California

Will had a conference in California in August. My college roommate just moved back to California. Will also has wonderful parents. Throw it all together and we were able to take a fantastic, 5-day, kid-free vacation.

I got to see my good friend Heloise, and meet her husband and sweet little girl.



We also went tide-pooling one evening and found sea urchins and starfish, among other things, then fed crabs to the anemones. Very entertaining.




A huge thanks to my mother-in-law and father-in-law (and Kim), who watched the kids for us that week. You all deserve a medal. Or a massage. Or maybe you should just line up in one of those massage circles and rub each others' backs for awhile. Either way, we appreciate what you did.

The CombineTrip

While we were driving one Saturday evening this summer, we happened to see a combine working in a field of wheat. Since we didn't have any particular schedule, Will pulled over and we watched for a minute. Soon, the combine drove up to us and stopped. We were both a little surprised and expected the farmer to politely ask us to leave his property.

The farmer, however, had another idea. When Will got out to talk to him, the man told Will to bring the boys over. Will helped them up into the cab and the farmer told him to close the door behind him. Then they took off, shocking Will and leaving Gabriella and me staring in the dust. Will and the boys spent the next 45 minutes combining a wheat field with a complete stranger (which certainly put Will out of his comfort zone). The boys had a blast, though. They are still talking about it when we drive by the field.

Any Given Sunday

Checking out the monarch caterpillars from our garden.



Playing in the rocks while Daddy grills some lunch.



We got to eat lunch outside on our deck. Grandpap did a great job of finishing it.



We planted sunflowers this year, just for the fun of it. They grew better than anything else in the garden.



We've had our share of fits and tantrums, but it has been a good day.

No Staycation Here

To celebrate my mom's 60th birthday and my niece Madeline's 1st birthday, our family surprised my mom with a trip to St. Louis. We used the only conceivable scenario for making this happen: we rented a large house and all met there for the weekend. It was a great idea and all the parts that mattered were wonderful.

We were all supposed to meet on Friday around 3:00pm at the rental house. Our children do not do time changes, so they were up at 6am Friday. We were ready to leave the house by 8am. It's only a 3 hour drive, so we decided to use our science center pass to get into the already-free St. Louis Science Center for free. Did I mention that our children do not do time changes? We hit the center during naptime and what would have been lunch time. Graham had a breakdown when we left the dinosaur exhibit. Another (very loud) breakdown when his turn was up for the mini excavator. It was 112 degrees in the parking lot. We high-tailed it out of there, so there are no pictures. We should have learned our lesson from this little escapade, but alas, we did not. More on that later.

Friday night, we had a mini birthday party for Madeline (and Mom), and again, we have no pictures. Madeline was adorable opening her presents, though. What a sweet, sweet little baby! At times, I considered accidentally packing her up in one of my suitcases.

On Saturday morning, we went to Purina Farms, which was just about the right amount of activity for the kids. It was not ideal weather, as we ended up visiting during a heat wave that could singe off your eyelashes and possibly your bellybutton. And who knew the whole principle of heat rising applies to barns, too? We'll do anything for a good tractor experience, though, so we toughed it out, glistening skin and all.







We talked a lot about what to do on Sunday. It was hot. Too hot to be outside at the zoo. Too hot to play outside at the house. What do you do during a heat wave like this? You go to a cave, of course! 60 degrees all year round! We did not get going early that morning, though. Did I mention our kids do not do time changes? The lesson we should have learned at the science center was definitely hammered home at Meramec Caverns. What followed was 80 minutes of no-strollers-allowed-grouchy-hungry-whiny-screaming-clingy children, while we adults sheepishly hung back with an apologetic I-should-have-known-better look on our faces and frantically searching for the escape route used by Jesse James. We didn't find it. Chase single-handedly ruined the God Bless America light show at the end by screaming the entire time. Yes, we were THAT family. The ones you love to hate for ruining your tour. Believe me, we hated ourselves, too.



Madeline was cute, though.




That night, Will had the best idea of all: let's go play in a creek. The kids had a ball, the water was warm, and it was relaxing. It also wasn't underground. Graham wanted to spend his time in deep water, and Uncle Caleb was happy to oblige after Will got tired of it.







We left on Monday and spent the next few days at Mom & Dad's while Will was on a business trip. We got to see my friends Jay and Mary, do some shopping, and walk around campus. What a trip! We anticipate doing this again sometime in... Never mind, we are still reeling from the cave tour and can't yet imagine doing that again.

A Smart Solution

Graham's favorite book lately is "The Gingerbread Man", and it was no surprise when he asked me if we could make our own gingerbread man. Repeatedly asked. Asked until I was ready to poke pencils in my ears so I couldn't hear him anymore.

I was making sugar cookies for a shower on Saturday, and I told Graham he could use the gingerbread man cookie cutter to make himself a sugar cookie man. I asked him what he was going to do if the "gingerbread" man ran out of the oven when I opened the door. He looked thoughtful for a minute, and then came up with a solution.




We cut his legs off so he couldn't run. (How he can figure that out and yet still can't put his pants on the right way is beyond me.)

Fun with Elefun

The 3-year old catches the butterflies in the net.
The 1-year old wears the net on her head.
The 2-year old does this:

Pillow Talk

Me: I love you.

Will: I love you too.

Me: Would you still love me if I had no arms or legs and you had to carry me everywhere in a backpack on your back?

Will: Yes, but I wouldn't feed you very much.