Our Vacation to the Ozarks

 

It's amazing the improvement the little girls have had over the past couple of months.  She is throwing much better, even though during a game it takes so much concentration to put it all together.  She is also able to hit the ball when we pitch to her now.  Gracie had her last game on July 29 in Maxwell.  She was nice enough to play for the other team because they didn't have enough players.  She had a great time.

 

 

Gracie's last game of t-ball

 

Right after Gracie's last game, we headed south to Missouri for four nights.  That car ride down was the best we've had since having kids with us.  We fed them lunch at 11am, got in the car by 11:30, they were both asleep by noon, and we didn't stop again except once for Nick to eat, until we got to Macon, MO around 3:30.  I think we made it to the Ozarks in less than six hours, which we haven't done in years.  The ride back home wasn't quite as efficient.

 

When we got there, the kids immediately wanted to swim, and Annie came over for awhile.  We had dinner with my parents and then headed out to see Annie and Chad at their house.  

 

Notice that Gracie isn't wearing a life jacket!  She has learned so much since the last time we were down there.  She can paddle her way to the edge or ladder in deep water.  She has also learned to swim under water.  She is still not allowed to go in without her jacket unless either Nick or I are in the water with her.  I'm so glad that she is so much more comfortable with the water!

 

Showing her floating skills

 

Nick and Owen playing "crocodile."  The kids would hold onto his back and swim under water.  They tapped him on the shoulder when they wanted to come up. 

Owen is taking a breath, ready to go under.

 

 

We took a day to go to Ha-Ha Tonka State Park for hiking and a picnic.  We spent about two hours hiking on the trails.  Nick and the kids even did a little off-roading.  Not sure if that was legal, but oh, well.  These pictures are at the bottom of the park.  There were a lot of stairs to walk down and then climb back up.  There is a natural spring that flows into the lake. 

 



 

Wading through the water

 

 

Owen thought the water was pretty cold

 

Gracie and Owen at the castle.  This was the highest point of the hike.

 

Floating in the kayak

 

Most of our time in the Ozarks was spent on the lake.  Monday night we celebrated my dad's birthday at the pool by their condo with family and friends.  Then Tuesday we took a long boat trip up to Captain Ron's with my parents for a day which was really fun.  All of those pictures are on Nick's phone.  The kids were introduced to strawberry daiquiris, which they loved.  Owen kept saying that he was cold, but kept drinking it anyway.  There was also a beach there, sand volleyball, a big bounce house, and a giant statue of a pirate that Gracie thought was great to climb on. 

 

After returning from that trip, the kids stayed home with my parents and Nick and I went out with Josh, Julie, Annie, and Chad for a little while for pizza and go-carts. 

 

Like I said, the return trip was not as quick and took almost 7 hours.  We had a great stay down there!

 

 



The day after we came home, July 4th, we took the kids to Slater to watch the parade and ride the rides for awhile.  Later in the afternoon, we went to our neighbors' for their 4th of July party and stayed up pretty late to watch Nick shoot off the fireworks we bought on the way home from Missouri.  Now it's pretty much back to the "normal" things we do. :)  I have started another class for grad school, so my vacation is officially over.