Air Show

 The kids had a fun weekend with Grandma and Grandpa while we were gone.  The airshow was that weekend and my sister Lauren and her family came in town for it.  The kids enjoyed playing with their cousins and going to the airshow with everyone.  JJ and I were sad to miss the airshow, we always enjoy going.  It worked out that the kids had something to look forward to doing with Grandma and Grandpa while we were away.  My parents said the kids were so well behaved and they enjoyed having them come stay with them.  I am thankful they are able to spend time together and make fun memories.  

 

Bollinger Mill Historic Site

Sunday morning we got up and had a really good breakfast at the hotel.  JJ and I both commented on how hotel breakfast has come a long way.  I had wanted to check out the Bollinger Mill while we were down there.  I had read a little bit about it and thought it would be worth it to take the scenic way home and see it.  You can tour the bottom floor of the mill but it wasn't open when we were there.  We walked around for a little bit and peaked our head in the windows and tried to see the best we could.  We walked across the Burfordville covered bridge which is the oldest surviving bridge in Missouri.  We read the information they had displayed about the bridge and found it very interesting.  We had a nice scenic drive home and enjoyed listening to our come follow me lesson's and a conference talk.  We got to my parents house just after lunch time.  We had lunch with them and then spent the afternoon relaxing and playing some games before heading home.  I am glad we decided to make a weekend of our trip.  It was a fun little getaway and fun to spend time together.  A little change of scenery and pace was very enjoyable.  

 

Cape Girardeau

JJ and I had the opportunity to get away for the weekend to Cape Girardeau.  His employee Audrey was getting married down there.  That is her hometown.  It is a little over a two hour drive south of St. Louis.  We decided to stay the night instead of driving home so late at night.  My parents were so kind and kept our kids for us.  We dropped them off that morning and drove straight down to the wedding ceremony.  It was a big Catholic wedding in a pretty church.  After the ceremony we went and got checked into our hotel and changed our clothes.  We had a good amount of time in between the ceremony and the dinner that we could do some sightseeing.  Audrey's uncle owns a restaurant in downtown Cape Girardeau.  We decided to go there for something to eat.  We didn't want to eat tons because we only had a few hours until the dinner.  Audrey's Maiden name is Dirnberger and at the restaurant they have a burger called the Dirn Burger.  We had to try that, which was really good and then we got a chicken strip appetizer.  We did a little walking around by the river and down a few streets.  JJ was a good sport and went into some fun antique stores.  Down by the river they had some really cool murals painted on the walls of the cement levee.  It was a history timeline that talked about the city, we didn't have time to walk down and read all of them.     

 

 

 

 

 

The wedding reception was beautiful!  The decoration, scenery, everything was perfect!  They had a dinner which was really good.  We enjoyed visiting with the other people at our table.  They were very friendly.  Another one of JJ's employees and our friends the Robinson's came to the wedding too.  It was fun to sit with them at the table.  Debbie and Audrey are really good friends and have gotten to know each other well while working together.  There were lots of speeches and toast's and then we did a little bit of dancing.  We didn't dance a ton, not really my style of dancing music.  JJ and I opted on playing some corn hole outside.  They had some lights strung outside and some outdoor games set up.  We played a few rounds of corn hole before calling it a night.  It was a beautiful evening and it was fun to be a part of their celebration.  I enjoyed going with JJ and it was fun to spend the day with him. 

 

 

Adjusting to Kindergarten

Nolan has always been so excited for kindergarten to start.  Even last year he loved going to preschool.  We would have never thought he wouldn't enjoy going.  After the first few days of school Nolan started to come home and tell me he cried at school because he missed us.  He would tell us the day was so long and he just wanted to be home with us.  It was so sad to hear that he was having a rough time at school.  JJ and I both took turns going and having lunch with him.  When I went up to have lunch with him his teacher was happy to see me there.  She said he was having a hard time but he was still doing great.  He left and went back to class just fine.  JJ went a few days later and Nolan cried when JJ left.  We thought we shouldn't do that anymore because it makes things harder.  Nolan would cry in the morning while getting on the bus.  Everyone at the bus stop tried to help make him happy and offer to sit with him.  We sent pictures in his backpack and a stuffed animal that he could take and put on his desk.  It was so hard for us to try to help him, we knew that with time he would eventually adjust.  My friend suggested a reward he could have if he would go without crying for a certain amount of time.  Nolan really liked that idea.  We told him if he could go five days without crying then he could pick something special to do with Mom and Dad.  He earned his five days and picked a bike ride with just us to QT for a treat.  He has still come home a few times and said he cried and it was a long day.  Overall he is doing much better and after being in school for almost a month he is finally adjusting.  He is such a sweet boy, I know he still misses me while he is gone.  He told me the other day when he got off the bus "You know how much you miss me when I'm at school? I miss you 100 times more."  I love him and I make sure we snuggle and spend time together in the evening.    

Labor Day

JJ and I started Labor Day by doing cross fit together.  Our gym has a sister CrossFit gym that host's free workouts on the holidays.  We have never done CrossFit but had fun trying it together.  It was a good workout.  It was similar to a lot of the classes I do already at the gym.  It makes me realize how I get so much for the price I pay at my gym.  We had a nice BBQ at my parents house with grilled Kabobs and yummy side.  We celebrated the September birthdays while we were all together.  We went in on a group gift and got my Mom a Fitbit watch for her birthday.  She was really excited.  We usually aren't together to celebrate Natalie's birthday.  Saturday before going to six flags we went to the farmers market and I found some succulents in a tea cup that I thought she would really like.  All of the out of town company left to head home after lunch.  We headed home too so we could enjoy one last swim before the pool closed for the year.  We had a nice relaxing day, it was a busy three day weekend.  We had a lot of fun get togethers and made lots of fun memories.      

Anna's Baby Blessing

Sunday September first Jordan and Jenny blessed Anna in their ward.  Little Anna was so cute and was so peaceful during her blessing.  There was a lot of people from both sides of the family.  We left after sacrament meeting and went to Babler Park for a BBQ picnic.  The guys left quickly so they could start grilling the burgers and hot dogs.  We all had a nice time visiting and eating yummy food there at the park.  We all helped bring sides and there was a lot of food. It was nice of Jordan and Jenny to host a nice BBQ for everyone.  We all went back to my parents house that afternoon and visited.  There were some Sunday naps and lot of kids playing and running around.  We had a mod podge dinner with leftover picnic food.  We played games outside together in the evening.  We had a contest who could jump the farthest off the swing.  We played a game of kickball and had fun goofing off with everyone.       

 

 

 

 

Six Flags

The Wright's were in town for Labor Day weekend.  We were excited to go to Six Flags with them.  The day started out rainy and we all thought it would be a little cooler outside.  It was still pretty humid but for the end of August we all thought it was a beautiful day.  We got there late morning and it took a while to get into the park.  The line was long and they were taking everyone's picture for their season pass.  We split up and the big kids went and did Mr. Freeze before the line got to long.  Garrett was really looking forward to riding it.  Lucy rode it when I took her but Garrett still hadn't been on it.  The big kids enjoyed doing some rides together while the rest of us did some rides with the smaller kids.  We went out to the parking lot and had a picnic lunch and sat under a shade tree.  We tried to stay together and do things together as much as possible.  The big kids like to go off and do bigger rides but I think it's fun when we are all together.  There are several rides we can all do, Thunder River is one of them.  We hadn't been on that yet this year since it was closed the beginning of the summer.  We decided to ride that and some of us got soaked!  We all did the train and while we waited my Dad did a smashed penny for all the kids.  He was cute and brought enough quarters and pennies for everyone to have one.  The kids loved it and it was a great reminder that kids really do love the simple things.  It was a fun day and I am glad the Wright's have passes.  It is a fun things we can do together when they come in town.  We hung out at my parents house for a little bit that evening and had dinner together.