Erin's Special Week

We celebrated Erin's 10th birthday two days early so that we could do it all as a family. We hid her presents and made her search for them like we did Howie earlier this year. For her birthday dinner, she requested Red Lobster. Fortunately we all LOVE LOVE LOVE seafood. There were no complaints out of anyone.

 Her actual birthday was spent in St. Louis with me (her mom), siblings, Aunt Lisa, and cousins. We spent the day at the City Museum. It was wonderful, but brutally hot and humid. (Here is a link to last year's City Museum trip.) He topped it off with a trip to Dairy Queen on the way back from St. Louis. Howard stayed home in Oklahoma since he just took leave for our vacation out west earlier in the month. 

The reason why we're in Missouri is because we sent Erin to summer camp this year with her cousin. Howie went to outdoor school at Camp Classen for a week with his 5th grade class last year and also attended his first week-long Boy Scout camp this summer. Since we are moving soon, Erin was going to miss out on her 5th grade school camp. We didn't think that it was fair, so when my sister told me about Turkey Hill Ranch, a wonderful (and affordable) summer camp in central Missouri, we jumped at the chance. We sent the cousins together so that they could watch out for each other and not be too homesick. They are both participating in the Junior camp, geared for children ages 8-13. I'm really excited for her because she will have the opportunity to canoe, archery, horseback riding, swimming, etc. 

 Bunks are all set up and ready to go.

 Meeting their camp counselor for the week. The girl's cabin overlooks the lake. It's a breathtaking view! They are so lucky!

 All ready for her first swim at camp.

 My niece, Jackie. Ready to go swimming. The lake is right behind her.

 At the pool. 

At this point Erin was getting annoyed with me and told me to go home (she said it with kindness). They were ready to be independent and on their own.

One last wave before we left. Hope they have fun!!

Family Reunion & Vacation

We went on vacation last month to northern Utah for a family reunion. We took the route through Colorado to get there and on the way home we took the southern route through our future home of Las Vegas. I spent this vacation trying to enjoy myself, which meant that pictures were low on my priority list. This is basically all I have to share. 

 On our way through Colorado, we stopped at a scenic turnout. It was gorgeous! This shot was taken when I was framing the photo on the tripod. Jack poked Luke in the eye and Howard had to scold the boys for not standing still. 

 After a few shots, we got it right! I'm not very happy about the position of the sun, but the mountains and water were too pretty to not capture.

 The view.

 Playing in the water. It was COLD!!!

 We all enjoyed this stop the most. The weather was perfect and the scenery was idyllic.

 Mr. GQ

 Erin trying not to tumble into the frigid water.

Sticks and rocks filled Luke's attention.

Enjoying the sunshine on our faces. 

 Getting gas in Colorado.

 The last day of the family reunion. All of the grandkids (minus 1)

Group shot of the whole family (minus 3 who didn't make it).

Prior to the family reunion, we stayed in Utah a few extra days to visit some dear friends. We had a wonderful time catching up with each other and introducing our children to one another. I love how friendships can remain strong even after nearly a decade apart. 

After the reunion, we drove down to Las Vegas and stayed with some friends for one day and two nights. We had a pleasant time driving around town getting a feel for where we want to live while we are stationed there. We even made a brief trip to the base. 

In all, we spent about 47 hours in the car driving. Our kids were troopers and did fantastic. We even left our DVD player at home (on purpose). We spent a lot of time talking, reading books, listening to books on CD, music, looking out the window, and playing on the iPad.