Off to Springfield!

We decided to take advantage of me not having a job, and Josh being a student with no summer classes to take a vacation to MO to visit our families. And, well, seeing as how our house was filled with poo because of the main sewer line backed up into our house, it seemed like a good time to NOT be there. So, off we went… We started off the week in Springfield, hanging out with Josh’s parents and my grandparents!

Of course, since we were in Springfield, SDC was a must! We were there during the week, so we were mostly on our own Monday while Josh’s mom & dad worked, so Josh and I decided to take the girls down to just spend a day doing whatever they wanted. It was about a million degrees, but we managed to have fun anyway!

The heat didn’t really seem to bother Audrey…

But that could be because she spent most of her time totally SOAKED from any water she could find. She loved the water mats, loved the random sprinklers… if there was water involved, she was IN!

Laney, modeling a blow up wig… it was Kids Fest, so there were lots of fun toys and things for the girls to play with, even inside.

This was Daddy’s first trip to SDC this year (the girls and I went for YCW in April), so we had to take him to play on the new kids’ play area. It was pretty fun, and Miss A actually really liked these net parts, which the guy who worked there said most kids her age got to the nets and freaked. Guess our girls know they’re safe with Daddy around!

Also a hit in the new kids’ area: the carousel. Both of my beautiful girls!

Because it was so hot, SDC had put out just random garden sprinklers that ran all of the time. Like I said before, if there was water involved, A was in, and she was quite excited to find this sprinkler in Half Dollar Holler!

Laney got in on the sprinkler action, too!

Because it was so blasted hot, we decided to take advantage of one of the sit-down, indoor restaurants at the park. So we headed to Reunion Hall for ayce pizza. The pizza was ok, but the refills were free, the a/c was on, and we had a chance to sit down!

And, lucky for Audrey, there was chocolate pudding! :)

I don’t have many pictures from the girls actually riding rides, mostly because in the kids’ ride area Josh and I were both typically riding the rides! A did absolutely LOVE the froggie ride; she spent the whole time going “Wheee, whee, wheee” as it went around.

And, again, with the sprinkler. She just walked to the middle of this one and stood, for probably 5-10 minutes while Josh & Laney got measured, waited in line, and road the kiddie roller coaster. Kid loves water! :)

We headed home late afternoon, after a stop at the candy store for rock candy for both girls. Audrey started to enjoy her’s… and then just passed out. Guess we wore her out!

So, that was Monday. Tuesday we just kind of ran around. We got Krispy Kremes for breakfast (Josh owed me a dozen b/c he bet that Isa wouldn’t jump the fence with the pvc pipe on it… yeah, he lost), and then decided to hit up CPO (still cool, but not as cool now that Josh works at the Lifeway here). We also took the girls to Bass Pro, which they thought was quite awesome… loved the turtles and the fish. Did not like being stuck in the glass elevator for a couple of minutes, though!

Tuesday after naps we headed to see my grandparents to hang out and have dinner. Both girls had grown a lot since the last time they’d seen them, especially Audrey, so we had lots of fun just running around and playing. Laney and Grandpa went briefly to find Anias (the turtle that lives in their backyard) but it was too hot for anyone (including Anias) to stay out and play!

Audrey and Grandma

Laney found this stylish hat… and looked a little crazy in it!

Grandma, reading to Laney…

Really had a good time visiting with Grandma & Grandpa, so we stayed until the time bombs (aka our children) started letting us know that it was bedtime! :)

Wednesday we headed back to SDC for more fun! Mom came with us this time, and Dad met us down there in the afternoon.

Since there was someone else to man the camera, we decided to pause for a family photo op at the front!

It wasn’t as hot as it had been on Monday, which was good, but the reason it was cooler was because it rained most of the morning. Not poured, but just steady rain. Luckily, we’re not allergic to rain, and there were things to do out of the rain, too!

Laney playing checkers with Daddy… she’s starting to really be interested in playing games. What she’s not interested in is losing games… we’re still working on losing (and winning, for that matter) gracefully! Apparently she’s competitive. Not sure where she got that from…

They also had a whole lot of legos set up under that tent, too, so Laney and I entertained ourselves while we were waiting on Grandma & Daddy to get lunch.

By the time we were done eating lunch (inside, of course), it was pretty much done raining, just sprinkling a little bit. And the rest of the day was beautiful, because the rain had brought the temp down so much.

There were still lots of puddles to jump in, though! (REALLY wish this picture wasn’t so blown out… she was so cute jumping in the puddles with that umbrella… gotta love cell phone cameras)

Just an adorable picture… found this outfit in her closet, and it was so light and cute, it just screamed theme park outfit!

With Grandma along, there was someone else to ride the rides, so I could take some pictures!

Everybody on the frogs!

Grandma & her girls, riding the butterfly. Laney was NOT happy with the idea of Audrey riding in the front seat with her… for a second I thought we were going to have a full scale meltdown on the ride. Ahh, sisters…

But all was right with the world when she got to ride the teacups with Mommy and Daddy!

And, of course, no day at SDC would be complete without a trip to Geyser Gulch to play on the water mats!

My water babies!

Daddy and Audrey…

I laughed at Josh for getting wet here, which means it just served me right when I got absolutely drenched later! I looked up to see Laney bent over, DRINKING from one of the sprays. I stepped in to get her to stop, and two went off at once- one straight up my front, the other straight up my back. Awesome!

Audrey provided the entertainment for anyone around the water mats. She would bend over a hole, it would totally spray her in the face, she would jerk up, gasp and spit, laugh hysterically, and then do it again. Crazed.

And, like the summers of 2008, 2009, and 2010 (E and A), we had to pose for pictures of the girls with the measuring stick on the Lost River!

I’m always amazed at what a difference a year makes. We kind of started this tradition on a whim, but I hope we can keep it up. It’s always fun to look back!

We also rode the Lost River, of course (Audrey and Grandma decided to sit that one out), and all of us got SOAKED. But, apparently I neglected to take a picture of us afterwards, so just let me assure you that, with a totally full boat including Josh, me, Grandpa Looten, and two more adults, yeah, we were drenched!! Laney still loved it, although she was a little unsure when it came to the cave part!

And, if 20-some pictures wasn't enough... here's a video of Audrey and the water mat! It was pretty funny to watch! The video is long, but I wanted to make sure I recorded what she did when she got hit in the face, so no one thinks I'm an abusive parent for forcing her to play there... she just keeps going back for more!!

So, that’s about it… Wednesday night we went out for a pizza buffet (Godfathers in Nixa… it was awesome, and they had the BEST chocolate chip cookies), then just laid around at the house. We got up and left early Thursday morning to head to Columbia! Sure had a good time with our family in Springfield, though!

House Tour

Hope you’ve got a couple of minutes, because here comes a house tour in 27 pictures! :)  Who would have thought a house this small could merit that many pictures?  There might be too many, but I thought that our family and friends who won’t be visiting, or won’t be visiting soon, would like to see our new digs.  So, here we go…

View from the street…

 

And a little closer to the front porch.  Found that wreath at a Black and Gold Auction, and thought it helped make the door more cheerful.  There’s also a huge hanging plant on the left of the porch, but you can’t see it for the branch!

The door opens up into the living room, which holds our furniture… barely! :) 

From the other side of the living room.

Turn around from where the picture above was taken, and you’re looking down this hallway.

First door on the left (with the cat toy hanging from it above) is the pantry/linen closet.  Mostly pantry, but the basket at the bottom holds all of the spare towels!  In a house this size, everything must multitask! :)

Second door on the left is the spare room, or the “blue” room, as we’ve called it since we lived in the duplex, and the spare room was actually blue!

Other side of the blue room.  Sorry about the angle, I was holding the camera up above my head because of the TV in the corner.  It’s a little cramped in the blue room, but it all fits.  And there will be more room when my classroom books are out of the closet

First door on the right is the bathroom.  This is probably the biggest downsize for us.  Not only is there only one bathroom, but it is T-I-N-Y! 

Tiny as it is, there are two doors!  Here’s the view from the other door…

At the end of the hallway is the girls’ room.  This room is one that needs the most work.  Straight in the door:

Angled from the door.  The bunkbeds still don’t have mattresses (those are supposed to be here on Wednesday), and there aren’t any pictures hung, because I want to do some changing up of the decorations, and I’m waiting on their bedding to coordinate.

From above the rocking chair.  The whole room will feel better when the pack and play is gone!

On the left as you come out of the girls’ room is our room.  Also still needs a lot of work…

View from the doorway… nice, bare walls! :)
(PS, only a youth pastor has a giant tube of water balloons on his dresser)

The other side, with the door to the bathroom on the right and the door to my closet on the left. 

That’s a mirror leaning up against my dresser, which was going to be hung above my dresser so I could get ready there, instead of in the bathroom, b/c getting ready in the bathroom could only lead to dropping my make up down the sink and a little too much family togetherness, if you know what I mean! :)  Unfortunately, before we could get the hardware to hang the mirror, our own personal Stay Puft Marshmallow Man knocked the mirror over and broke the top off.  Thankfully, she wasn’t hurt, and she didn’t break the actual mirror, she just broke all of the frame, and I’m not sure we’ll be able to put it back together well enough for me to feel safe hanging it up.  So, maybe a small makeup mirror that just sits on my dresser instead…

That’s my closet door on the left… Josh definitely took a big hit in the closet department, because I claimed the walk in! :)  Of course, being a large amount of space, it’s been filled with lots of random junk!  Overflow from the girls’ room (their closet is too small to even step into) and the bathroom, and the rest of my “get ready” things… but, at least there’s still room for all of my clothes!

Back down the hallway to the kitchen!

Here’s the view from the doorway.  Probably wouldn’t have picked the color, but it’s kind of growing on me…

So that door to the right leads out into the carport.  Which means that we are sort of locked out of our backyard… we have to go into the carport, and then open the gate.  It’s not something I really thought about, but it is causing some problems with the dog!  Someday, we’d like to turn that big window into a door, and build a deck in the backyard.  Someday! :)  Things I definitely miss about a garage- somewhere to put the recycling!  That’s it lined up next to the fridge- a trash can, a recycling can, and a box for paper stuff.  I also miss curbside recycling- here we have to take it to the drop off!  I also definitely miss having the kitty litter and food in the garage!  Right now, they’re in the corner behind the table, which works fine, but sure isn’t ideal!

Speaking of the table, isn’t it beautiful?!  Another Black and Gold Auction find!  I really like it, and it fits the space better than our round table would have.  Thanks, Mom!! 

The kitchen part of our kitchen/dining room.  Small, but pretty functional.  It is pretty dark, so I’m thinking I will replace the fixture with something that doesn’t have a yellow globe!  And maybe some under cabinet lighting… but, it works!  Notice that our bar cabinet has become a coffee bar cabinet!  Josh brought home his espresso machine from the bank… pretty sweet!

The laundry nook, just to the left of the kitchen cabinets (obviously).  Clearly needs some work (shelves are in the future), but I’m pretty thankful just to have a laundry nook.  Most of the houses we looked at the washer/dryer hook ups were just randomly in the kitchen.  The builder who flipped this house enclosed them, which I very much appreciate! :)

One last shot of the kitchen from the door into the carport.  Notice the red buffet!  The red has definitely grown on me, so I imagine it will stay that color.  And it is a lifesaver!

Now, out the door and into the carport (although this is obviously taken closer to the front of the carport, since you can see the steps and door!).

(Yes, that is giant pvc pipe along the top of our fence.  It was an attempt to keep the dog from jumping the fence.  It was an epic fail and looks pretty whiskey tango.  It will be gone soon!)

Our yard, from just inside the gate (and said dog… now tied up because she is apparently half kangaroo and insists on jumping the fence we specifically built to keep her in…).  It’s really a pretty good sized yard!

Turned a little to the left…

Those two trees in the picture above…

yep, those are apples!!  We’re quite excited about those… now we just have to learn how to take care of them!

And what was peeking through those two apples trees?  Taj MaShed!

Just to the right of Taj MaShed, is what I like to call the pit of pointlessness!  It’s this whole area that some previous owner killed all of the grass in, covered with the black paper, and filled with ivy.  Yeah, and guess what grew in with the regular ivy… yep, POISON ivy.  Not cool.  So, we’ve pretty much hosed the entire area with roundup, and plan on just starting from scratch!

So, there’s the house tour… it’s small, but it’s serving us well, so far.  Can’t wait to really get the girls’ room set up, and a million other projects, like paint the shed, stain the fence, put a ceiling fan in our room, change the hall fixture… the list goes on! 

But, for now, I’m off to enjoy our Fourth with some grilling, some strawberry shortcake, and a few fireworks!!