Movie Night, B-ball Camp, and Pageants

I misplaced my camera charger a few weeks ago and was without my camera while I waited for a new charger to arrive. I hated not having it! I still wanted to record a few things from this summer so that we could remember them.

Movie night: Tod's brother let him borrow his movie projector and for a long time we have wanted to do a movie night outside on the garage door. Finally,we summoned the stamina to let the kids stay up until after dark for the big event. We invited some friends and neighbors, got out our lawn chairs and enjoyed "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules" (such a funny movie if you enjoy middle school humor as we do!) It was really fun and something we will definitely do again...even if everyone was a bit honory the next day.

Basketball Camp: Ashton went to her first real basketball camp at the local college here. It just so happened to be the hottest week of the summer so far...and the gym didn't have air conditioning. To say it was stifling would be an understatement. The big surprise...Ashton took it all in stride, thoroughly enjoyed herself and learned a ton from the excellent college head coach and players. She was even chosen as the "Camper of the Day" on Tuesday for her hard work and attitude. I was very proud of her, especially as she was the youngest and shortest person there!

Nauvoo Pageant: Right in the middle of our intense heat wave, we had a ward trip down to Nauvoo to see the pageant. Most everyone opted out of the trip due to the heat, but a few of us stubborn ones chose to still go and make a day of it. We survived the afternoon by taking advantaged of the air conditioning in the visitors center, temple and other sites. By evening, it was still roasting and as we were eating our potluck picnic, I think we all felt like packing it in and calling it a day. Then suddenly, the wind changed, clouds blew in, the temp. dropped by 20 degrees and it started pouring rain! We didn't even care, it felt so good and refreshing! By pageant time, the rain had quit and we were able to enjoy a wonderful evening. I was so glad we had hung in there, because it was so worth it! Plus, we got to spend the entire day with some of our favorite friends in the world. It was a great day.

Summer is going by way too fast! Please slow down, we still have more to do!

Batter Up

Jordan is our softball girl. She absolutely loves the game, and it shows. This season she was lucky enough to have her busy dad as her coach which was a real treat. Kind of funny...in order to make all the scheduling happen, I sent the softball schedule to the executive secretary (person in charge of scheduling all of Tod's appointments for church). He did a great job of making sure Tod was available during game time!

Jordan made a lot of progress this year- she can really hit that ball and is also learning a lot more about fielding. Her team this year was really good...especially the girls. We are already looking forward to future softball seasons with this group.

Fourth of July Weekend- Part 2, St. Louis

On the actual Fourth of July, we headed down to St. Louis. Our first stop was at the famous St. Louis Arch. It is such a neat landmark. I had kind of forgotten that our kids haven't really been in any large cities for a long time. They were wide-eyed and taking in all the sites. I guess we are more used to corn fields.

We had pre-purchased tickets, so the wait wasn't too bad...but it was still a wait...and Snarrs are not great "waiters". We entertained ourselves for quite a while with the very neat museum there. We also hung out enjoying the air conditioning and eating old-fashioned candy sticks!

When it was finally our turn, the kids were so excited to go up into the arch. I had really forgotten how small the little hatches are that you ride up in...slightly claustrophobic, but kids don't think like that (I guess college students don't either, because I don't remember that from when I was there before!) The view from the top is truly spectacular and something to see. On the way down, the kids figured out that if they yelled loud enough, their cousins in the other tram could hear them. Things got loud and crazy!

Next up, we headed to the Cardinals baseball game. It was our first time in the new stadium and it was pretty amazing. Tod LOVES baseball and had been looking forward to this for so long. The little kids got a little restless, but we took turns with them and then Cole discovered that there were escalators all over the stadium. I spent the last few innings taking him and Regan up and down!

After the game, it was time to say good bye to extended family and start our long trek home. I have never really travelled very far by car on Fourth of July night, but for the first couple of hours of our drive, we go to see tons of fireworks as we passed lots of towns. It was really cool.

All in all, it was a great day (and weekend) full of memories! Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for making it possible. I am really blessed to have some great in-laws. They are so much fun and every outing with them is enjoyable.

Fourth of July Weekend- Part 1

We headed down to the farm after Jordan's softball game on Thursday night. The kids were so excited to finally get on the road! They always look forward to our trips to Missouri for weeks leading up to it!

Friday morning everyone was up bright and early, ready to get outside. It was hot but that didn't stop everyone from getting busy. Ashton was thrilled to see her dog, Oreo. Tod got out on the tractor to get some mowing done and the girls took Zip riding around the yard and then sprayed him down. Because most of the hay is gone by this time of year, the rope swing in the barn had changed to a tire swing- still so much fun. Cole was in heaven with all the machinery- tractors, lawn mowers, trucks, the 4 wheeler, etc. After a trip to town, we went over to Megan's house to swim. Then we all headed to a fantastic fireworks show in the neighboring town.

Saturday morning, Cindy and I continued one of our traditions....an early morning trip to the Amish store to buy baking supplies. It is always so fun, and I look forward to our drive together and conversation. With my mom gone, Cindy has filled such a void for me, and I truly enjoy being with her. This trip was extra special because I received an early birthday surprise from this great lady...I was beyond excited...but I'm going to wait until my actual birthday to post details, so stay tuned!

The rest of Saturday was busy with more swimming, playing with cousins, homemade ice cream, riding in the pick up truck to the back fields (interesting!) and more farm fun.

On Sunday morning, the kids dressed up in their Fourth of July outfits to go to church (I made the skirts for the gals). I LOVE the color red and so taking pictures in front of the red farmhouse was excellent. The colors on the farm at this time of year are so vibrant- it's just a gorgeous place. The ward (congregation) in Missouri is so friendly and we always enjoy church there- plus we got to enjoy having Tod sit with us and not have meetings!!! After church, we relaxed and had a lasagna dinner.

Summertime Scenes Around Here

Lots of slip'n'slide on the perfect hill in our back yard!

Vacation Bible School- so much fun, amazing music, a highlight of the summer!

Summer Hair Cuts- This boy LOVES his tractor and his "buzz" hair cut that Dad gave him.

Jr. Wildcat Sport Camp

Gardening- I have been enjoying working in the yard so much this year...after 4 years of living in this house, parts of the yard are finally coming together. Tod paid me the ultimate compliment when he said I am starting to have the "Kirk touch". Many of you know that my dad's yard is always spectacular!

WE LOVE SUMMER!

Eleven Years

(Funeral- June 2000)

(Chris's Mission Farewell- Oct. 1993)

(Mom's Birthday- 1983)

Eleven years ago today....sometimes it feels like a day ago...sometimes it feels like 100 years ago. But one thing hasn't changed....I still think about you EVERY day...and miss you always.

Your influence goes on and on....just yesterday, I went to an event and made sure to sincerely thank each person who helped out, because you taught me to do this and you always made sure to do it too.

I went "window-shopping" (mostly looking, not buying!), because you taught me to love that too.

I laughed with my kids, tickled them, hugged them a little more, because you always did that with me.

I took time to admire the flowers in my garden, because you were so great at pointing out beauty and pausing to enjoy the moments.

I struck up a conversation with someone I didn't know, because we all know this was one of your greatest strengths!

It's amazing that a person can no longer be physically present, and yet their presence is felt so very often.

Mom, I love you so much. Thanks for everything! One of my greatest goals in life is to work to become more like you.

Father's Day

What I Know: Getting a decent picture of this crew is practically impossible!

What I Also Know: This "father" is pretty special...in his extremely busy life, he finds time for his kids...whether it is practicing sports in the yard or rough housing on the floor, he is a fabulous Dad. Happy Father's Day!