Vacationing in KC (and Springfield)

We had my parents for a visit for 6 whole days & it was so nice

(and we miss them so much already!)

We met them up in Kansas City so we could see some of the church history sites. We started off with Liberty Jail-where Joseph Smith was wrongly incarcerated for 4 months but where he also received some of the most beautiful revelations found in D&C

We also visited Independence (where the early members of our church lived for a while) & the visitors center there. They had a great area for the kids to play.

This is not supposed to be a butt shot promise :) I stole this picture from my Dad of me holding both babies hands while on a walk

We saw the Kansas City temple!!! I had no idea it was so far along in it's progress. I'm very excited as this will be our new temple. One of the missionaries said it should be completed this winter & probably dedicated next spring. Beautiful!

We had a little swim time at the hotel. I was amazed at how brave Hyrum was! He has been scared of water for a long time but he spent the whole time out in the deep end with Pa & didn't want to come out of the water. I would put the kid in swim lessons if I felt up to that this summer with the twins but probably next summer. Or maybe Pa could fly in for private lessons once a week?? :)

Em wasn't sure about the cold water thing. And it was freezing! I didn't blame her, I spent my time in the hot tub

We went downtown for a day & had lunch at Fritz' where they deliver your food by electric train. Um, cool!

We went to the old train station downtown & they had these awesome miniature electric train displays. The kids loved them (and so did the adults).

Pa bravely took the boys on some hikes in the Nature Center by our house. The first day it was just Hyrum & Pa & I think they hiked 3 miles or something. The next day the Bug joined them & they went almost as far.

Reading a few books with the boys

Dancing Turner style

We have our very own AA baseball team here in Springfield & this was our first time at a game. I loved it! The stadium is really small so every seat is great (being so close we really did have to watch out for those fly balls!) & they did fun activities in between each inning. Justin & I even made it on the big screen with him waving 'hi' to the cameraman. And my Dad caught a free T-shirt. Luckily we had two rows to ourselves so we could really spread out & we actually lasted through the 7th inning.

The kids didn't go to bed until about 10 -they were so hyper when we got home, squealing (that was mostly Emma) & chasing each other around the house.

We also went to the zoo. The best was feeding the giraffes & riding the train.

I love having my parents visit & to see how attached my kids get to them. Come back soon!

Here is a video proving that Emma is part monkey (I knew Jeremy had fleas!!)

Chair twirling skills

Dancing skills

Camping

The stake Father/Son camp-out was rained out big time but did that stop my boys? No way! Of course Jeremy did end up in our bed instead of staying in the two man tent!

Dear Walmart,

Could you please order a dozen or so of these special shopping carts? You know, for all your patrons who bring their four little kids grocery shopping with them every week? It would make life so much easier for them.

Sincerely,

Megan

Best Birthday Ever!

Jeremy took me to San Antonio for 24 hours just him & me, he & I, us, whatever. 24 hours!!! It was so nice to remember what it was like to just be a couple again.

My vote is for this to be a yearly (or bi-yearly) tradition. Yes!

We went to Biga on the Banks, this fancy, schmanzy (for us anyway) restaurant right on the Riverwalk. Fabulous view, delicious food & we ate every lick of it. No leftovers for us. Who knew pureed curried cauliflower soup with dates & pine nuts could be so perfect? Seriously, I'm craving it & I can't find a recipe!

We then took the boat tour around the Riverwalk-it really is an amazing place!

Jeremy surprised me with flowers & chocolate at the hotel-awwww

And here we are on our balcony enjoying our 18th floor view of downtown San Antonio

(before a bit of vertigo & acrophobia hit & I had to make a mad dash indoors-yikes!)

The next day we walked the Riverwalk & a few other places downtown & then ate Amy's ice cream for lunch on the way home.

24 hours was the perfect amount of time away from our crazies at this point in our lives.

Thanks to Nana for watching them all!

17 days of Texas

Jeremy went to a dental conference in San Antonio so we decided to make a little (big, long) vacation out of it since his clinic was paying our way down & back. As long as it was it went by super fast & I didn't want to come home. It was nice to escape for a while!

Easter

Easter egg hunting! There was a huge family reunion on Susan's side of the family for Easter. It was so fun to meet & get to know that side of the family better & the kids had a blast with all their cousins & second cousins & so on & so on! There was plenty of candy, coins & confetti to go around.

Making an Easter variation on the dirt cake

Egg dying

Shirts vs. skins?

Brooke did Emma's hair so cute! I wish I had hair skills.

(if you click on the picture to enlarge it you can see how Emma felt about getting her hair done)

Houston

We spent a couple of days in Houston with Jennie & her family. We went to a great park, ate bamboo shoots for a snack & played.

We went on a fun 90 minute boat ride & no one fell out despite my bad dream!

I attempted to "do" Emma's hair before we went to the beach

I've been in the Pacific & I've seen the Atlantic but this was my first time in the Gulf of Mexico! Unlike the Pacific ocean, you can leave your coat at home & actually splash in the warm water! (But the beaches there are gorgeous & I love them anyway) Such a nice day. The beach is one of my most favorite things & I hope my kids will always love it too.

Train time!

Ok, I know this is really a firetruck. After riding the Metro train into downtown Austin we had an impromptu tour of a local firetruck.

The conductor let each of the big boys blow the whistle

The big boys

Splash park

Water on a hot day = happiness

San Antonio Temple trip

Have I ever mentioned how great Hyrum & Hunter are at this big brother thing?

Ahhh, they're so darn cute! And they all look pretty much the same size in this picture.

It was so nice to be in the temple-I really needed that time there!

Miscellaneous shtuff

Justin loves animals a lot, a lot, a lot & has no fear with regards to them. He has been known to chase all sorts of things. He loved Poppie's horses! Hopefully it will be enough for him to love animals that other people own & that are at the zoo :)

Parks were visited in abundance

We caught an armadillo

Daily exercise routine was in place. And we did learn how to make Flibbers of course.

Shakespears & Texas: We love you

The End