week twenty-six

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With Granddad at the wheel and myself on entertainment and snack committee, we managed to make it to PA in a (looooooong) day's drive!  That meant we had the rest of the week to enjoy being with our extended family.  We're so blessed!

Elise:  Recently enjoyed watching "Dolphin Tale" at her friend Chloe's house and is now captivated by all things dolphin!  While we were driving to Avalon (Thanks, Hayd, Michele and crew!!) she asked where we would have to go to see dolphins in the wild and I told her we'd probably have to be farther south to have a good chance...well, late in the afternoon we spotted four dolphins just off the shore and she could not have been more delighted!

Caleb:  Project Man - at it again.  This time, with the help of Uncle Hayd, the kids dug a gigantic hole in the sand - the perfect recipe for lots of beachy fun!

Lucas:  Watching these two makes my heart almost burst with joy.  For the first two days we were at my mom and dad's, Lucas jumped up and ran to the door everytime he heard it open - thinking it was Makari!  Meanwhile, Makari was at home telling Michele that he couldn't wait another minute to be with Lucas!  Cousin love is the best!!!!

Eden:  In Grammie's kitchen, making up a batch of Blackberry Fool (inspired by the book, A Fine Dessert!) with Aunt Lydia and Elise.  Soooooo special!  She helped pick the blackberries, whip the cream, AND lick the spatula.

The Crew:  Oh beach days, how I miss you!  We'll be back soon!

week twenty-five

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On Father's Day weekend my dad flew out to St. Louis to spend a few days with us before chauffeuring us back "home" to Pennsylvania. The kids and I planned to stay east for three weeks, with Josh flying in for the middle week to be with us at the cottage and with his sister and her family in town.  We don't usually get to have just my dad for a visit, so it was wonderful to share a little bit of life with him here in the Lou.

Elise:  Sharing "spritzers" with Granddad in her favorite little backyard hideaway!

The Crew:  We spent the morning at the sendoff for "The Great Race" which began just down the street from us.  Over 100 classic cars were participating in a 9 day race that would end in Santa Monica and we were at the starting line!

#2:  Another special treat this week was a visit from our dear friend Kelley and her beautiful children!  We became friends in Japan almost a decade ago and having our seven little ones together was just wonderful. What a blessing it is to live one town over from her parents so that we get to see her when she comes to visit!

#3:  We did put Granddad to work for a little while since our piano needed to be tuned and have some small adjustments made.  I'm pretty sure it was not his most efficient tuning and repair job, but his eager sidekicks did enjoy learning more about how pianos work!

#4:  We managed to hit Tropical Moose twice over the weekend.  No one complained!

week twenty-four

Uncle Sam's First Visit to St. Louis!

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Elise:  On our first day we took Sam on the "Kirkwood Circuit!"  We rode bikes to town and enjoyed stops at the library, Sammy Soap, and the train tracks.  After all that, we headed home for lunch and rests and then spent the rest of the day at the pool!  

Caleb:  Got his annual summer buzz cut from Uncle Sam - this time complete with racing stripes.  He's just a little bit excited!

Lucas:  Always up for games and adventures, we spent day two biking and exploring around Forest Park.  When we weren't riding, we were either kicking a soccer ball, picnicking, hunting for stray golf balls, or splashing in streams and fountains.  I can't remember the last time I was sooo exhausted at the end of a day!  (Did I mention we also trekked around the Arch and Busch Stadium before grabbing some Ted Drewes on our way to meet Josh for dinner!)

Eden:  Loved watching her dash across the room to hug Sam's legs at random times throughout the day!  We spent our last epic day together at none other than the City Museum!

More highlights below...

Come back soon!

week twenty-three

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Elise:    Her "Wanted" poster of "Pancake Man" for the wall of art at Nashville's famous Pancake Pantry ... I have been dreaming of those pancakes for a week now... they really were that good!

Caleb:  "The Collector" - this guys takes the phrase "reuse, renew, recycle" to a whole new level.  The walking sticks did not return home with us from the Shawnee Nat'l Recreation Center, but they were put to good use for the few hours that we hiked around the Garden of the Gods!

Lucas:  His happy place...anywhere where he can climb and be just a little dangerous!

Eden:  "I hike-ning, mom!" she said enthusiastically when it was finally safe enough to give her freedom from the Ergo.  (Another verbal highlight of the week was Eden saying "Bless Mommy" when I sneezed!)

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Josh took three days off and we decided to head to Nashville for a long weekend to explore a city that was new for all of us!  The weather was gray and cold and fairly rainy, but we managed to see a good bit of the city and enjoy some of it's finest sites.  We also had a wonderful visit with my cousin Lara and her family and my dear Aunt Gail happened to be in town as well - lucky us!  Music City, we'll be back...especially for more pancakes!!

week twenty-two

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Elise:  We're so thankful for Mrs. McCrary and the wonderful year Elise had with her in second grade!

Caleb:  Couldn't have asked for a better way for Caleb to start his official school career, than in Mrs. Wells' kindergarten classroom!

{It wasn't until the last day of school that I realized we DIDN'T have to say goodbye to teachers and friends and schools forever when we said goodbye on the last day of school.  Two years ago, sweet Elise said goodbye to Mr. Atkinson and friends in Sicily and we soon moved to North Carolina.  By the end of her first grade year with Mrs. Jackson, we knew we were on our way to Missouri, so again we were farewelling teachers and friends for the foreseeable future.  It will be so nice to start the next school year in a familiar place with friends already waiting for us!

Elise, Caleb, & Lucas:  Looking too cool for school as they headed off to their last day!  Lucas has been such a good cheerleader to them and he is SOOOO excited to have them home for summer!

Lucas:  Loving some "beach time" at the Magic House!  A few weeks ago, Lucas saw the sun glistening off the trees on the horizon and he was really convinced that it was the ocean.  I did my best to explain just how very far we were from the ocean here in Missouri...not quite sure if he got it, but at least the Magic House imported several tons of sand so that we could still enjoy getting covered in it!

Eden:  Took the littles out for a coffee/cookie date to celebrate the great year we've had as the three amigos at home!

week twenty-one

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Elise:  I don't know why this picture melts my heart, but it does.  Elise was a star strawberry picker and with her growing skills in the kitchen she's also helped to prep for batches of jam and shortcake for all of us to enjoy!

Caleb:  Field day this week was a huge hit!  So fun to see the kids enjoy their classmates and have fun as we come to the last week of kindergarten!

Lucas:  Had to include this one since we're still laughing at(with!) Lucas for later referring to "that time we went out for 'beard ice'!!"  It was also our first outing to Tropical Moose Shave Ice which is in the Farmer's Market a few blocks away.  :)

Eden:  A very determined lady in the strawberry patch...she filled up her bucket and refused to let anyone help her carry it.  When she got tired of waiting for all of us, she plopped down (Little Sal style!) and ate her berries with glee!

week twenty

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Elise:  Inspired by some independance in the kitchen, we've been treated to quite a few dishes from her "Pretend Soup" cookbook lately!

Caleb:  His teacher showed the class a clip from "Stomp" on YouTube and you better believe we had a week's worth of homemade musical (and/or noise making) instrument creations!  

Lucas:  Always up for a bike ride!  One of my hopes when we were looking for a house was to live in a place where we could bike (or walk) to something...anything...  What a treat it is to hop on bikes and end up at school or the library or park or maybe even the custard shop in town. (maybe!)

Eden:  She's two!  How can it be?  She's just the right combination of sweet and spunky and we just love her so!

week nineteen

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Elise:  Apparently the idea came to her at 6:43 a.m. and by 6:57 she and the boys were tiptoeing into our room to present a Mother's Day breakfast in bed!  Josh sweetly popped out of bed and encouraged them to let me sleep a little longer...they returned at 8:00 after a brief detour to Krispy Kreme.  Sorry I didn't capture a picture of our bed completely covered in glaze after we managed to devour a dozen donuts there before zipping out the door to church.  

Caleb:  First taste of a root beer float when Uncle John came to town.  He's known for his root beer affection, so naturally we HAD to share some of our local Fitz's with him!

Lucas:  In the grand opening of our newly painted loft, Caleb taught Lucas how to draw a star!  What a treat to see them patiently working together.

Eden:  She worked so hard to get the air moving the right way out of her little lips so she could blow some bubbles by herSELF!  (Good practice for blowing out birthday candles next week!)