Celebrations ...

Though this is going to be a travelogue, I want to kinda organize it. We had a FABULOUS vacation, and got to celebrate many great moments with our family!

... 50 years together

The entire reason for the trip was to meet together at a family reunion to celebrate Brian's parent's 50th anniversary. That is such an amazing milestone. We are so happy for the legacy they are leaving for our entire family.

One of my very favorite pictures! How cute are they???

They make 50 years together look good!

... Family Fun

Everyone in the family was able to attend the open house and family reunion, except one niece who is getting ready to enter West Point, and she was missed. After the open house on Friday, we spent all day Saturday at 6 Flaggs St. Louis. They have an amazing water park that was perfect for muggy mid-west weather.

Aubrey had her own unfortunate adventure. She got a huge splinter go right under her finger nail. It was awful. I was so impressed with how quickly and professionally the first aid guy handled it. You'll have to ask to see her finger. The memory lingers.

My favorite part of family reunions is watching how much fun the cousins all have when they are together and getting time to sit and catch up with the families. I really love Brian's siblings and their spouses (the "out laws"). We all live so far away (Washington, Missouri, Illinois & Minnesota), it just feels like home when the house is filled with all the sounds of laughter and talking.

... Traditions

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

It is almost blasphemy that I don't like this stuff. However, it is a fore drawn conclusion that when we go to St. Louis we will be going to Ted Drewes as soon as possible. In fact, we were driving into town around 11 pm when we got a phone call from the family saying to not even go to the hotel ... just meet everyone for custard. This place is always busy (the picture is deceiving). There are no places to sit, only to stand. They turn their "concrete" custard upside down to prove how thick it is. It really is amazing. The family went out to custard 3 times in the short few days we were in town.


... National Parks and Junior Rangers

When ever we take these long road trips, we stop at as many national parks as we can and the kids collect Junior Ranger badges along the way. It's a great way to learn about the area and keep the kids interested. Here are some pictures of what we saw.

~ Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

I loved this place. Makes you wonder how many other hidden holes there are in our world.

~ White Sands, New Mexico

This was the biggest surprise of the trip. We didn't think it was going to be very exciting. I've seen dunes of sand before. This was miles and miles of white gypsum sand that looked like no one had ever touched it. The footprints you see in this photo were ours. The wind blows just enough to cover up the prints pretty quickly. It's like prestine wilderness. We were out there just at sunset. It was gorgeous! I could have camped out there for days!

~ Oklahoma City Bombing, Oklahoma

This wasn't a Junion Ranger visit, but it was very memorable. I think it may have been a little intense for our sheltered children. The thought of 2 people killing that many innocent people over an idealogical point of view. They have done the museum and the monument so well. Very kid friendly, since so many children were killed. They are very sensitive there and have activities for the kids to do to kinda work out their emotions. We had a short, but interesting conversation upon leaving this site.


~ George Washington Carver Museum, Missouri


Seriously, how much do you know about this man??? I sure didn't know anything. It was a very peaceful visit. I loved the walk through the trails. How cute is this family??? Love them!

Here are the kids taking the oath of a Junior Ranger. All very official, and clearly very enthusiastic.