Beachy Reunion 2019

    My family takes turns hosting us all on the odd years and this just happened to be ours. Typically we simply go to the host's area but since we don't have a home with roots, we could choose where ever we wanted! It was over a year ago that we booked a beautiful ranch in the Ozarks, Walnut Shade, MO to be exact. Our family of 6 spent 7 nights there and the others trickled in and were there most of the time too. It was very relaxing and enjoyable! Some of the families attended a number of local attractions but we were happy to just hang out at our huge house. With 8 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 3 living rooms, 2 porches, and 2 kitchens, it felt like a mansion!

Triple G Ranch

It's hard to get a good angle of the house, since it's all on a hill. 

The entryway was so cool.

One kitchen area.

I loved this cozy living room!

We used this dining room for puzzles.

In our room!

The upstairs porch.

I was surprised how much we used the hot tub!

And the pool table was nearly always in use!

Puzzle time!

Lots and lots of good conversations happened in this room.

Grace and I went thrift store shopping one day and I bought mom some puzzles :).

The sunsets were so pretty!

Mom and I working in the basement kitchen. Also, an over-stimulated, over-tired, over-sugared 4 year old hanging onto my skirts and sobbing.

Trying to improve our limited musical skills.

Uno!

Even mom and dad played pool.

Playing corn-hole inside. In the background is Michael. He fell asleep on the chair, slid to the floor, then Eldon put him on the couch where he slept soundly for a good 12 hours :).

The children had a lot of fun in the creek too.

Logan and Dallas fished nearly every day and caught a number of bass.

The water was chilly!

     We did all go to the Wonders of Wildlife Museum in Springfield one day. It was an amazing place. Tons of stuffed animals and information. The aquarium was the highlight for us though. It's a place that we probably won't pay to go to again but we're glad we went once.

Bison.....

Unbelievable how huge these things are!

It was really cool how far out they went to have each animal in its real habitat.

The polar animals were in a chilly, drafty area.

I'd hate to meet this guy!

These pictures aren't great but...........it was cool in real life!

Jellyfish are completely mesmerizing!

     It's hard to believe it's over already since we've been looking forward to it for so long! However, all good things must come to end and this truly was a good week! We loved how much time we had to sit around together instead of constantly "doing".

     Our trip home was loooong and Ethan was sick and throwing up most of it but we made it! I'm not sure if we were ever so happy to see our own beds again :).

Arkansas!

     The end of May Eldon had 2 weeks off work and we had a trip planned to Arkansas to visit friends and to host my family reunion in Missouri. We left our camper behind for this trip which meant we got to spend a night in a motel, much to the children's delight. We discovered that Comfort Suites offer a room with a hide-a-bed and a full breakfast for a decent price so we were happy! Our overnight was in Omaha, NE. Eldon's travel company is based there so he was happy to finally meet his boss and go out to breakfast with her the next morning. 

We made good use of the pool!

We were given the option to go with Eldon but these guys weren't about to miss a motel breakfast 😂

     We have dear friends who ever so kindly let us stay at their home even though they were gone most of the time. We ended up being there much less than anticipated but loved relaxing on this porch every chance we got!

Betty Jane kindly hid money in the toys for the children to find. Michael made it his mission to find every single bill!

     Saturday afternoon Eldon helped his previous boss, and neighbor load hay. The children and I dashed around town going to as many thrift stores as possible. Their reward for being so good was ice cream sundaes.

We walked around the square and admired the many flowering trees and bushes while eating our snack.

     Sunday was a busy day. After church, Calvin and Judy invited us to their house for lunch, along with several of their children and families. It's always good to catch up with friends!

These 4 year olds were perfectly happy playing in the their own corners.

We had lunch by the creek.

Emily was a bit leery of the water once they started catching crawdads.

Good times!

Wearing out.......

Makayla was delighted that Shohreh came by, especially to see her!

     Eventually we headed to another friend's house for the evening. With 4 young couples there was children everywhere!

They even set up a bounce house!

So fun!

     We had a lovely evening, despite the mosquitos being so thick. Around 9:30 we were thinking about leaving, but we didn't. As it goes sometimes with friends, the conversation just gets good.....then crazy. At midnight the guys fired up the grill and made the rest of the hamburgers and hot dogs. We did end up at home sometime after 2 a.m. The children were astonished that we would let them stay up that late! It was well worth dragging them (and us) out of bed the next morning!

By midnight the mosquitos had cleared out so we moved our party back outside.

     Monday we headed over to Huntsville to visit my Aunt Barb and Uncle Ken. She prepared a lovely meal for us. It was fun to get a tour of their new place and see some cousins again too. Eldon and my cousin Doug (also an RN) could hardly get done talking.

It was a little breezy!

Barb had Makayla help her water her many flowers. 

      Tuesday we had a very sweet friend offer to babysit so we could go on a date. The children were SO excited to go to Angi's house again and had a great time. Eldon and I had a leisurely lunch then went grocery shopping 😃.
     Tuesday evening our previous neighbors, Henry and Loretta, invited us out for supper. Again, we had a great meal with great friends!

The children loved the new swing set!

Ethan was surprised to discover that he liked watermelon!

 

Only one of Loretta's many flower displays!

Michael being a great entertainer to his friend Hudson!

     So yes, our week ended up being much busier then we planned but it was a good busy! Having lived in Arkansas for the first 8 years of our married life (and 2 years before that), we have lots of memories and friends here. A huge thank-you to all of our friends who took time to spend with us! 

Photo catch-up!

     We're busy getting ready to leave for Arkansas/Missouri for two weeks so this seemed the perfect day to do a blog post and push off packing :). We will be staying at friend's for a few days then have a house rented where my family will join us so I actually have to pack instead of just hook the house up!

     Anyhow, here a few pictures of the last month or so.

May 1. The snow drifts are gone and green is trying to appear.

Makayla and Emily enjoy helping feed the calves :).

Makayla made this cake for her dad and Uncle Bill.

A dinosaur bone that the kids found while playing on a butte. A professional is slowly removing it. He's hopeful that the entire body is there. The children love to go with him, and he does a wonderful job of letting them help.

The O'Fallon County Museum is a favorite place of ours!

We were thrilled to have my Uncle Bill and Aunt Dorcas visit us! 

Michael having fun at a branding we went to.

Ethan loudly sang "I saw the Light" and Victory in Jesus" for ...... well a long time!

Emily and her friend Carli having fun on a pony.

 

These little guys were so happy that the men let them help hold the calves down.

Dragging another victim up!

Lunchtime!

The children showered me with gifts for Mother's Day! I was a bit overwhelmed that they all dipped into their own money and gave me over $30! they helped me choose a pink hoodie that says Montana on it. 

Flowers for me!

The local Runnings let all the kids pick out a flower and plant it in a cup for their mom.

The boys and I.

And the girls.

There was a few days of beautiful weather so we went fishing at the Little Missouri River a few times.

Makayla caught a catfish!

Poor Emily was very patient but never caught anything.

Neither did Michael.

It's much better if you can be bored together :).

Michael headed to his first sleep-over (well first one that was actually off the same property as us)

Eldon got me the best Mother's Day gift ever!

Mason caught a really big catfish one night!

 

And this happened a few days ago! The snow is now gone but it's still cool and windy. 

     So that's what we've been up too, along with lots of normal things. You know, work, laundry, cooking, school, planning VBS crafts, planning a reunion, music lessons and practice, ect. May your day be blessed!

A Role Model - by Makayla King

     This is the first report that Makayla has written without being prodded and given far to many ideas. I was pleasantly surprised when she handed me her paper!

     My Aunt Marlene

     A person I admire is my Aunt Marlene. Aunt Marlene is very good at drawing. She also makes me feel loved, because she takes time to teach me to draw.
     One time when we left Pennsylvania, she made us meat and cheese sticks. They were really good! She's very creative and also made us candy crabs. I like how thoughtful she is. When I grow up, I hope to be like her.

 -Makayla King