Vacation, Day 3

I am almost too tired to write tonight! We met for a family breakfast again this morning. It's a nice little ritual we have! We then split up to get suited up and then spent the rest of the day going between the indoor water park and the outdoor pool. I haven't downloaded my pics yet, but I will then add them back in. We had happy hour for quite awhile out on the patio before Oma and Grandpa had their date (and even got all dressed up for it!) The 8 of us went out for dinner and then to the arcade. Kelsey loves Skeeball! We split up again and my family went to the pier and we fed the carp. Gross but cool all at once!

Our plans have changed a bit for tomorrow so I still don't know what all it will entail. It will be a surprise for all of us!

Vacation, Day 2

I am sunburned and tired. But had a great day :) We all met for breakfast this morning around 8:45. Then, the kids and the dads went and played Putt Putt. We moms went and explored the resort. We had a nice big lunch before we headed out on a boat for the afternoon. We tubed and swam and gawked at the great real estate. Dave got seasick and had to be brought back to shore. We went on without him! We split up for the rest of the night and did our own thing. We had dinner on our patio and then went swimming. I think we are all waterlogged! Some of us are sunburned too. Luckily it's only the grown-ups! Tomorrow we are going to an indoor waterpark. It looks awesome! Kelsey and I checked it out tonight. Oma and Grandpa are having a date night tomorrow night so we will do a cousins' night.

Vacation, Day 1

Whew - we made it and I am glad! We had a super smooth trip down here to the Lake of the Ozarks. We are staying at TanTarA. For the past few years, my mother-in-law has taken us all on a trip as part of our Christmas present. There are 10 of us here - my family of 4, my in-laws, my brother-in-law, his wife and their 2 kids. We were also lucky enough to see some friends from Colorado who are also vacationing at the lake. Unfortunately, they are leaving in the morning but we spent all afternoon and part of tonight with them.

I haven't downloaded my camera pics yet, but I did post a pic of our view on Facebook.
Tomorrow, weather permitting, we are boating.

Blogging Anniversary

I sure did miss my own blogging anniversary. Insert "Wah-wah" here. I really thought it was this week as we are leaving on vacation tomorrow and that is the reason I started blogging in the first place. Well, regardless, I have learned a lot about blogging in the past year. I know that I need to make more time to site down and write - I always have ideas in my head! And I am still not at the coveted 100 posts which means I need to blog more.

We leave on vacation tomorrow morning. We are going back to the Ozarks. No houseboat this year - we will be staying at a resort. Stay tuned!

Where did June go?

1. Ballpark almost every night (and I love it!)
2. The end of school.
3. First weekend in June = trip to Dallas
4. Basketball camp
5. Volleyball camp
6. Trip to DC - work for me, touring for Dave
7. Tolono Fun Days

I have lots more details I could add but not enough time. Maybe I will add some pictures at some point. I have lots of other blog ideas in my head - maybe they will make it to the screen at some point ...

Happy Fourth of July!

Back home

Well, we made it back home around 3 on Thursday. The kids were super glad to see their rooms! They ran right in and jumped on their beds! I was most glad to see the shower. We unpacked, did laundry and generally got caught up here at home.

I was also glad to get my tooth fixed - whew! They took off my old filling, cleaned the tooth, and then were able to recreate the missing part of the tooth with something. I have no idea what it was! I can tell you that something they used smelled like acrylic nails. My mouth is still sore, but I can drink now using my whole mouth not just the right side.

Everyone shared their pictures yesterday. I am anxious to dig through them and get them posted. I need to figure out something fun to do with all of those pictures. Any ideas?

The last sometimes is the best

This will probably be the last post I make from Lake of the Ozarks. We had a great day today! After we got the boat serviced at noon, we decided that we were going to cruise the lake. We did that for quite awhile and then found a great place to anchor up and swim. The kids and grown-ups swam all afternoon! Jenn and I were able to sneak up to the top deck and take a nap. It was exactly what I needed! We cruised a bit more in the late afternoon before we came to dock in the marina. We had a nice supper and started packing. I am using my time now to upload pictures and check some email.

At supper, we all went around the table and said our favorite things from the day. It was really nice. Here are the things I will miss from the trip:

• Bloody Mary's after breakfast every day - thanks Chad!
• Taking turns cooking - food really does taste better when you don't have to work for it!
• Swimming every afternoon
• Swim suit and shorts as my uniform
• Ice cold beer and frosty wine from the cooler
• Watching my kids play with their cousin

I am looking forward to some things at home:

• A nice hot shower!
• Clean clothes - although I still just want to wear athletic shorts and t-shirts every day
• A trip to the dentist - who would have thought I would have ever wanted that!

We are very thankful to Pam and Dave for this trip. Pam is right - we will take the memories with us.

Pictures

Here is the most comprehensive group of pictures thus far:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=60995&l=baae3&id=731091130

Last full day on the lake

Well, we survived another night at Lake of the Ozarks. We had some generator and propane alarm problems last night so there was beeping on and off all night. Add in another thunder storm and some of us are tired :) But the tooth fairy made it through just fine.

We are parked at the marina right now to get those problems worked out. We are finding a nice cove to swim in this afternoon and then spending the last night at the marina. Where we parked for last night was very beautiful but snake infested, we found out. So, we will be a bit more selective this afternoon.

Here are the meals on tap for today:

Breakfast - Dave and Lisa = hashbrowns, bacon and sausage on the grill, coffeecake from the 4-H cookbook and banana bread
Lunch - Dave and Pam = hot dogs and brats
Dinner - Chad and Jenn = pork chops, beans, garlic bread


Tomorrow will be leftovers before we leave around 1o. One Dave wants to get back in time for guitar and the other Dave wants to get home to mow.

Well, gonna finish my Bloody Mary before the Pina Coladas are done. More later ...

On the Houseboat

Well, after 7 hours on the road, we made it to the houseboat. It is awesome! I have pictures that I will try to post tomorrow. Right now, we are trying to get showers in and beds made so we can hit the sack early. Boat orientation is at 8 tomorrow - when we find out the rules of the lake.

We were able to get on the boat at 4 and were unpacked by 5. We took some time to settle in and then went to dinner. That was the most interesting part so far. Dinner at the Dirty Duck. Super interesting to say the least! I only took one picture there, but I bet the mental pictures you have are fairly accurate.

Well, off to bed before we hit the seas tomorrow. Oh - and the tooth fairy gets to come on the boat for Kaitlyn tonight. She lost her first tooth with all 10 of us here :)

Welcome!

Howdy All!

I hope to use this blog as a way to document our vacation next week at Lake of the Ozarks. Come back soon for posts and pictures!