Summer 2018

A visit to St. Louis
The City Museum...
IS AMAZING!
We spent most of our time outside on the multi-story, industrial-like "playground".
There is still tons to explore.  I hope we can go back...and not right before a Cards/Cubs
game...(the place was PACKED!)

 A story or two up

Cards game as a family
To cap the day off, kids got to run the bases after the game.
Jesse wasn't wanting to run alone, so Ryan 'had' to run with him. :)

 Holsten Mill Civil War Reenactment

"Little Sprouts" drilling

We had to stay in a roped off area

bc the reenactment was on all sides,

complete with infantry, cavalry, and cannons.

Summer Trip to Iowa

Kicking it off with Brinkman Family Weekend at Honey Creek

The boys love having a little cousin!

Then we spent VBS week in Polk City with the Warrick's-

(what a blessing to get extended time with them!)

Ryan taught a class for VBS, Jack and Lane attended, and Jesse and I made

a quick trip to the farm and we all saw lots of old friends.

A visit to Grandpa Bob

The boys and Grandpa enjoyed playing games

together the last few times we visited.

We will sure miss getting to stop to see him.

We got some time at Jana & Billy's

and picked up Jeremiah to bring home with us.

Picking mulberries

Headed back to Springfield for cousin week!

Bass Pro with Jeremiah and our friend/neighbor Brittany

"Petting" sting rays with Brittany

4th of July at the Adams' (our neighbors)

They had enough food, small fireworks, smoke bombs, sparklers, etc. to keep everyone entertained before the hour-long firework show.  Their firework show is no small display!

Each of the boys got their own sword sparkler!

One of probably hundreds of smoke bombs
set off that night!

Swimming at Valley Water Mill

After a short week at home, we headed back to Iowa to "return" Jeremiah

and for Chad & Anne's wedding.  Ryan flew out from DSM to Louisville

for a week long class, so the boys and I stayed a few extra days to see some friends.

Grandma Bette

We swam at the Slater pool (the boys' favorite pool :))

and then took a couple uncles out to dinner.

Sweet time with the Rosheims

Picking out treasures from Uncle Al's collection

Cousin weekend with STL cousins!!

Andy's Custard before swimming at Valley Water Mill

Marcie let us in on a little secret...

kids bowl free in the summer!

The boys had listened to "Henry and the Clubhouse"
on one of our road trips, which lead to wanting a tree
house...so Ryan spent a weekend building them one!

A visit from Alisa!

Fantastic Caverns

Rutledge-Wilson Farm and biking

More Valley Water Mill...a perfect place
for boys to play and explore on hot days!

Last hurrah of the summer...

Family Vacation to Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City Bombing Museum and Memorial

Water taxi tour in Bricktown

Oklahoma Land Rush statues

Skeleton Museum

National Cowboy Museum

Spring 2018

Chad and Anne came for a visit :)

:)

My friend Julie invited me to go to the Big XII Men's Basketball Tournament with her in Kansas City.  If anything was on my bucket list, it was this.  We watched a LOT of ball.  You don't find another gal who loves watching college ball as much as you do every day--what a GREAT weekend!  The only down side was a Cyclone loss in the first round.

Amazing seats!

Poor Cy...took the loss hard.  We spotted him walking
all alone down the street after the game.

Grand Cayman with Jack & Beth

Hiking out at Valley Water Mill

Some of Marie's flowers-all picked from our yard

Lost his first tooth biting two LEGOS apart

The Warricks came to spend the weekend and celebrate Easter with us.

A good days work out behind the shed :)

Making slime at the Library

Star Wars day at the library

Kids' Free Fishing Day at Brenton Springs

Vacation to Wichita, KS to see the Hircocks

and then some site-seeing and camping in NE Oklahoma

in the Osage State Park.

Old Cowtown with Marcie and Blake

What the heck...it's vacation!

Swing bridge in Pawhuska, OK, after a quick stop
at the Pioneer Woman's Mercantile-(mom's stop!)
After this we drove a prairie loop to see some buffalo.
(It was fun, but after seeing the Dreesman buffalo
so up close, it's a little anti-climatic! :))

Everything tastes better when cooked outside!

Hiking

We saw these two turtles on our way to Fellows Lake,
so we stopped and put them in the car.  We were pretty
excited, but a few "locals" we told about it were unimpressed.
Later we realized why, as they're all over the place that time of year!

The York & Helmkamp boys
8-7-6-5-4-3-2
(yrs old)

Birthday Party for Kristen

Regan & Jesse

Cake with friends :)