Our Missouri Summer!

We had 2 wonderful weeks in Missouri spending time with family and friends! Tom was able to join us for a week, but then had to head back to TX! We missed him a lot and wished he could be with us, but I feel so blessed to be able to stay in MO longer with the boys to spend even more time with those who mean so much to us!

This year we got to celebrate with Pa Pa on his birthday with the boys carrying signs that read, "Happy Birthday Pa Pa" when we came off the airplane and then headed to Steak-N-Shake where Braden accidentally slammed Colton's thumb in the van door. The adventure had begun... after an X-ray the next day we learned that it was thankfully not Colton's turn for a broken bone!

We got to visit with my dad's side of the family a couple times with lots of people and yummy food! The boys had a great time fishing and playing chess with Opa and playing at GG's house and a outing to the bookstore with Opa and Mincy for their birthdays. A trip to the Magic House with my mom and sister's family and to celebrate our nephew's 1 year birthday and a day of bowling and Chuck E. Cheese and some Fritz's frozen custard! We got a lot of Tom's side of the family together to visit Great Grandma Ermeling's grave site and a picnic in the cemetery that ended abruptly with a thunderstorm. Then there was the 5 day trip to the Lake of the Ozarks with Tom's whole family filled with fun, a day of rain, wave runners, lots and lots of swimming, awesome food, Play Station, mini golf, charades, and our 15 year anniversary outing to Andy's Frozen Custard! We headed to Columbia for two days with friends that included Shakespeare's Pizza, Bucks ice cream, time spent on MU's campus and the realization of how much older we are..., Shelter Gardens, lots of great conversation and Guitar Hero for adults and play for the kids!

After Tom headed back to TX I got to see my girlfriends from high school, the boys went bowling and did Meals on Wheels with Pa Pa, we went to Fitz's root beer with Gramby and Aunt Tammy, ate at Burger King with my 1st friend and her son, Blanchette water park with Aunt Tammy, City Museum with some Columbia friends, Grant's Farm with Gramby, Pa Pa, and Aunt Tammy, sleepover at Nana's, Andrew made dolls, Braden and Colton enjoyed the slip 'n slide and water fun in the backyard, and all the boys liked to play games with Pa Pa, they watched a ton of Disney channel since we don't have cable, and loved Gramby spoiling them with all their favorite foods!

To God be the glory for this wonderful trip to Missouri with lots of treasured memories! :)

(The slideshow above the posting "A Sad Summer" goes with this post... tech. difficulties)