The Last Days of Summer

Technically, summer still lasts for another month, but things are winding down around here. School starts tomorrow. We made the most of our last days of summer:

Saturday (7/30) – Rudy and I spent the day shopping in Branson and then came home (without the kids) for a date night.  We had dinner at Café Rue Orleans in Fayetteville and then went to see Horrible Bosses.  It was so much fun to have adult conversation and see a grown-up movie in the theater!

Sunday (7/31) – I drove to Hot Springs to spend a few days there with the kids while Rudy started summer band. The kids and I stayed with Mom and MrL.  It was unbelievably hot (over 100* every day).  We stayed inside as much as possible!

Wednesday (8/3) – The kids and I said our goodbyes to Lala and Pops and drove over to Sherwood to spend the day with Memmie and Poppie.  They rode over to Little Rock with us so I could get Nola a napmat for her new daycare. We enjoyed visiting with them! 

Thursday (8/4) – I took Nola to her 18-month checkup with Dr. Schaefer. (more in a separate post)  After that, we met the boys for lunch and then took both kids to the new daycare.  Caleb went there for a week while I was in meetings.  Nola cried when we dropped her off, but apparently calmed down pretty quickly.  Caleb wasn’t too keen on going to new place where he didn’t know anyone, but he handled it pretty well.  While they were at daycare on Thursday, I got my hair cut and colored. Rudy had band that night, so the kids and I were on our own.  We met Caleb’s friend Isabel and her mom and brother at JumpZone.  The kids had a great time playing and Kristie and I enjoyed getting to know each other a little better.  Afterwards, we had dinner at Bariola’s.  By the time we got home, the kids were worn out! 

Friday (8/5) – Rudy took Nola to her last day of Gymboree.  The kids would’ve gone to daycare, but it was closed for promotion preparation.  We had a lazy day at home for the most part, but ran some errands and played as well. 

Saturday (8/6) – We wanted to do something fun to celebrate our last weekend of freedom, but it was SO HOT (106*!!!), so we needed to do something indoors.  We decided to go to Fast Lanes to bowl. It was a lot of fun. Caleb used the ramp and the bumpers, so he did pretty well.  After bowling, the boys rode the go karts.  Nola and I wandered around until it was their turn. 

Nola pulled my wristlet and phone out of my purse and strolled through the place like this:

Oh. My.

Sunday (8/7) – AAAGGGHHH!  The last day of freedom!!!  We spent the morning at church, had lunch at the new Five Guys burgers and then had a usual Sunday afternoon.  Rudy took the kids to Tanyard Creek in the evening while I met my old friend Leslie for dinner at Las Fajitas.

This past week, Rudy and I have had meetings every day.  The kids have gone to daycare.  Nola still fusses at me when I drop her off, but she’s settling in well.  She has one teacher that she has really taken to.  That makes me happy.  I know she’s doing well when I’m not with her.  Every day when we pick her up, we hear what a great day she’s had and how much fun she is.  Caleb did well there too, but he’s ready to get the show on the road and go to his real school. 

On a not-so-happy note, after 3 days of daycare, Nola got her first cold. She has coughed and had a runny nose like crazy.  On Thursday night at 11:30, I sent Rudy to WalMart to buy some Vicks Vaporub.  I read the craziest thing online about putting it on her feet and covering them with socks.  I was very doubtful, but gave it a try and was shocked that she was asleep – not coughing – in a matter of minutes. I don’t know why it works, I just know it works.  She smells like I remember my Papa smelling, which makes me smile and laugh, but she’s not coughing, so I’m happy.

Branson (yes, really)

Last spring, Mom called and asked if we would like to book a trip to Branson with them at the end of the summer.  I’m not a big Branson person.  I’m not interested in the shows and the town is a little, well, um -- conservative for me.  The only restaurant that we ever really liked there has closed down.  But – I do love the outlet malls and I do love to take the kids to Silver Dollar City, so I decided that it sounded like a great way to wrap up the summer.  It seemed so far away at the time.  Well, the time went by quickly as always and sure enough, before we knew it, the trip had arrived.  We stayed at a fabulous resort complex called Marriott Vacation Resorts.  It was absolutely wonderful. (Thanks, Jenn!!!) It had 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.  Caleb slept in the king bed with Lala and Pops.  The other bedroom had 2 queen beds, so Nola slept in one of them bolstered by pillows and Rudy and I got the other one.  It worked out perfectly.

Our trip started last Tuesday (7/26).  Our condo was right by the amazing pool.  Caleb wasted no time getting in the pool and Nola followed right along behind him.  They both love the water.  Because I’m still recovering from my Novasure procedure, I wasn’t able to get in the pool with them, which was a bummer.  It was so HOT and all I wanted to do was get in the water!  Rudy graciously offered to plan and cook our meals for us. The first night, he grilled whole chickens and stuffed peppers that he had prepared before we left home. We had the peach delight dessert that I brought.

On Wednesday, we braved the soaring temperatures and went to Silver Dollar City.  With our season passes and some coupons that we had, it only cost us an additional $30 for Mom and Mr. L to go with us.  Because they were with us, we got to do some things that we don’t usually do.  Rudy and I actually got to ride the Wildfire and the Powderkeg…twice…while they took the kids on the train ride and to the new Half Dollar Holler.  It was a fun day and we were TIRED when it was over.  (Scroll over pictures for descriptions.)

Here’s a (sideways) video of Caleb dancing in the creek to the cajun band.  That child is a mess.

 

Wednesday night, the kids swam and we had burgers for dinner.  Then, we took advantage of the resort activities menu and joined in the fun of making s’mores at the firepit.  It was really cool that they had all of these things you could choose from to do.  That was the only one we were able to participate in and it was so much fun.

Thursday was our shopping day.  The boys went to Springfield to the big Bass Pro Shop and out for a BBQ lunch.  Mom, Nola and I hit the outlet malls looking for deals!  Nola’s ready to move up to 24 month clothes and we were hoping to find some things for her to carry her over until the weather gets cooler.  We didn’t have much luck.  They already had winter sweaters in the stores!  It was 102 degrees outside!!!  We did find a few things for Caleb’s back-to-school clothes and a couple of things for each of us.  We had lunch at Panera and then took Nola back to the condo to nap with the boys while Mom and I finished making our rounds.  We really enjoyed our day.  When we got back, the boys and Nola were in the pool.  We joined them poolside for a while and then came in for dinner.  Rudy grilled steaks for us that night.  He was quite the chef!  We spent the rest of the night getting our stuff together for our trip home on Friday.

 

Friday morning, we loaded up the cars.  The kids went to Hot Springs with Lala and Pops.  Rudy and I did a little kid-free shopping and then drove home in a very quiet car.  I didn’t have to fish anything out of the backseat floorboard, figure out why the DVD wasn’t working, clean up any spills or calm any crying and nobody once had to pull over on the side of the road to go to the bathroom.

I Wanna Be Sedated

Oh, what a week this has been! 

Monday started at 7:40 with a trip to the endodontist, where I found out that I needed a root canal.  Caleb had graduation practice at 9:00.  Rudy had a doctor appointment at 9:30.  Nola’s language evaluation was at 1:00. 

On Tuesday, the boys went to Silver Dollar City.  Nola and I stayed home because it was so hot and there’s really not much that she can do there besides ride in the stroller.  I didn’t want her to be that hot without any chance to ride things that would help cool her off.  It would’ve just been miserable.  Caleb is big enough this year to ride all but 2 of the big rides.  He didn’t like the Powderkeg, but he did like the Thunderation.  He’s going to be a roller coaster rider, just like his Mama and Daddy.

Wednesday was my root canal day.  I was so nervous, but so ready to get it done and get the weeks of tooth pain over with!  My appointment was at 1:00 and that’s about the last thing I remember from that day.  I was knocked out from that point forward.  I do remember the numbing shot into the hard palate of my mouth that almost made me come out of my skin.  It’s still sore now as I write this 3 days later!  I slept the rest of the day, thanks to some ibuprofen and vicodin.

Thursday, I had my one work obligation of the summer.  The SLPs got together at Reagan for a day of professional development.  It was good to see everyone, but I don’t want to use my brain that much again until August 8th.  (Truth be told, I really don’t want to start using it again then either.)

Friday morning, I had an appointment for a gynecological procedure called Novasure.  (I won’t go into details about why I had it or what it does, but you can click the link if you really want to know.)  I was so nervous about it, but once I got my pre-procedure meds, I was ready to go.  It’s amazing what modern medicine can do.  Since then, I’ve spent the better part of 48 hours sleeping with the help of some pain meds.  The recovery hasn’t been too bad – just some cramping and I’m incredibly tired.  I hope to be back on my feet for most of tomorrow. 

Friday night was Caleb’s preschool graduation, which was a little bit of a stretch for me since I was coming off of sedatives.  It was great, though.  The next post will be all about little man’s cap and gown ceremony!

Spiro

After church on Sunday, we went to Spiro for a little visit with Grandma and Grandpa Morris.  Janice was there as well and we were glad to see her too.  We had pizza and homemade apple pie and had a great visit. 

Friends with Boats

We’ve been really fortunate to be invited to go out on Beaver Lake with friends twice this summer.  The first time was with my friend Kerrie and her family.  This past Saturday (7/16), we went out with the Adlers.  We’ve known Josh and Stephanie since college and recently reconnected with them through Rudy’s fraternity reunions.  They have a son who is Caleb’s age, another who is a little older and a brand new baby.  We had a great time on Saturday, boating, watching the kids ride the tube and kneeboard and swimming in the lake.  Nola particularly liked floating in her life jacket and eating animal crackers on the boat.  She is such a water baby!  After we boated, we went back to their house for dinner on their deck, overlooking the lake.  It was enough to give Rudy boat fever and get him talking about “someday” when we can go out there with our own boat.  I say, why have a boat when you have friends with boats???

Post Vacation Post

We came home from St. Louis on Wednesday (7/6).  On Thursday, Nola and I started going to Gymboree.  Caleb and I went when he was a toddler and I really wanted a chance for Nola and I to have that time together too.  She seems to really like it.  She’s definitely a mover and shaker.  I am worn out by the time it’s finished.  She is on the move the whole time we’re there – climbing and crawling and throwing balls all over the place. 

On Friday morning, Rudy and I went to a funeral.  We managed a last minute babysitter so that we could go pay our respects to Janet and her family.  That evening, we made our first ever trip to Beaver Lake.  My friend and colleague, Kerrie and her family had us over for BBQ and boating.  Caleb LOVED getting to ride on the tube with Kerrie’s son, Luke.  He and Rudy also rode the waverunner.  Nola really enjoys being in the water.  She’s pretty fearless.  After we boated, everyone (except for me) swam for a while and then we went inside for dessert and the boys played Rock Band.  It was a great night with a wonderful family!

Saturday (7/9), I got to spend the evening and night scrapbooking with my dear friend Stacy.  We love to go to the late night crops at Signed Sealed Delivered.  It’s such a productive moms’ night out!  We’re going back at the end of the month to a pajama party crop. 

Sunday (7/10) was the first day of U of A Jr High Music Camp.  Rudy was asked to conduct a band this year, so his time commitment wasn’t quite as much as previous years.  He still had to be there Sunday, though.  It was so crazy hot that the only thing I could do with the kids was put them in water.  I filled up the kiddie pool, turned on the sprinkler and turned them loose.  They had a great time splashing and playing and I got a little sun while we were out there. 

St. Louis 2011 ~ Sunday-Tuesday

After our late night at the Arch on Saturday, we had a lazy morning on Sunday.  Jerry and Sherry had offered to watch the kids while Rudy and I went out, so we decided to take them up on it.  (They might have disowned us if we hadn’t!)  We were going to go to dinner and a movie, but I suggested that we go to Six Flags.  We used to have season passes before Caleb was born and I hadn’t been since then.  After lunch, we hopped in the car and headed for Eureka.  We got a few minutes from the house and I realized that if we bought our tickets online we would save about $20, so we turned around and went back.  As I got on the computer to buy the tickets, Rudy was watching TV and saw a weather advisory for St. Louis County.  There were ugly storms brewing in the Eureka area, but he watched for a little while and determined that they would be gone by the time we got there.  I hit “purchase,” spent $100 and off we went.  The closer we got to Eureka, the darker the sky got.  We did a memory lane drive through Fenton to kill some time while the storm passed over.  When we got to Eureka, it was raining, but not pouring, so we went on in the park.  Those $100 tickets were nonrefundable after all.  It rained…and rained…and rained some more.  There was thunder and lightning and all of the rides were shut down.  We did manage to ride the carousel 3 times…because it was covered and out of the rain.  After a while, it became blatantly obvious that this storm was not going to pass over, clear up or plain ol’ quit.  We finally decided to tuck our tails, cut our losses and go out to dinner.  So…after 3 rides on the carousel at approximately $15 per person per ride, we left Six Flags.  Not our best adventure…

We went to dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Lazy River Grill.  Yum.  Deelicious!  We enjoyed being in familiar surroundings, visiting with each other (without wiping children’s mouths, taking anyone to the bathroom or reminding anyone to please be careful and lean over their plate).  After dinner, we decided to head on back to Florissant, pick up anyone interested and go get frozen custard.  That’s just what we did…and Fritz’s  was wonderful.

Monday was actually the 4th of July!  Rudy and I took the kids to the Mills (mall) for a while.  Both kids LOVED the aquarium at Cabela’s. 

Caleb tried out a bat at an electronic batting cage and then on this crazy trampoline thing…

We got both of the kids some new Crocs and had a late lunch at Chevy’s, which was supposed to be quick and just a snack, but it took them 45 minutes to bring our food.  Nola was exhausted, so Rudy ended up taking her out in the mall to walk and then I switched places with him. 

By the time we got back to Jerry and Sherry’s it was almost time to eat dinner.  The boys squeezed in a little fireless fireworks time in the driveway…

  

…and Little Miss Firecracker walked the runway for a few pictures.

After dinner, we went to the Florissant fireworks.  It was a great show! 

 

Caleb acting silly…

Our whole crew…

 

Jerry and Nola watching (and laughing at) fireworks…

Tuesday was our zoo day!  The temperatures dropped a little and we were able to enjoy a great day at the St. Louis Zoo!  The kids loved seeing the animals and our friend Jenny joined us to catch up on each others’ lives.

Click here to see Caleb grow up taking pictures with the frog statues at the children’s zoo:

Petting animals at the children’s zoo:

Caleb up close and personal with an elephant and a zebra:

Nola up close and personal with a chimp:

Jenny and Caleb petting stingrays:

Jenny and the kiddos:

After the zoo, we went back to the house to give Nola a chance to take a nap and everyone a chance to freshen up.  We had dinner at our all-time favorite restaurant, Cunetto House of Pasta.  Nola was a grump, so it was a little stressful.  Sherry graciously volunteered to take her outside to walk around so that Rudy and I could finish our meals in peace.  (Maybe next year we shouldn’t try to do the zoo and a nice dinner on the same day.)  Afterward, we spent some time outside of Cunetto, letting our dinners settle and playing with the kids. 

Sherry, Jerry, Rebecca & Jared with Nola and Caleb:

It was a great ending to yet another great trip!