Nauvoo

One of the many perks of living in St. Louis is that historic Nauvoo is only 3 hours away. We try to get up there at least every summer, particularly during the pageant, there is so much to see and do, we always have a good time. The one downside to being there during the pageant is it's usually during the hottest part of the year so you may notice we are a bit sweaty and drab in all the pictures. But don't let our appearance fool you, we had a great time.


The pageant really is spectacular. Its incredible to think all of those extras only had 2 weeks to learn all the music and their places. Its touching, fun, and really speaks a testimony about the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.

One of the highlights about the updated show is how they build this make-shift temple on stage, which is torn down after the saints have to leave, but at the very end of the show they light up the real temple which is back in the distance to show its resurrection. Its pretty cool.

I just had to get a picture of this bridge. After waiting 10 minutes for a train to cross we entered the bridge just in time for it to shut down for 20 minutes for a barge to pass through. I will say, though, that the bridge was interesting. Instead of lifting up as many do, there is a main pillar in the middle of the bridge that the whole middle section swings out 90 degrees from. Interesting, annoying, but interesting.

I believe this was Heber C. Kimball's home

More historic homes.

This was an adorable little kid show called "Just Plain Anna Amanda" you typically have to reserve tickets at least a week in advance, but luckily we got in at the last minute. Super cute.

Lynette meeting Anna Amanda. She was so delighted.

Trev in his pioneer garb. I love that hat, I want to get one.

Lynette dolled up in hers. The kids liked the clothes, but it was so blasted hot they couldn't keep it on for long. At least we got a picture of it.

This section was called "Pioneer Pastimes". It was an area where you could play old pioneer games and the kids could make-believe they were pioneers. We all had a good time. Trev found a horse.

Michael found some mind games.

Trev loved the play houses. He wanted to go really authentic so he decided to take his shoes off.

It was sweltering in those houses, but Trev didn't care- he was having too much fun starting fires, cooking, and playing school.

Lynette tried her hand at hand washing.

And water carrying. Good times had by all.

Summertime Fun

I love summer. I just cannot get enough of the sun. I'm a junkie. And this year we spent a lot of time basking in the rays at a friend's house. Everyweek she'd pull out all these fantastic slip'n slides and three different kiddie pools and the kids had a blast while we ladies did what we do best. Sit around and talk. So fun. And what a great way to get to know new friends from our ward.

Lynette and her new buddies.

She could not get enough of the swing.

Trev wasn't up for much sliding but he did like splashing around a bit...until he got too cold. This boy is definitely my child.

And though he wouldn't slid he still enjoyed sitting by the slide and playing with the water. We just had to keep an eye out to make sure none of the kids whacked him as they slid past.

Lynette dove right in.

I love summer!

All Tuckered out

Trev is such an easy going kid that sometimes I like to push his schedule to try to accomplish things in the morning. He naps in the morning and usually wakes up right when Lynette needs to go down for her nap. Can you see why this might be a problem? So I push it a little so I can shop, and run other errands and most of the time its great...so long as I don't push it too hard because then I get this....

Right in the middle of lunch. Now the question is you do you put him down in his bed immediately or try to wipe off some of the peanut butter first so he doesn't smear it all over his bed and risk waking him up? Lets go in for a closer look shall we...

You gotta love that piece of bread glued onto his lip. Poor kid.

Home Sweet Home

You may notice my posts are a bit late- sorry. Better late than never! As our year in Chicago finished out we could hardly contain our excitement to be back to a place we loved so much and have so many friends in. But perhaps even more thrilling to move into our very own house!

I still can't believe we managed to buy a house. It was tricky finding weekends to head down and check stuff out- in fact Michael was able to actually see the house only once before we bought it (I went back a second time with the kids). We were pretty much in love with it when we saw it. It was just what we were looking for, comfortable, quiet neighborhood, good schools. Its a bit older than we like, 50 years, but to be honest by St. Louis standards it's still a baby. It was rough getting all the paperwork done long distance. I can't tell you how many hours I spent in the library scanning documents and emailing them to our amazingly wonderful, spectacular, super awesome real estate agent, Kim Welch. Seriously peeps, if you're in the St. Louis area and need an agent she's pretty stinkin' great. Some of those documents were irritating, like the ones that demand you sign and email back within 24 hours...which was hard to do when my husband was on a 30 hour shift! But I got it done, cause I'm awesome like that. Inspections passed without too many problems and negotiating the price was very interesting. In the end I think we got a nice deal, and thanks to the bad economy we got a great interest rate to boot. Yeah! Such an interesting experience and now we have a house to call our own! Feel free to "ooh" and "ahhh" during the following tour:

Front. My folks think we did alright with the house (granted my dad's a general contractor and picky about this kind of thing). My parents were surprised we would buy a house so ANCIENT, but to be honest, it was one of the youngest ones we looked at. They also think, though, that the front of the house looks a bit mobile-home-ish. I guess I can see that...but I don't care.

Front room. The curtains they left in here actually matched our decor so we kept them up...score!

Trevor's room. Its a little small, but just right for him. We have since painted all the pink circles blue to make it more masculine. I'll be showing pictures of that one of these days...

Still Trevor's room.

More Trev's room. The previous owners were quite stylish. I was a little sad to take down that "Thank goodness for little girls" thing, it was so cute! But, ya know, not the best thing for a boy's room.

Kitchen. If there were one thing I would alter about this house I would find a way to add a pantry. I've managed to fit everything I need up there, but a pantry would be nice. We've also since painted the kitched a boring, but more suited khaki/beige color that works with my decor. Thanks honey for letting me me paint it! (And for assisting me in that project!)

Front room again. The front room opens up into the kitchen. I like how its so open, I just wish I had a better way of hiding my kitchen mess when guests come over....I still love it, though.

See, Lynette is in the front room, with the kitchen/dining area behind her. Behind that half wall with the orange and green paint is the door to the carport, as well as stairs to the basement.

Lynette's room. Isnt' that pink and purple with butterflies just darling? It would be perfect for a girl's room in anyone's house...except mine. I can't stand pink, especially when it's coupled with purple. It makes me want to throw up cotton candy. I think I might have some psychological issues with pink, or at least an allergy. The first time we saw this room Michael thought, "that would be perfect for Lynette" and I thought "oh, boy that's gotta go!" Can you guess who won? Oh yeah, me baby. Don't worry, though, I paid a great deal in back massages to my ever so complying husband. Details on this room's transformation later.

Master Room, sorry for the blurry. I don't love hardwood floors in the bedroom (my feet get so cold!) but this hasn't bothered me as much. And it is a nice look.

More of the master. Could definitly use more closet space. I have my wardrobe divided up into this room, Lynette's, and the front closet. How ridiculous is that! It is a lovely closet, though.

Lynette and Trev breakin' in the new house.

Cut little coat hanger, huh?

Bathroom upstairs. Sorry for the blurryness.

And the basement. Oh how I love this basement. This is our entertainment area where the computer, t.v., and ALL of the kids toys go. Its so nice to have the toys downstairs. It makes it so much easier to keep my house clean! I cannot believe how much easier it is! And this place is like twice the size of our last apartment. What a difference. Love it! That being said I currently have a lot of work to do to clean up my basement as I write this...

Basement bathroom. Love it. I don't think the previous owners ever used it. I can't wait to have guests over to show them "their" bathroom to use while they stay. So excited!

The back porch. We already love this thing. This is what I had in mind when I got Michael that BBQ set. We really enjoyed this porch this summer.

View of the back. I don't have a picture of it here, but our yard backs up into this lovely little wilderness area. There's just a bunch of trees framing up the our yard, and it is not uncommong seeing a family of bunnies out in that wilderness trespassing in your yard. The silence out here is stunning. No ambulances blaring, or school buses screeching, or loud neighbors yelling. Just crickets. And wind. It's intoxicating.

The kids checking out our front bench.

My old Gidgit gettin' comfy. I doubt we'll have anymore problems with people stealing its hubcaps our here.

Old Man Approaching

Two weeks before the big move my big man turned 30! What you say? Whaddaya mean he only looks 16? Yes, yes, we know we know- this poor man has gotten enough Doogie Howser wisecracks to last him a lifetime. But yes, Michael is now 30 and even though everything in our house was packed up we did out best to make it worthwhile for such a milestone.

From the folks Michael got a red-rider-bb-gun....oops I mean a GPS. He loves it- that being said since he's a walking GPS I have definitely used it more than he has. I've come to find he wanted it most not to find his way around but to stop me from calling him in the middle of the day screaming "I'm lost!"

And the big finish....


Could it be?...

Yes! A grill set from his beloved wife.

We went out with out dear family/friends The Chandlers at our hands-down favorite place in Chicago. The Bongo Room. We had to wait 45 minutes to be seated at 10 in the morning but it was so, so, so worth it. The Bongo Room serves groumet breakfast food. To die for hashbrowns, killer croissants, and absolutely heavenly pancakes. The menu changes frequently so there's always something new to try out.

Here's Trevor trying his pancakes with vanilla sauce and bananas. We had to beg him to share.

And Lynette's pancake was this vanilla sauce with caramel sauce drizzled on top with bananas and nuts. Michael enjoyed was Blueberry pancakes with a lemon ricotta topping. And mine was a pancake with bacon bits cooked inside, topped with bananas some sweet topping. It was AWESOME. Love this place.

Our day ended again with the Chandlers, cake, and birthday song. Such a great day. I can't tell you how much I love this man. He worked so hard this last year it was really a great way to finish it out by celebrating with him. Happy Birthday Babe!