinata that I made for her. Unfortunately, I need to go back to pinata school and figure out how to make the hanger stronger. We had a little malfunction, but I just sprinkled the candy on the ground and the kids didn't care at all!

The Best TexMex EVER!

On our drive from Monroe, LA to Austin, TX, we drove through Tyler (my hometown!) and ate at the best TexMex restaurant ever! We stuffed ourselves full of beef fajitas, beans, rice, and sopapillas! SO GOOD! The girls loved the fajitas and the free ice cream at the end!

Fun in Monroe

After our time in Odessa, we drove to Monroe, LA, picking up Mike in Dallas along the way. We celebrated birthdays, sang Karaoke, swam A LOT!, and ate good food! We celebrated the Fourth of July by watching fireworks and eating red, white, and blue striped jello.

Kathryn learning to dive!

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Daly in Odessa

We drove to Odessa and spent a fun week with our Grandma and Grandpa Daly! Grandma planned a fun-filled week for us. Little did she know that it would rain and be chilly while we were there! The girls got to swim in the blow-up pool for one day, but the other days were too cool. We played Uno and I-Spy, ate yummy food, harvested Grandpa's garden (corn, beets, okra, tomatoes, plums), took a day-trip to Big Spring, and just loved being with them! (I think Kathryn might have taken this pic.)

They made cupcakes in ice cream cones.

We celebrated Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving!

Don't these faces look happy and like they feel loved! Thanks for the fun visit!

Rutledge Wilson Park in Springfield, MO

We stopped at this cool park in Springfield, MO, on our way to Odessa, TX. This park was designed by Cre8play, who is designing a new park in O'Fallon. I'd seen pictures of this park in their promotional pieces and wanted the opportunity to see it in real life! It was super hot, so we only played a short time, but the girls really liked it!