Spelling Tuesday

Loralie had her first day of Pre-K today!   My baby girl is getting so grown up!  She picked out her own outfit and hairstyle and threw a fit when I tried to coordinate a hair bow.  She was really excited about her new backpack and lunch box.   Note the Chick-fil-A freebie watch.  She insisted on wearing it so that she would know when it was time for me to pick her up (aww).  Once we got in the classroom though she was all "okay bye mom!  You can go now if you want!"  Glad she is so independent, but I am not gonna lie, I missed her like crazy all day.  I think Roman did too cause he was a major grouch all day long.  Miss Julie said she had a great day and was a wonderful listener (sure).  Loralie said she made a new friend but she didn't know her name.  

Before... Holy cow!  That's a lot of hair!  May have put off this cut a bit too long... And After!  Cute as a button and ready to start school next week!  She loves it (even though it doesn't look like it in this picture)!

This morning we took the kiddos to the worlds largest toy museum. I cannot attest to the accuracy of the "worlds largest" claims cause it seemed kinda small to me, but who knows.  Loralie loved it. Roman got to practice words like "car", "train" and "zoom". After lunch we met up with the family to take our yearly family portraits- in a Wild West Saloon! Again, Loralie had a blast, Roman not so much.  I thought it was really fun and silly.  I like playing dress up way too much for an adult! Then we headed to dinner at Lamberts and ate and ate and ate and ate!  Delish. And after Grandma and Grandpa saw how adorable the kids were and how tired Mom and Dad looked, they offered to take them home with them!  Score!  So me and Caleb headed to the Branson landing for some shopping fun. Note the childlike wonder Caleb expressed at Bass Pro but did not express in the toy museum... So I am gonna get a good nights sleep tonight and SLEEP IN!

Silver Dollar City is the Disneyland of the Midwest.  But without all the annoying characters.  And much smaller lines. It's all Ozark-y and log cabin-y and cute. Loralie had a great time riding rides with her second cousin Evan! Roman just spent the day in his stroller... The whole day.  And he ate like a tourist and didn't take a nap. Me and L rode the teacups, and the really high swings.  She also rode a kiddie coaster with Daddy and loved it. My new cowboy fiend... One thing that is cool about Silver Dollar City is that they have some real homesteads and buildings from the 1800s.  They also have artisans that do crafts from that time period.  I am a nerd, so I really like learning while on vacation!  Above is L in the one room schoolhouse!  Can you guess who was the class clown?  Haha...

We left for our Branson vacation today! Road trippin' with the fam!  I love it!  The kids were great, the weather was perfect, and me and the hubs had hours of uninterrupted talk time!  We got to Branson, checked into the hotel and immediately headed out for our dinner plans at none other than the Dixie Stampede!  The kids got to run off some energy visiting all the horses. And don't forget your novelty Boot Cup.  Loralie has been excited about this for weeks... Once the show began Loralie was super into it.  She loved the horses, the costumes, and even the hilarious Branson comedy shticks.  Roman was pretty good... He at least appreciated the food.  But by the end he was pretty wiggly.  We made it back to the hotel and decided a few minutes of pool time would really wear the kids out... And negate a need for baths.  That may have been the straw the broke the overstimulated baby's back though.  By the time we got both kids tucked in...

You know how sometimes something seems like a really good idea in your head, but about two minutes into it you are wishing you had never ever thought of it??? Exhibit A: It's hard to tell in the picture but there is boiling hot tomato bisque all over the walls, floor, and cabinets.  Also all over me.  Burns.   We are getting ready to leave for vacation tomorrow so today I had a long list of errands to run. I noticed there were quite a few tomatoes ripe on our vines, as well as some in our fridge that we hasn't used so I decided I would made a giant vat of Tomato Bisque and freeze it in individual portions for Loralie's lunch box.  Isn't that so very domesticated of me?  An hour later and my kitchen looks like a crime scene, I narrowly missed electrocution and third degree burns... But I have soup, by George! I will not be making this again without an emersion blender.  Period.

This guy is 34 on Thursday, but since we will be on the road to vacation we celebrated yesterday with a backyard potluck!  I managed to not take any pictures... Oops.   I made this though.... Mmmm.  Meatloaf. And carrot cake for the birthday boy.  Lots of friends came, lots of crazy kiddos running around.  It was a fun night!

Due to stress from an ER visit this week (at least that's what I'm claiming) I somehow got my wires crossed about my Dads death date.  For some reason August 10th just seemed like it was the date, and I didn't even think about it being wrong.  But It was.  My mom gently reminded me that it was the 25th, and by George, I believe she is right!  Whoops.  Now I feel dumb for posting heart felt Facebook statuses and meaningful blog posts.  Blah. And the worst part is that that date is still looming in the near future.  Boo.  

Today is August 10th.  It has been three years since my Dad went home to be with Jesus.  It is a sad day for me.  I have been thinking about him a lot today.  He loved the water, and one of his favorite places was Smithville lake.   Caleb and I took the kids there today.  We went on a long bike ride (10 Miles!) and had a nice picnic by the water. We tried to let L ride her own bike but she only made it about ten feet so she joined R in the trailer. I am so thankful for my family and the joy that they bring my heart.  This summer is quickly coming to a close!  Only a few more weeks until back to school!

This week started with a bang.  And a boom.   And a ratta-tat-tat.  Let me explain... Loralie came to us on Monday morning saying "Mom! Dad!  I have drums in my ears!  Little baby looked in there and there was little guys playing drums in there!"  We chalked it up to the weird things kids say... Except she kept saying it all day.  Tuesday the pediatrician confirmed she had a wicked bad ear infection.   Wednesday I was getting ready to go out with my friends ...When I heard Roman screaming.  I went downstairs and Loralie stated "I think he hurt hisself".  I picked him up and started yelling for Caleb.  He had growing on his forehead the hugest goose egg I have ever seen.  We are talking golf ball sized, black and blue.  My first thought was that his brain was bleeding and he was going to have to have brain surgery.  No joke.  Caleb, of course, is always the calm and collected one.  He said it was probably not...

Last night I ran the Electric Run 5K. It was my second race of the year, and my first ever night race!  I ran with a bunch of fun girls and we had a blast!  Gotta start training hard now... I have two more 10K's coming up this fall!

One of the things on our Summer To Do List was go to the drive in movies.  I remember doing that as a kid and how fun I thought it was to snuggle under blankets, gorge yourself on snacks, all while enjoying a film way past your bedtime!  When Caleb heard that was the plan, his response was "only if I come and bring my gun..."  The only drive-in we know of is pretty far away and in a bad part of town.  So I decided if we can't go to the drive in (without participating in a shoot out) then we will bring the drive-in to our driveway!  We set up a projector on the driveway, hung a sheet, popped some popcorn and invited some friends!  I was watching Ada  so she got to join in the fun.  Here are the girls waiting impatiently for darkness... Finally friends arrived and the movie started!  I don't think there was one point when everyone was sitting down and watching the movie, but they had fun regardless! Summer is speeding by!  Gotta enjoy it w...