Par for the Course

We've started a week out of town, but the day began with a tetanus shot and a trip to the pharmacy.  When we got to the hotel, I found that a bottle of shampoo had leaked all over my bag, and when I went to wash the bag, I found that we have the slowest draining shower of all time.

It's kind of how things have been going lately; as soon as we decided to work like crazy to get the house ready to sell, Jay got sicker than he's been in the 22 years I've known him.  At the same time, the lawnmower broke (not a good thing when you have a 5 acre yard and the grass is still lush and green thanks to a cooler than normal summer), the bathroom sink clogged and backed up, and we had to get a new washer and dryer.  All this to explain why there still haven't been many blog posts!  

Thankfully, these are all minor problems in the grand scheme of things and although I may have to bring my bag home in a trash sack to wash there, we should have a fun week away--and I will post about it when we get back!

Happy Birthday, Ralph Blane!

 Yesterday was the 100th birthday of Ralph Blane, who was born in Broken Arrow and songwriter who wrote "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"--which we sing every year at the annual Christmas Eve party with Jay's old neighbors.

 There were people dressed up like famous citizens throughout the museum and they gave talks.

 Phenie Lou Ownby was the first female mayor in the state and only the sixth in the nation.

 When they got to 100 students, the teacher got an assistant!

 One of the first medical clinics was run by Dr. Franklin in the building where Jay had his first job--it was a pharmacy then.  Now it's a restaurant.

 Ernest Childers

 A local rancher, Mr. Robson--I think that's right, at least!

 And the birthday guest, Ralph Blane!

We even got to have birthday cake at the end of the tour!  If you are local and you haven't visited the musuem, you need to go.  It is really nicely done and a nice size for visiting with kids!

Mom & Son Luau

 Last night was the annual Mom & Son Luau.

 We went to dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, so Jack had to play the prize claw.

 He won!

 It has been really cool here lately--we had a couple of days where it only got into the 70s!--so the water was really chilly!  I had to go down the slide to get in.  If I had tried to inch my way in I never would have made it past my knees!  The cold never seems to bother Jack, though!

 The lifeguards are more relaxed at the luau, so they got to take beach balls down the slides, which Jack liked.

We finished up at Cherry Berry.  It was a great evening!

Lego Day

 Today was the day of our library's Lego Build-Off!

 More than 50 kids built things around the Fizz! Boom! Read! theme--it was supposed to be something sciency.

 Jack went with a fleet of space ships.  (My favorite is the one on the left.)

 Afterward we went to our favorite cupcake place for a treat.

And tonight he got a new Lego book for our geography box!

I love this boy so much and I'm so proud of him!

This Just Got Really Real

 As you may have noticed, I've had a little trouble getting to blogging lately.  I just finished up an extra six articles for MetroFamily and now I've started my latest project: packing up the house.

We've been theoretically ready to move for a while now, but we've actually gotten a storage unit and started packing up things in order to get our house ready to put on the market.  I'm in a constant state of simmering panic at the thought of our house selling quickly and/or our house taking a long time to sell.  This is way outside my comfort zone.

I hope to have things ready in the next couple of weeks, so hopefully after that I can get back to posting regularly!

Happy Fourth of July!

 We had a nice Fourth of July (except for Jay, who had strep).

 We stayed home during the day and made yummy food, like this dip--which actually isn't totally like the link because I couldn't find chocolate cream cheese so we used strawberry.

 We also had these scones, which didn't look as pretty as the Pinterest picture but were still very tasty!

 My cousin's daughter was selling fireworks for a fundraiser so I said I'd take a pack.  I think we got a deal!

 The first one of the night:  Mr. Turtle.

 For some reason they always have to walk through the smoke.

 Watching Uncle Erik light the snakes.

 Ice cream break!

Alice and Piers liked sitting at their desk.

 We set off quite a few of the ones from the pack but we also saved some for when Jay feels better--which will hopefully be soon!

Missouri Road Trip

We left early Saturday morning for a road trip to Missouri--the first stop was breakfast at the donut shop.

 

Then it was time for a group picture before hitting the road!

 

We stopped at Lambert's for lunch.

 

They have giant mugs there--I don't think I saw anyone ask for a refill!

 

 Jack liked catching the rolls.  I got a good video of him catching, but this is the only picture I got.

After lunch we went to Mansfield.

 

We toured Laura Ingalls Wilder's Rocky Ridge Farm, her last home.

 

We also got to tour the rock house that their daughter built for them.  It is where she wrote the first four Little House books.

 

This is the spring house near the rock house.  You can't take pictures inside so I can't share that with you, but it is worth the drive!

 

Then we drove on to our hotel in Branson where the kids were very excited to check out the arcade.

 

Having a picnic in the room!

 

We had a room that could sleep all 8 of us.  The kids took turns sleeping in the bunk beds, but during the day they all liked to sit on top and watch TV.

 

Sunday night we went to visit Jay's aunt, who lives nearby.

 

Playing at Aunt Delpha's

 

Sunday night was also the kids' first night in the bunk beds.  That night I ended up sleeping on the bottom bunk with Alice and the next night she fell out of the bed and ended up sleeping with me.  I'm glad we didn't put her on the top bunk!

 

We started Monday with a trip to Krispy Kreme.

 

Then we went to a mini-golf place near our hotel.

 

It was really hot!

 

We spent most of our time at the hotel waterpark.  This was Jack's favorite slide.  It was really fast!

 

Alice (and I) preferred this one!

 

Monday night we went to Branson Landing to shop and see the light and water show.

 

It was my birthday so we had cake at the hotel--and thankfully didn't set off the smoke alarms!  (I also got to have Culver's for dinner, so I was very happy!)

 

We checked out Tuesday morning, shopped for a bit, and then headed home.  We stopped for lunch in Springdale and had a chocolate mess for dessert!

We came home worn out, but we had a great time!  Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for a great vacation!