Strike Up the Band

Thursday night Sam had his first band concert of the year.  Grandma and Grandpa were able to come and listen to him play.  They played three pieces and did a wonderful job.  I  could hear all the hard work they had put into practicing.  They were impressive. 

Hoop Time

This last week we had less scheduled activities since things are taking a break for the holidays.  We decided to take advantage of the extra time and attend some Mizzou basketball games.  The kids have been wanting to go and this was the perfect chance.  On Monday we went and watched the girls play.  They were 8-0 at the time and won again the night we went.  They are very enthusiastic and fun to watch!  Sam also took advantage of our close seats to catch a basketball thrown into the crowd.  It was a fun night and I think we will definitely have to watch some more games this season.  

One the men's basketball assistant coaches lives in our neighborhood.  Sometimes they will have extra tickets to games.  We definitely couldn't pass up tickets in the third row.  It was a different perspective sitting that close to the floor and the players bench. The tall players made it a little difficult for Ella to see but we had a great time!  The kids enjoyed the game which was a victory and playing with our host's daughter.  

The kids at the women's game.

Right behind the Mizzou bench!

Court side!!

Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive and Dodge

Caleb and Sam had not been huge fans of Crystal Bridges Museum but had been polite in letting us all enjoy the art so I thought it was time to do something they enjoyed.  So after church and a delicious lunch prepared by Dana and Ella we decided to head to Sky Zone.   Sky Zone is a trampoline park that has been open in Springfield for a while.  Caleb had been before but it was the first time for everyone in our family. 
John, Caleb and Sam spent the majority of their time in the dodge ball area.  They were hot and sweaty and injured (John  got a cut from his glasses thanks to a ball to the face thrown by Caleb) but they had a great time.  Ella and I spent our time on the small trampolines, the foam pit, and Ella even shot basketballs for a while.  We had a lot of fun jumping around and got some great exercise.  John will even tell you he worked hard enough to hurt for the next two days.  

Exploring Crystal Bridges

I have wanted to visit Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art for a few years.  Since we were already in Rogers, Arkansas I thought this would be the perfect time.  Dana and the girls were interested in going too so that was our first stop in Bentonville that day.  They had some beautiful pieces.  John and I have always enjoyed visiting art galleries, I had no idea how much Ella would love it though. Her favorite pieces were two by Georgia O'Keefe whom she had been learning about in her gifted program.
She took the longest to go through the gallery and that was with me having to rush her at the end.  I told her we would definitely have to make a trip back and give her more time.  Sam was not that excited about the paintings but the museum just opened a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit that he would like to see.  He and John were able to see the outside of the house but the tour of the inside was sold out for the day.  It looks like there will definitely be a return trip in our future.
Hannah got on line at the museum and found us a place to try for lunch.  We went to The Pedaler's Pub.  Everyone enjoyed their food and it was a fun atmosphere.  I think it would definitely be worth a second visit too.  After lunch it was time to leave Hannah in Fayetteville and for the rest of us to begin our trip to Springfield.  It was another drive in the unending rain from our whole visit to Arkansas and then some resting from our travels when we arrived at the Lowe's house. 

Ella and I liked this string art piece. 

John and Ella looking at God's artwork.

Family Rivalry

The Friday after Thanksgiving we headed down to Fayetteville, Arkansas in the rain.  It rained our whole drive there and never stopped the whole visit.  We met the Lowes at Hannah's dorm room and got on all our rain gear to watch our Tigers take on the Razorbacks.  We enjoyed visiting another stadium and rooting for our team despite the fact that our team did not do very well.  Hannah and Sarah definitely had some bragging to do for this round of the rivalry.  Since we were losing and soaking wet we decided at half time that we would leave the stadium and check into our hotel for the evening. 

The kids were super excited to stay at an Embassy Suites with the Lowes.  They had never stayed at an Embassy before and thought it was pretty great! They loved that our room had two separate rooms, the hotel's open atrium, snacks in the evening and of course the breakfast buffet.   We headed to the pool after a short rest and then for some snacks. Later, we got ready and all went to dinner at Chuy's,  then for some ice-cream and after eating too much everyone headed back to our room to tell stories and laugh.  It was a great evening of some much needed family time.

Blessed

We have so many things to be thankful for this year.  We are truly blessed and one of our blessings is our wonderful families.  We were able to see both families over the holiday weekend.  We spent Thanksgiving in Kansas City.  It was the traditional meal at AC and Al's house.  The food was delicious and even though we had a slightly smaller group this year it was nice to visit with everyone and spend quality time together.  
I didn't get any pictures taken on the big day but I did get one the next morning.  We stayed at my mom and dad's the night of Thanksgiving.  Kylie and Cameron came over Friday morning since Christy and Dale both had to work.  It was nice to see them one more time before we left and the kids enjoyed a little more cousin time.  It was a short but enjoyable trip.  

Welcome Guests

We were super excited to host the Pogemillers on their visit to Columbia.  It had been a while since we had seen them and it was so nice to catch up on everything.  Their kids are growing like crazy and it was fun for my kids to be the big kids and dig out some old toys and games that had been tucked away for a few years.  
They came Friday afternoon and we had some time for the adults to talk while the kids played in the basement.  We decided to all have dinner at CJ's (Sam thinks it is a must when anyone visits Columbia).  After dinner, the Swoffords came over for a bit to visit too. It was so nice to have the house full of people laughing and talking.  
Saturday was the Missouri v Tennessee football game.  The weather was not what any of us had hoped.  Ellen and Mark decided the temperature would be too cold for their kids to go so they took them to stay with Mark's sister.  I knew Ella wouldn't like the weather either so when her friend Jessie invited her for a sleepover it was perfect.  Sam and I braved the chilly night and Mark and Ellen sat with us in our empty seats.  We enjoyed the company but the performance of our Tigers and the weather had us all leaving before the game ended.  It was so nice to catch up though and I hope they get to make it back to Columbia soon.  

Bronze Medal Winner

Six of the girls from Ella's soccer team got together to play in a 3 v 3 tournament put on by the Show Me Games.  Half of the girls had played three on three before and the other half had not.  They practiced once but were having trouble with the pace of the game.  Come tournament time though they adapted and won their first game 5-4.  Ella scored two goals in the game including the game winning goal with very little time left. 
After a few hours rest they played another team and this time tied.  Ella came away with another goal.  She played aggressively and learned to shoot when she had the opportunity.  The next day they would play one of the undefeated teams from day one that had not given up a goal in their first two games.  The team proved too tough and beat Ella's team 5-2, but at least they were able to get some goals on the them.  Ella's team finished third out of six teams in the tournament and they were awarded bronze medals.  The girls were so proud of themselves!  They have shown great growth throughout the fall season.  

Warming up before the game. 

#11 Ready to go!