Tourists in our own town

We spent the day and evening being tourists in Indianapolis.

We have talked about renting bikes and riding the canals in downtown Indy for many summers, finally we did just that!  We pedaled our way around the canals, past the fountains and even stopped for ice cream.  

We capped off our great day at the Indians' game, the local minor league baseball team.  Eric's office held their annual summer party at the stadium.  We had hot dogs, popcorn and Cracker Jacks all before the game began!  Then we all watched the game and played a few games of our own to win these fabulous prizes!  The game went into extra innings, as they always seem to for us!!  And we stayed for fireworks after the game.  It was a late night but lots of fun!

My BFF

Meg and I have been friends for over 24 years.  We were college roommates, bridesmaids for each other's weddings and we became first time mothers within 3 months of one another! 

I was so grateful that Meg and her daughter Sarah made the trip from the Chicago area to visit us! 

I don't think more than 30 seconds passed without conversation between the two of us.

Exploring the playground at the boys' school.

The dolphin show at the Indianapolis Zoo.

Alina and Mike

Family weddings are so much fun!  Our niece Alina married Mike on July 23rd.  They asked our 3 boys to be apart of their special day.  What an honor!  Ben was the ring bearer while Nick and Sam served as ushers.

A handsome crew, with their cousin Jack.

Sadly, this was the only family picture of the 5 of us. 

The boys all did a fine job at the reception sitting somewhat quietly and eating their dinners without too much complaining.  The 7up and root beers didn't hurt.  The best part of the night for these boys was the marshmallow shooters that they received as a gift for being in the wedding party.  It entertained them the entire night which left Eric and I to enjoy ourselves by dancing, talking and just having a fun time with our family.

John and Chrislynn had us all over the following day to relax in their pool.  A perfect ending to an action packed weekend!

My siblings and I.

The Toilet Bowl Museum

Ben has been asking to go to the Toilet Bowl Museum, or the Children's Museum in Columbus, IN, for some time now.  It's been over a year since we've been and Ben had been a little too nervous to go down the infamous toilet bowl slide at previous visits.  Recently he decided he was no longer afraid and wanted to go NOW to check it out! 

He loved it and must have "flushed" himself down 20 times! 

Nick and Sam enjoyed climbing the rock wall.

3 boys in a bubble!

The museum has so many things to explore, including a bubble room!

St. Louis

On our way home from the Lake of the Ozark's, we made a stop off at St. Louis to take in a Cardinal's baseball game and to visit the City Museum.  

As much as Eric and I, the Cub fans of the family, try to turn our boys away from the Cardinals, it doesn't seem to do us any good.  They love to cheer on their favorite team.  We all enjoyed the beautiful stadium on a pretty summer night.  

Ben, showing off his muscles for the Muscle Cam.

Earlier that day we explored the City Museum.  It was our first visit, but I 'm sure it won't be our last. That place is unreal.  It's a 7, 8 and 9 year old boys' dream as it is full of climbing structures, mazes, ramps, slides, indoors and outdoors, and lots of other fun!

A cool treat for everyone!

Sam, getting ready to travel down the 10 story slide!

We all went down that slide, including Eric and I.  The boys had so much fun here!  We are already looking to find another time to return for more fun!

Summer Vacation 2016 to the Lake of the Ozarks

Our summer vacation was to the Lake of the Ozarks.  We spent a week at a beautiful home on the lake with 20 of our family members!  Eric's side of the family was able to join us for a week of sun, boats, swimming, and just general good, fun time together!

The house had a pool and a dock on the lake that was perfect for fishing from and jumping from, too.

Uncle Aaron and Aunt Angela have a huge boat that they dock on the lake.  They brought it by for all of us to ride on.  That along with a pontoon boat that we rented for a few days, took all 20 of us out for a day of fun on the lake!

Fishing with Nick early in the morning.  Nick asked to fish every second possible! 

Fun with Cousins Brandon, Jonathan and Emma, and Aunt Jessica!

Captain Grandpa Dan!

Wrigley on the Water, Uncle Aaron and Aunt Angela's boat.

Their boat went a little faster than our pontoon boat!

Wrestle mania, even on the water!

Nick and the other boys also fished off the boat.  They all caught something!

Our home for the week!

All of the grandkids with Grandma Jill and Grandpa Dan.

We had 2 big days on the lake with the boats.  The first day was picture perfect.  

The second day, was not so prefect.  We got caught in an unexpected storm on the lake.  It was a little scary but thanks to our 2 great captains, Eric and Aaron, we all made it back home safe and sound and a lot wet!

The storm hit about 10 minutes after I took this picture of Ben.  We were docked at a super fun restaurant, Franky and Louie's when the rain began.  We had lunch and waited around until we thought that the storm was over for the time being.  We were wrong!

Since we hung out for sometime, we all came home with sweatshirts and t-shirts with the Franky and Louie's logo from their gift shop!

After we got home from the exciting day on the lake, the sun came out and we went out on the lake one more time to ride in the tube!  The boys loved that!  The boys' uncles Michael and Scott were kind enough to take Nick and Sam out on the tube with them.  I got to ride with Ben.

Max, Emma and Jackson!

One of my favorite mornings was this particular morning.  It was overcast and a little rainy.  The boys were all fishing with Grandpa off the dock and I ventured down there to get a few pictures with my good camera!  It was a great morning for fishing as the boys all caught lots of fish!

On the last day we hiked to the top of Ha Ha Tonka Castle ruins and under a natural bridge.

Scott and Michael were patient enough to come along with us, which the boys thought was awesome!

The water tower for the castle is behind Ben.

The Ha Ha Tonka Castle was built in the early 1900's by a man named Robert McClure Snyder.  Unfortunately he died in an automobile accident before the mansion was completed. His children finished the construction and went on to enjoy the mansion as a summer and weekend home.  It was a hotel for a time in the 1930's.   In 1942 it was destroyed by a fire.  The state bought the property in 1979 and it became a state park.  Ha Ha Tonka means "laughing waters".  The area surrounding the castle has beautiful bluff views of the lake, and there are sink holes and caves in the park, too.

These 3 will find a stick and a gigantic puddle to splash, anywhere!

A natural bridge at the park!

The boys did an awesome job on our 3 mile hiking day!

Grandma Jill had a project for the grandkids, making canvas handprints.  I love how Ben's handprint has a heart.

The final night we had a pizza pool party and were treated to the most beautiful sunset of the entire vacation! 

What a fun week at the lake!  It was so wonderful to get to spend a week with our family.  The boys loved hanging with their cousins from NY and IL and rough housing in the pool with their uncles.  We had many late nights hanging out with siblings enjoying their company, and time for long visits with with parents.  

Goodbye for now beautiful lake!