Lucky Day, We All Get Our Way

As with many married couples, Ted and I have different vacationing styles. One of the things we try to agree on is how to alot our money and energy on a vacation. I'm the type who will make PB&J sandwiches rather than going out to eat and be content reading a book instead of hitting a big attraction. Ted likes to try all the restaurants and spend his time in constant pursuit of adventure. Towards the end of our vacation, we stopped by a little party for guests at the timeshare. A couple minutes after our arrival, they had a drawing for a $60 dinner gift certificate and tickets to one of the most popular shows in Branson. Guess whose name was chosen? We all were excited to go out to eat, and in a generous gesture, Ted told me to take the kids to the illusionist and ventriloquist show since it ran too late for Madeline. Our favorite parts of the show were the illusionist making parrots appear from a handkerchief and fly over the audience and the ventriloquist having his own dummy hold him so that the man appeared to be the dummy. Caleb was so amazed with the ventriloquist that during intermission he snuck a how-to-be-a-ventiloquist book from the gift shop into the show. Since he was four Caleb has said he wanted to be a baker/food scientist or a magician, but he's now considering a new career path.

Ha Ha Doo Doo, Madeline

Madeline turned two while we were in Branson. To celebrate, we spent her birthday in Silver Dollar City. She was so worn out by the end of the day that I didn't think she was going to last through dinner, but she finally perked up and enjoyed the attention, cake, and presents. I made tacos with all the fixings, which everyone loved except the birthday girl. After dinner, we ate cake on the screened porch and gave her a princess chair that converts into a little bed and some Color Wonder fingerpaints which her siblings were only too happy to demonstrate for her.

Madeline's personality is emerging more every day. She loves Elmo, dancing to spunky music, magic markers, being the center of attention, her blankets, putting Sierra's dolly Penny to sleep (she's not nearly as interested in her own), naming the parts of her face, being done with car rides, and shouting"ME!" to crazy questions her siblings ask.

Caleb and Sierra--"Who wants to be eaten by a dragon?"
Madeline--ME!!!
Caleb and Sierra--"Who is going to eat a poisoned apple?"
Madeline--ME!!!

What would we do without Madeline for entertainment? Here's to another year filled with laughter and love!

Silver Dollar City

While I love the magic of Disney, I think Silver Dollar City may be climbing the ranks as my favorite amusement park. With two day passes for the price of one, we had plenty of time to take in all the shows, rides, and demonstrations at the Ozark-themed amusement park. The lovely grounds are heavily forested throughout, and the rides rise above the trees. Even though we were there in the summer, we were able to walk onto most of the rides until mid-day. We were treated to lots of regional music as well as two fantastic shows--a circus on ice and an illusionist act. With three different sized children and only one cell phone, it was a bit of a juggling act accomodating everyone's needs and figuring out when to meet up again. Caleb was a daredevil and wanted to ride all the fastest rides. Sierra surprised me by agreeing to endure one somewhat jolting roller coaster and howling with delight on the gentler water coaster rides. Madeline can't wait until she's tall enough to go on something wilder than the hopping frog ride. The kids also loved the 1880's craft demonstrations, where the artists took the time to answer all our questions. We were even able to hike down into Marvel Cave, situated below the entrance of the park. What a great combination of thrills, entertainment, nature, and educational activities! Geyser Gulch splash zone

I couldn't pull Caleb and Sierra away from the pottery wheel demonstration. They also really enjoyed glass blowing and basket making, but pottery was by far the fastest result.

The park was filled with the aroma of food cooked on enormous cast iron skillets

Marvel Cave

Ted was the only one both tall enough and adventurous to ride Wildfire. Unofrtunately, the ride was so fast he couldn't appreciate the beautiful scenery.

Madeline loved the hopping frogs

Caleb rode the Electro-Spin three times before convincing me to come along. The whirling ride goes up and down a huge arc. Here we are together before take-off joking about what I would do if I wanted off during the ride.

Laura Ingalls Wilder Homes

The Laura Ingalls Wilder books and TV series are two of my all-time favorites. I started reading Little House in the Big Woods when I was six-years-old after my eccentric tooth fairies Misty and Toothie brought me the book instead of money. I remember following my mom all over the house asking her what each unfamiliar word meant. I love the series as much now as I did when I was a child, and I've always looked forward to reading the books to my own daughter. Laura's Rocky Ridge Farm where she wrote the series wasn't far from Branson, so Ted and I decided to take the children for a day trip. I started reading the first book to the children in Branson and was delighted to see that they too enjoyed the series. Caleb snuck off with the book and finished it on his own before I was able to read chapter three out loud. Seeing Pa's fiddle, Mary's braille books and correspondence, and the handmade quilts and clothing really interested the children, although they were very sad to find out that Mary eventually lost her sight. I couldn't believe all the pieces of her past Laura had saved--her first stitching sampler, school essays, calling cards of friends, letters, and her writing slate. Many objects had quotes beside them from the books where they were mentioned. Even Ted is becoming a fan--he's almost finished with the first book!

Raising the next generation of Little House fans

Standing in front of the home Almanzo built for Laura

Laura's daughter Rose had this home built for her parents after Rose became the second highest paid writer in the US. It's a lovely home with all the modern conveniences of the time, but Laura and Almanzo missed their first home and eventually moved back.

Pa's famous fiddle

Titanic Museum

It sounded a little out of place to me having a Titanic Museum in Missouri, but I would highly recommend this museum to anyone who has a chance to go. When we entered the museum, which is built to look like the Titanic as it is about to hit the iceberg, we were greeted by actors in period dress who gave each of us the identity and biography of an actual passenger on board the ship. The museum features all kinds of fascinating and beautiful displays--third class and first class cabins, objects collected from the boat and passengers, stories and photos of the passengers, and a recreated life-size Grand Staircase. The children loved touching an artificial iceberg and putting their hands in water that was the same temperature as the ocean that night. They even got a chance to try to hold onto a deck at increasingly dangerous angles as the boat began to sink. At the end, we each looked up the names we had been given to see what happened to the person. Sierra and Caleb were genuinely relieved that they were first class passengers who survived the accident, although Ted and I were not so lucky.

The Grand Staircase

Outside the museum

Branson Vacation

As I mentioned earlier, Ted's parents moved overseas recently for 18 months. In their absence, they generously allowed their children to use their timeshare points. Normally, we opt for budget accomodations (yes, you can fit five people into a single room with one bed), so staying in resorts this summer in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and Branson, Missouri has certainly spoiled us. With two spacious bedrooms and bathrooms (the jacuzzi tub was a real hit with the kids), a kitchen, dining room, family room, and screened porch we had ample room to spread out. I cooked most of our meals, and we were able to eat them on the porch overlooking the beautiful grounds and scenery. In the evenings after cocoa on the porch, we put the kids to bed and relaxed watching the Olympics while the surrounding hills twinkled with house lights. Thanks Betty and Romney for a wonderful week!

Tourniquets and Pneumonia

One of the most frustrating things about having a baby is not knowing what is bothering them. A couple weeks ago Madeline was crying all night long, and I couldn't seem to figure out what was wrong with her. I rocked her, gave her cough medicine for the cold she was battling, and advil for possible teething. I went into her room throughout the night as she cried, and sometimes she was still asleep while letting out wails of pain. In the morning, Uncle Danny said he could stay home with Madeline while the kids and I went to school. When he walked into her room, she held up her arm, and he saw that she had her ponytail rubberband wrapped around her wrist. Her hand was so swollen that her skin didn't feel real, and she could barely move her fingers. The rubberband had cut deep into her skin, leaving marks that would take a week to heal. I took her to the doctor's office and they said that everything would be okay, but while we were there I asked if they would check out her cough. The doctor took a long listen and declared Madeline had pneumonia. After a breathing treatment, she sounded less wheezy. The breathing medicine, or Happy Juice as Uncle Danny called it, had the side effect of making her a little loopy. Madeline kept looking up at the ceiling and breaking out in laughter. If you look closely, you can also see her stiff and swollen left hand.

Summer Preschool

This summer I enrolled all three kids in camp on Tuesday and Thursday at the same place we attend preschool during the school year. I signed up to teach the 4's class while they were in school. It was nice for the kids to have some structure during the week, and teaching this summer was a good experience for me as well. I had twelve children in my class with two sets of twins and way too many kids with names that sound alike--Jake and Blake, Ashley and Ashton, Cole and Collin, and Mason and Megan. I had a sweet class with a few that tested the limits of my patience at times, but I enjoyed all of them. One beneficial thing I learned is that a four-year-old will do almost anything to earn a sticker. It cracked me up how interested the preschoolers were in everything I did. As soon as I opened my lunchbox the class went crazy asking what was in there and comparing their food with mine. And when they went to play during free time, they often pretended to be me. It was quite amusing seeing them act out what I had taught them that morning, using the same phrases and singing the same songs. I missed the last day with them due to the incident with Madeline's hand, so I dropped by to say farewell as the day was ending. The kids all swarmed around for hugs and to tell me about their day. I hope I'm lucky to have another great class come the long haul next school year.

An Extra Long Visit with Michelle and Danny

This summer my sister Michelle stayed with us for six weeks while she interned at a Dallas law firm. While we see each other every year or two at family gatherings, it's not the same as having a chance for quiet, relaxed conversations. I haven't lived near Michelle since I left for college when she was not quite ten years old, and I've always wished we could get to know each other better. I feel like this summer I made a cherished friend. Sometimes she got home from late dinners and events after Ted and the kids had gone to bed, and it felt like a slumber party sitting up and talking until we both got sleepy. Aside from discovering that we're both night owls, we learned from our time together that we both love chocolate in its various forms and have an endless attention span for shopping. I kept a mental list of some of the surprising tidbits I didn't know about my little sister--she can do the splits, she's never read or seen Little House on the Prairie, and she can stay focused on one task at a time (something I have never accomplished). When Michelle first arrived, Madeline, who generally scowls at strangers, stared her down for a couple seconds before breaking into a big smile. Ted and I went out on a date a couple nights later, and when we returned, I asked Michelle if Madeline had done all right. She said she didn't seem to miss me too much, as she followed Michelle around all night calling her "mommy." I later asked Madeline if I was her mommy, and she shook her head and said, "Shell mommy."

Michelle's husband Danny joined us for the last couple weeks of summer after finishing his own internship in Williamsburg, and he was a big help with the kids. The children loved having the extra attention, eagerly anticipating the times when their aunt and uncle were home. When they left to return to law school, Sierra cried herself to sleep for a couple nights, and I even found stiff upper lip Caleb shedding a few tears under the princess tent. Little Madeline sometimes asks, "Shell? Nini?" I keep trying to convince them that our next visit at Christmas isn't really that far away.
Michelle's delicious strawberry pie

Caleb hugging Michelle goodbye--he didn't want to let her go!

See you at Christmas!

Faces of Frisco

Sierra and I were walking through City Hall a few months ago when we were stopped by a local artist. He said he was painting portraits of Frisco residents, and he asked if he could photograph us as possible subjects. He phoned me a little while ago and said my portrait would be featured in the gallery, but that he wasn't using Sierra's portrait since he'd tried to capture her and couldn't. When we arrived at the Open House, all the friends and family of the painter knew about Sierra when they met her, saying the painter had said she was the prettiest little girl in Frisco and just couldn't do her justice. He did, however, give us one of his attempts. Here we are with our portraits--I'm quite certain mine doesn't look exactly like me either, but it was fun to be included in the exhibit hanging next to the former mayor. When we walked in, Madeline got really excited, pointing to the wall and shouting, "Mommy! Mommy!" The artist laughed and said that was the best compliment he could be paid. While we were standing nearby, I heard a group of friends trying to guess each subject's profession. They seemed to think I look like a CIA agent--guess I'll keep that in mind for future job possibilities.

The Tapping Sisters

ABC's

Madeline has a few favorite songs--the ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, Old MacDonald, and anything featuring Elmo. She's rather adamant about her music being on whenever we're in the car, and when a song stops, she'll scream for more. We're all getting a little tired of Elmo's high pitched voice, but it's better than hearing Madeline cry, so we usually give in. Here she is leading her faithful followers, Caleb and Sierra, in ABC calisthenics during breakfast. Notice how quickly they run to turn the music back on again once it stops and she squawks for more!