Visit at Grandma and Pa's House

This past weekend, we went to visit Grandma and Pa. Pa had been working very hard to buy some old games off eBay to make A.J. the largest castle and pirate game ever. When we arrived, he was shocked to see it and played with it for hours!



After dinner with Kev and his family, the Pope family came over for a night swim. Other than a short time out of the pool for thunder (which caused a great debate to the relation of thunder to lightning... and Brecca and Summer were wrong about), we had a great time. Here are some pictures and a video clip of Claire going off the diving board for the first time.

Art Camp

The Parks and Recreation Department in Opelika has wonderful programs to offer for children of all ages throughout the entire summer. Abigail picked "I Love Art" to go to for a week. It was an art camp for preschoolers ages 3 through entering kindergarten. She had a fabulous time!


She was able to do all the fun (and messy) art I hesitate doing at home! She painted with everything from a brush to a popsicle, made edible play dough, used spray t-shirt paint to make t-shirts, and more. They even learned to identify famous paintings and how to do color blending. I will definitely be sending her back again next year.





On the last day, all the parents were invited to view their work in the room. It was displayed throughout the room, and the group did a presentation on what they had learned. On the way out, I knew she had a good time when she was in such a great mood. I was able to capture a wonderful picture of her leaving with her proud big brother.

Apple Tree

One of the best parts of living in an older house is the mature landscaping that already exists in the yard. We have an apple tree in our front yard, and Allan has been trying to get it to produce. This week... we got our first apples.

Allan took the kids out to help pick them (look through the ladder rungs, and you can see the kids waiting with their bags). They were able to pick enough (around a dozen) to fry with some cinnimon and sugar. Yum!

Bad Combination

As I have said before, red dye and Abigail are a bad combination. But, how about this -- red dye, caffeine, and a 2 hour nap! That spells destruction.

In the morning, I had bought the kids a Sunkist drink because orange drinks are caffeine free. At lunch, they had hardly drank any of it, so I put it in the fridge. After Abigail took a nap for over 2 hours, she got the rest out of the fridge. It never dawned on me until she had drank about 90% of the drink, that it probably had red dye. When I checked the back, I was right. Then, to my horror, I also saw "CAFFEINE" in the list of ingredients. WHAT? I thought it was caffeine free. I had bought a diet one because I am trying to cut some sugar for them, and apparently, they have caffeine.

So, 2 hour nap, caffeine, and red dye... here is what you get! Notice the clock. She usually is in bed by 8, and this was at 8:30. We were watching America's Got Talent (which normally she snuggles in to watch), but instead....

The Pirate Ship

Abigail has been going to an art camp for preschoolers this week (and has loved it of course). Since she has been talking about her painting and activities, A.J. decided he needed to have craft time with me. And, of course, he couldn't pick something simple like drawing or painting, but instead... he chose to make a pirate ship! Here is a video clip of him describing his ship.

After completion, he quickly found all of his pirate men (very similar to the popular little green army men) and added them to a ship. What an imagination he has!!

Cousins

Saturday, Kevin, Lesli, Emily, and Christian came by for a lunch visit on their way home from vacation in north Alabama. We had a wonderful lunch, and as always, Uncle Kevin wore them all out with an active game of hide and go seek! This was the first time we had just the two families together at our home, and we really enjoyed it. We used to live 20 minutes from each other and hardly saw each other. Now, we are 3 hours away and miss being together. I guess sometimes you don't know what you have until it is gone!

Life with a Brother

Those of you (like myself) who have grown up with a big brother know this picture all to well. Look closely, and you will notice a few things. First of all, this is Dora, Abigail's Dora. But, if you look at her surroundings, you will notice she is not only in handcuffs, but also in A.J.'s room.

Yes... A.J. arrested Dora. He said she had shot someone and had to go to jail for the rest of her life. Poor Dora. And, we thought she was such an innocent character!

(And, thank you Amy for this huge Dora doll we just adore!!!)

Trip Summary

If you can't tell from all the posts I have done today, we had a wonderful time in St. Louis. If this is the first post you are reading, be sure to scroll down and see all the fun. I haven't lived in the St. Louis area since I was almost 10, but every time we go, it still feels like home.


Thank you Grandma Ina and Grandpa Wally for opening your home to us. Thank you for being wonderful and loving grandparents throughout my life, and now in the life of my children. Thank you for being an outstanding example of Christian love for others and for each other. I am blessed to have you as my grandparents.

Thank you Mom for taking us and putting up with us. A.J. was not exactly on his best behavior (that is an understatement), and you put up with it well. I always enjoy being with you, even in the car for 24 hours! I love you and miss you so much.


Just a few last pictures to show how much we enjoyed our trip:

The Magic House

The thing I love to do the MOST in St. Louis is visit the Magic House (also known as the Children's museum). It is simply awesome, and is even reasonable in price! Grandma and I took the kids Tuesday afternoon. Aside from the fact that it was very crowded, it was wonderful. I am pretty sure they would have stayed there all day if we let them.

On the way into the Magic House was the largest sand castle I have ever seen. They also had a "beach" they had created for kids to play in the sand. That was funny to me because the beach is no big deal to us not too far from the ocean. But for the Midwestern children, it was a fun treat.

Inside, there were many science experiments and fun things to see. Both kids loved the 3-story slide and didn't mind climbing the stairs over and over to keep going down it.

Here are some pictures of some of the science things they did:

We all (except Abigail who refused to participate) love the magic ball that made our hair stand straight up. As a matter of fact, all the employees wear a picture of themself on a button with their hair up!



The best part of the museum is the pretend town. I have never seen anything like it. There is a grocery store (which Abigail stayed in for half an hour at least) fully stocked with play food, cash registers, and more. There was also a house, a bank, a construction zone, the electric company, a restaurant, a TV studio, and an "outside" section for fishing and a tree house. It was really simply amazing.

Just plain and simple... we had fun!

Grandpa Wally's 79th Birthday

Monday night of our stay in St. Louis, my cousin, Steven, his wife, Kendra, and their 3 boys (Kenny, Mike, and Nick) came over to visit and play with A.J. and Abigail. They had a wonderful time. I wish we lived closer to spend more time together.

Here is a picture of all 5 kids playing together and a video clip of them playing football. Watch the clip closely. My family is into football, and theirs is Nascar. A.J. wanted to play football running a traditional football field direction. However, Nick had a different plan -- going left in a circle like a true Nascar man! At least they were having fun.

We also decided to surprise Grandpa Wally for his 79th birthday. The kids helped blow out the candles! Now, wouldn't you just love a piece of cake that 5 children who had been playing football just blew on???

Visit with Aunt Bea

While on our trip, we were able to make a very special visit. My grandfather's aunt lives in St. Louis and is 93 years old (although you could never tell). She is very special to my mom and to me. We haven't seen her since I was in high school, and of course, she has never met my children. She is their great, great, great aunt! Or as Abigail was calling her... her best, best, best aunt! We love our Aunt Bea!

(Here is a representation of 5 generations: Aunt Bea, Grandpa Wally, Grandma, Me, and A.J. and Abigail).

St. Louis Zoo

One of our favorite places to visit when we go to St. Louis is the St. Louis Zoo. It is the world's largest free zoo. Or at least they say it is free. Once you get in for free, then you pay for EVERYthing you do. Thank you Grandma for funding this fun treat!

We, of course, saw lots of amazing animals, rode the train, and got lost in the zoo. I won't bore you with all the animal pictures, but here are a few of the Grandmas and the kids. I couldn't take too many because Abigail wasn't in a picture mood!




Grandma's favorite thing in the zoo is always the penguin house. As a matter of fact, that is how we got lost -- looking for the penguin house! Here are a few pictures of us inside the house and what A.J. thought about it (the video):

Nashville Stop

On the way to St. Louis, we stopped off with Pa at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. Pa was there for a convention, and we were able to stay the night in his room. I had never been there before and was blown away at its beauty. Here are a few pictures. All of these pictures are inside the hotel. Truly... amazing.




While there, we took a boat ride through the hotel (pictures below) and saw a light show around the fountain (sorry... no pictures... dead batteries).

We also walked over to Opry Mills mall to eat at Aquarium Restaurant. An employee at the hotel told us it was about a block and a half walk. She was wrong! It was a block and half to the BACK of the parking lot. So, then we walked across the massive parking lot and through the mall. We were worn out. The poor kids had blisters on their feet! Here are some pictures from the restaurant (which was amazing... check out the website).


One last picture... and I call this "NO RED DYE." We have found out the hard way that Abigail cannot handle anything with red dye in it, even as simple as licorice. At the restaurant, she was crazy... climbing over the booth and more. So... lesson learned (AGAIN) -- no red dye!

On the Road Again

We are off...again! Allan is going to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on a mission trip with the Master Builder's group from our church. My dad is off to Nashville for a convention. So, Mom and I decided to hit the road, too. We are heading to St. Louis to visit my grandparents and cousins. I am sure there will be lots of pictures to share when we get back. Pray for safe travels!

Family Garden

Allan has always taken pride in his garden each summer. This year, since we are in this house for the first time for the full garden season, he has done an excellent job of producing lots of tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and zucchini.

Since some of those are already finished for the season, he took the kids out to plant a new crop - beans. He did a wonderful job of incorporating the children into the lesson of garden.

(By the way.. the annoying noise in the background of the video clip is the city mosquito truck spraying the neighborhood. I hate hearing it, but I am sure glad they do it!).

Here are a few pictures, too. Take a look at Abigail giving Daddy advice from the vegetable book. There is just one problem... the book is upside down!