It's been awhile

Well it has been awhile. We have quite a lot to share. We went on a trip at the end of April (which seems like forever ago) to Leavenworth and Seattle, WA. It was a blast! Leavenworth is a little tourist town that is built with Bavarian decor. It has quite a few specialty shops and great little hole in the wall restaurants. One of our favorites is Uncle Uli's. Then we headed over to Seattle and to the Woodland Park Zoo. The kids had so much fun! I think one of their favorite

animal exhibits was the gorillas.
The zoo even had a baby gorilla; which was a popular stop for everyone at the zoo that day.

The whole day was spent at the zoo. Everyone was exhausted; especially the kiddos. Ella even climbed into the stroller with TJ because she was so tired. And then...

Ella fell asleep in the stroller! What a sight!

The last day was spent shopping at IKEA and the outlet mall before we headed home. It was a fun trip, but it would have been fun to have more time.

Next came Ella's 4th birthday! She went to breakfast with Daddy (a tradition that BJ started with her last year). Then we had a fun filled day. She had a western themed birthday party complete with horse rides. The kids had a lot of fun and the birthday girl was happy!

Then at the beginning of June, we were able to take a trip to visit my parents in the St. Louis area. We flew in and then drove down to Branson, MO for a few days. We went to Silver Dollar City, rode the DUCKS, and then went and played mini
golf at Pirates Cove. Argh matey! Shiver me timbers! (Sorry I couldn't resist.) We had a really good time; it was nice for me to be able to show BJ and Ella where we went on vacation when I was a kid. Although it looks much different now than when I was there last.

Ella in front of the DUCK

Ella driving the DUCK

Turner driving the DUCK

All of us in front of Silver Dollar City.

BJ and my dad came across a store that sold Dukes of Hazard merchandise (BJ is a big fan of the old show, but mostly the car) and they also had a replica of the General Lee. TJ thought it was the greatest thing ever. He likes anything with wheels, just like his daddy and Papaw. The car even had the song the General Lee played when the horn was honked.

We also went to Grant's Farm, which is owned by Anheuser Busch. This was also a place I frequented when I was little. Grant's Farm is home to the famous Clydesdale draft horses. We got to meet Matt; he was the horse in the Superbowl ad from a few years ago that kicked the football. Ella was in heaven surrounded by the enormous creatures.

One of the most popular animal exhibits are the baby goats. They pretty much attack you when you walk in with the milk bottle. Then when the bottle is gone, they will eat anything. I mean anything! They started to eat Ella's shirt, then my shirt, and then finally BJ's shorts.

When we returned from our trip, we got to work on one of our summer projects: the kitchen. We worked two days straight tearing out trim, painting walls, cabinet, and drawers. We have just a few minor things left like the trim and replacing the faucet. But the bulk is done and it looks beautiful!!

Well, I think that brings us up to date for now. Sorry I have been horrible at keeping up with the blogs, but man things never seem to slow down. We hope everyone is doing well and having a nice summer so far. Take care and we look forward to hear from you.

Sarah