Good Times With Good Friends

In mid July we held our annual three-family, three-state get together at the Lake. Me, Jack and Noah posed with the catch of the weekend caught by Brian (not-pictured).

This guy drove the boat.

Check out little brother hanging with the older ladies. See how he plays it cool? Act like you've been there. Emma seems skeptical.

Nothing beats some relaxing fishing with the boys, although I don't think that red and blue pole caught anything the whole time.

Now with the Dora the Explorer pole pictured here, we were reeling them in.

Dora strikes again.

I pretty much could do without this ridiculous orange thing wrapped around my neck but I guess safety comes first.

See that little orange box hiding behind those heads? We'll call that the weekend saver. Being able to watch movies really helped with the down time.

The big boys got to go out for a big time on the main drag, as the old-timers call it. You can tell it is high class when they don't really care if you walk halfway up the skeeball table.

Probably going to be a rodeo cowboy in my spare time. I've got the hat waving down.

Only in the Ozarks.

I'll say it again, this is a high class place.

Back at the party spot we did some swimming.

Meet the quadropus, or for you less smart people, the fourpus. Really, what is this thing?

I know what you're thinking...these look like five well-parented kids sitting down having a relaxing, very healthy dinner. And you're right. The secret? All the moms went shopping for like a bundred hours (even more than a hundred). We'll just leave it at that.

Round and round we go. And it was a scratch, not a pick.

I don't know how you would score this, but by my count I got a six.


And to think this only cost a quarter!

More Catching Up - A Weekend in the STL

Much like this blog entry, the walk to the zoo from our car was long. We could hardly contain our excitement when we got to the entrance.

No really, we were so excited. Remember people, bend at the knees.

Just a future crocodile hunter with his grandpa.

Score 5 points for yourself if you can spot the big ape in this pic.

What an injustice that I have to just stand around and wait while Grady gets to ride the carousel.

Note to zoos everywhere, if you ain't got penguins you ain't got nothing. St. Louis Zoo is our kind of zoo.

One big thrill of the weekend was the hotel room...Colin's first one.

This monkey could have slept for-bever (even more than forever). When told a pack of elephants and a marching band came through and I didn't wake up, I wasn't really surprised.

If there's one thing that will wake me up though it's pancakes.

Attention future Olympic swimmers, nothing to fear here.

Age group batting champion.

Oh man, check me out now. Mr. Construction was right at home on the job site at the Magic House.

You've got to respect a guy who knows you've got to start at bottom. Coincidentally, this resembles his dad's first job.

Sometimes there are just no words.

I don't know anything about this.



Do people still cobble?


Overall our St. Louis trip was a good one.

Besides all the fun stuff, we also got to see strange characters like this.

...and this one. Yikes.

You can see how excited we were to head home.

No really, thrilled.

Grady, take us home with a little counting.

Way Behind, We'll Just Change The Date And Pretend Nothing Happened

This begins a series we'll call turn back the clock. Apparently the last month has been a blur, much like this photo of us in a cave back on July 5.

Seriously, it was dark in that cave. No really, pitch black when Dad took this.

Sometimes, although it is rare, Grady asks to have his picture taken. This was one of those times.

Aunt Kelli got married, and we wore tie shirts. I was the ring bearer.

Turned out we had extra time, so I read the hymnal.

Making things happen with the rings. I like to think I nailed it.

The reception was quite a party. This guy kicked off his shoes and had yogurt.

I Heart USA

Hopefully you partied as hard as we did yesterday, the birthday of this great nation. Please know we were literally dancing in the street.

When the police showed up to the block party, and they did, it was this guy that greeted them. No word on what he said to them. Apparently a firm handshake goes a long way.

You ain't cool unless you got green shoes.

The Bomb Pop Squad terrorized the neighborhood, and yes that is really DJ equipment in the background.

The future architect/construction man is back at. Windows on all sides of this "palace."
Dad: Cool house Grady.
Grady: It's not a house, it's a palace.

Put a pitch fork in that big guy's hand and I think I've seen this picture before.

G: Hey let's plant a tree. C: I'm there. You get the shovel, I'll bring the hose.

From the archives. This little dude turned up from April. Somehow we missed it.

Lots more coming from our recent adventures. In the meantime, enjoy this video of our three new family members. We could not be less happy about being a family of 7.