Birthday and Baby Pics

Yesterday was my dad's birthday so we all got together on Saturday at Christy and Dale's house to celebrate.  The weather was warm so the kids (and a few adults) enjoyed some time in the pool.  Most of my pool pics are not developed yet since I was finishing up my water camera from the beach so I might post some of those in the future.  
Unfortunately or fortunately, I spent the rest of my camera time taking pictures of Cameron.  He has changed so much since the last time we saw him.  What that means though is I neglected to take a picture of the birthday boy.  Sorry Dad, but I'm guessing you would rather see pictures of Cameron anyway.  

He was so happy and smiled a lot this weekend! 

The only pool picture on my camera and you can see the guest of honor in it. 

Ella loving on her cousin. 

Baseball, Buck Night and Beautiful Skies

Sam wanted Royals tickets for one of his birthday presents from Grandma and Grandpa.  Somehow the spring and summer got away from us and we still had not made it to a game.  So Friday night we headed out to Kauffman for the game which was also buck night and free fireworks Friday.  The game started out great!  The Royals hit two home runs in the first inning and with a score of 3-0 we thought we might get to see a great victory.  We scored three more runs in the second inning and thought for sure we would win.  Unfortunately, the Nationals came back and even pulled ahead in a disastrous fourth inning.  While the Royals tried to rally at the end they would end up losing 10-11. Luckily, there were other positives to the game.  It was buck night so hot dogs, Pepsi products and peanuts were only $1.  Sam managed to eat three hot dogs during the game.  It was also fireworks Friday.  The fireworks display is always a great show and lasts a good length of time.  So despite the loss the evening ended with some great entertainment.

Ella and Uncle Al at the game.

Grandpa, Grandma and Sam

Ella with the field in the background. 

Hot dog #3! 

School Day

Today is the first day of school for Ella and Sam.  Neither one was super excited to have summer end but there was a little excitement and nervous energy as we started the day today.  It is also the start of Sam's last year in elementary school, which makes me a bit panicked.  He is getting so big.  Of course, I was not allowed to walk him to his room and when I asked for a quick hug I got an eye roll.  He did give me a very brief hug which I guess I will have to be okay with now that he is getting older.  Luckily, Ella still wanted me to walk her into her room and needed a kiss before I left her for the day.  I am trying to cherish these moments before they too are gone.  I hope they have both have a wonderful year! 

All ready for fifth grade!

The first grader in her fancy outfit. 

Ready for school. 

Sam by the school sign. 

At her desk and ready to go! 

Meet the Teacher

Last week the kids got to go up to school to meet their teachers, see their classrooms and drop off supplies.  It was extra exciting for Sam because he had never seen his teacher.  He has a brand new teacher this year and the rumors were flying about how pretty she is.  Let's just hope Sam pays attention in class this year.  Ella is very excited to be in Ms. Ragsdale's class, that was her first choice for teachers.  They are ready to head off for the big day tomorrow! 

The gift bags we made for their teachers (a combination of ideas off of Pinterest).

Backpacks are ready!  I think they totally define their personalities. 

Ella sitting at her new table.

Ella with Ms. Ragsdale.

Sam with his teacher, Miss Archer.

Posing for a photo at his new desk. 

Tourney Time!

Our country club in Springfield hosts a web.com (the tour under the PGA) tournament every year.  As members we get free tickets and a nice tent set up to sit in on the ninth green.  Plus the tent has free ice cream bars so you can't beat that!  On Sunday, we headed out for a few hours to watch some of the golf.  Sam was excited that we ran into his buddy Lucas at the tournament and they got to catch up a little bit.  
We watched the last four or five groups come through the ninth green and then watched the last few groups again on the twelfth hole.  It was a little hot but otherwise a nice afternoon. 
Ella opted to skip the golf and spend a day with her aunt.  I am not sure who got the better deal.  While Sam got golf and ice-cream Ella came home with a whole bag of goodies after shopping with Aunt Dana.  They also had a special lunch, just the two of them, at Panera and they did nails.  I think both my kids were very happy that day. 

Games and Goodies!

This weekend we headed to Southern Missouri.  We had the opportunity to get in some good family time Saturday with the Lowes.  While John and Kevin went golfing the rest of us headed to Springfield to spend the day together.  Ella has really been missing good cashew chicken since we made the move to Columbia so I promised her we would eat some Chinese.  Dana thought what better place than Leongs.  The owner of Leongs is the creator of Springfield style cashew chicken.  It definitely hit the spot and was a fun time together.  

Taking turns playing Pole Position!

Caleb is helping Ella since she can't reach the gas and steer. 

The cousins showing off their cupcakes. 

After lunch, we did a little shopping then headed to 1984.  1984 is an arcade with games from, you guessed it, the eighties.  Many of the games were new to the kids so that was fun.  It was a bit crowded but I think everyone had a good time.  Luckily, right across the street from the arcade is one of our favorite dessert spots in Springfield, The Cup.  We walked over and got ourselves a little treat.  Then it was home to spend more time together.  The night was filled with riddle games that Hannah and Sarah had learned at Young Life Camp.  They definitely kept us entertained.  It was a fun filled day! 

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Apparently our garden grows very large.  This is our first year growing veggies in a garden in the yard instead of in containers.  We are amazed at how large everything is getting.  The garden is John's project so he gets the majority of the credit.  I only help out when needed.  We planted five zucchini plants and they are taking over the whole garden and giving this zucchini loving family more than we can eat.  I have been on Pinterest looking up new ways to cook it.  We planted everything late so we are still waiting for some ripe tomatoes.  I am not sure it would be possible to have too many of those.  

The front view of the garden.  The large leaves are all zucchini plants. 

The back view of the garden so you can actually see the tomato plants. 

This is the amount we have been getting every three days.  

While we are showing off the garden I will add a few pics of our summer perennials.  They are looking good and I can't wait for a few summers from now when they have really grown.  We drove by our old house in Springfield and the black eyed susans were huge!  A few years from now I feel these beds will look great. 

We have never had cone flowers before and they are one of my new favorites. 

I like this grouping of the black eyed susans, russian sage, and cone flowers. 

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Friday was essentially our last day at the beach since we were leaving early Saturday morning.  The morning was spent taking a last trip to Duck Donuts (your donuts are made to order and the kids enjoyed watching that) and some last minute souvenir shopping.  That was followed by some pool time and in the afternoon with our last trip to the beach.  
The beach was a lot of fun.  Some of the larger waves from the storms had stuck around so it was perfect for some boogie boarding.  My kids rode the boogie boards for hours!  The adults had fun out in the larger waves too.  I was content to set my beach chair in the waves and watch the kids ride.  Of course with the current I had to keep reminding them to walk back towards me.  It was a great day to put a fun ending on our week in the Outer Banks.  

Brian, Ella and Sam watching them make the donuts! 

Ella enjoying pool time with Uncle Jono

So happy to be in the pool. 

Boogie Board! 

Grandma was helping out at first but by the end she was a true pro heading out on her own. 

Emma and Sam catching the waves

The three big kids all boogie boarding

The facial expressions crack me up but they were loving it! 

Putting Around

Wednesday night a storm rolled through. From our deck you could see that it brought with it some much bigger waves. We headed for a morning walk on the beach to see how large the waves truly were.  They were definitely larger and closer together.  Unfortunately, they also brought with them a lot of jelly fish and some murky water.  Not a good day for a swim in the ocean.  It was fun though to watch and listen to the ocean as we walked in the sand.   

Since it was not a good ocean day we decided it was time for everyone to play some golf.  We loaded the cars and headed up to Corolla.  It was a windy day, even for miniature golf but we had a good time.  It was fun to cheer for everyone as they made good shots and even got some hole in ones!  The course was nice and had some fun holes and attractions.  
After golfing some people headed back to the house for you guessed it, more pool time.  While others of us decided to do some souvenir shopping.  We found some fun things and enjoyed looking in the stores.  I found some good things to help us remember our trip. 

Fish Tales

Wednesday had us headed down south to the aquarium.  We have been there many times but the kids always enjoy getting to see the sea life.  I think everyone had their own favorites but I know that Emma loved being able to touch the sting rays, Sam likes the sharks and Ella had fun watching the turtles.  They also had a new section where you got a pretend turtle with some sort of ailment. You then used computers to help diagnose the turtle's problem and helped to cure your turtle.  The kids all seemed to enjoy that.  

Everyone ready to head inside the aquarium.

My scientists waiting on their turtle.

X-raying their turtle to see what is wrong.

Ella in front of the large tank.

We walked with Uncle Jono down to the pier.  

After the aquarium we made a quick stop to pick up some salt water taffy and souvenirs then headed back to the beach house.  Then of course it was more pool time.  

Up to the Top

The next day some of us decided to travel to the Currituck Light House.  Ella was too young to climb it on our last trip to the Outer Banks and Sam wanted to do it again.  Ella was not a fan of the stairs because of the open staircase and took the climb up very slowly, but by the end she had decided to conquer her fear and was almost descending the steps too fast for my liking.  The views from the top were gorgeous but boy was it windy!  After climbing 214 steps we decided we had earned some ice-cream so we stopped for a treat on the way home.  The rest of the day was filled with pool time for most of us and some more golf for some of the boys.  

Heading to the top.

Taking a break in the middle of the climb for a picture.

The view from the top!

Laura and Aiden smiling in the wind.

Looking up from the bottom of the light house.