Memorial Day Cont. at Elephant Rocks...

If you have never been to the Elephant Rocks State Park, I would highly recommend it. It is about 1 hour and 45 min. away from St. Louis. A great place to go with the family for fun and adventure. Pack a lunch and be prepared to climb, play and explore for the day. They have a children's play area and these incredibly HUGE rocks that you can climb on and explore. So much FUN!!!!!!!!! A great way to enjoy nature with the ones you love.....

Aren't the rocks GORGEOUS?!?!?!?

The boys had an absolute BLAST!!!!!!!!!!

Here's Caleb with Corey being Mr. Funny Guy!!!!!

Mackenzie's expression cracks me up here. They spotted a lizard and when I said, "It's right there by your feet", she got a little unsure.....

Connor-Boy....

Corey buildin' a bridge....

Caleb Michael....

Corey's climbin' the walls like spider-man...

Here's a group shot with my crew and our dear friends children Lauren and Landon...

Mark kinda lookin' like he just escaped out of the jungle with that hair!!!L.O.L.

We have all decided another trip is necessary and can't wait until we can go back for more fun and adventure.....

Memorial Day Weekend A Visit To The Black River...

Saturday morning we packed lunches and headed out to the Black River with some friends of ours. We arrived after about a 2 hour drive. We decided to eat lunch than head down for some fun on a rocky "beach". We had a short walk from the campsite we parked at to the river itself. We got all comfy cozy and were just starting to enjoy watching the kids play when we felt some teensy tiny rain drops begin to fall. Than, came the thunder; overall, I think we were down at the rivers edge for 1 1/2 hours. I would have prefered to stay longer, and wouldn't you figure by the time we got everything back to the car, and everyone loaded in, the rain stopped. SIGH.....Well, we decided we are going to try this again real soon, and we will definantly bring the boys life jackets. Some of the currents were pretty strong.....

Caleb definantly needs to eat a little more.-He's lookin' pretty thin....

My silly boy....

Notice how clear the water is?

Mackenzie is really concentrating holding on here, so the current doesn't pull her down river....

Click on the picture to get a larger view of this one. Caleb's face is priceless. This boy LOVES adventure!!!!

This is one of the things Connor "constructed" while we ate lunch at the campsite....After we left Black River, we stopped at the Elephant Rocks. I will post pictures of this soon. Hope everyone had a happy and safe Memorial Day weekend!!

Boys Night Out...

The boys had a really fun first day of Summer. After visiting the Museum of Transport on Thursday, dad took them and big brother for a Boys Night Out!!! They all got to go bowling. What a good time they had. Mom thinks they need to do that at least once a week, it allowed me to get the floors mopped without little feet trampling on them!-How nice.....Anyway, they had a very good time up till the point when dad tried to give big brother instruction.-Mark doesn't like to be "taught" he thinks he is pretty expert on most things...

Here was Mark having a good time.-Obviously before the "instruction" began....

My boys.....Hangin' out waiting for a ball...

Isn't this the coolest thing? The boys no longer have to put the ball on the ground and push....

All the boys watching to see if Caleb is going to get a strike!!!-Maybe someday big guy!!

Fun At The Museum Of Transport

Today was the triplets first day of Summer Vacation. Mark and Mackenzie have until the middle of next week. I wanted to be able to take them somewhere special for their first day off. So at 8:30 this morning we packed up and headed over to the Museum of Transport. I haven't been there since Mark was about two, and since then, they have added "Creation Station", which is a hands on educational place to "play". They charge 1.50 for the kids to play for 1 hour. I really lucked out, and we had the whole place to ourselves! The boys had a blast. The above photo is to remember what they looked like after completing their first year of preschool. You would think Caleb would be a little happier; maybe he knows Summer school is right around the corner for him.....

Now there is the smile I know and LOVE.....(Doesn't Connor look so proud of his "little" brother?)

One of the many trains we got to see today. The boys even got to ring the bell on one of the large locomotives..They thought that was the coolest!!!

Here is Corey and Connor playing with the farm in the Creation Station....

Caleb really enjoyed the train table and spent most of his time here...

I got to watch a puppet show that Corey put on....

Connor was in Choo Choo HEAVEN.....

This is a photo of half of the room. They had a variety of stations set up for the kids to play at. Towards the back was a lady the does crafts with the children.FUN!!!!

This was also a BIG hit! The boys got to sail on their very own Pirate Ship!! How cool is that?!?!?!

A pirate has to make sure his hat is just right....

Ahoy Matey's time to sail away with Caleb....

AAAAAARRRRRR Pirate Captain Connor will take you for the ride of your life....We also got to take the shuttle to ride the "little" train around the track two times, and a ride on a real trolley!! The boys really had a great time. It was a GREAT way to start the Summer, and I hope that my plan for a "weekly fieldtrip" proves to be as enjoyable as today was!!!!

Caleb's Rash...

Poor Caleb has had such a rough time recovering from his tonsil and adnoid removal surgery. On May 7th he had the procedure and exactly 8 days later, he broke out in this awful rash. So ironic, because when Mark had the same surgery in 2nd Grade, exactly 8 days later he broke out in a rash!!!! They do not tell you that after this surgery to be watching for a rash, but so weird how both of my boys developed one. Mark's was slightly different though, covering nearly his whole body, also accompanied by fever and irritability. We think now that he may have had a case of Roseola. Caleb's rash is due to a reaction to the meds and thankfully has not spread anymore over the last couple days. I do have to limit his time outside though, because it makes him very itchy. I am hoping that he will recover quickly, because we are leaving for a short trip on June 2nd to Holiday World. Yep, we're going to see the big guy!!! If you want us to put in a good word for you and tell Santa that you have been very GOOD this year, just drop us a line!!!!

D.A.R.E. Graduation

Last night Mark, along with his fifth grade class, had a Graduation Recognition Ceremony for completing the D.A.R.E. program through school. This is the first year the principal held the award ceremony in the evening. He wanted the parents to be able to participate in the recognition of these outstanding students. I was very pleased with the ceremony. The Chief of Police led us in prayer, and even quoted some scripture verses in his presentation. I am proud of all the children for partaking in this program and hope as they grow, they can remember what they have learned.

This is Mark receiving his award.-I cropped the photo on Picnik.com, but I am not sure why the black is around the photo...

When we got home, I told him I wanted a picture of him with his certificate. He was very proud of it and hung it on his bedroom wall right away!!

Then we got dad in for a shot...

You can't leave out little sis....

Corey was so proud to hold his certificate, although I'm sure he has no clue what it even is!!!

Connor absolutely refused to smile, because he was upset about something.-Not even sure what anymore...Caleb unfortunately wasn't in any photos. As soon as we got home he went inside to crash on the couch. He has had an awful time recovering from his tonsil and adnoid removal; which explains why I have had NO time to keep up with my blogging. Friday he broke out in a rash and yesterday he was spitting up blood. A trip to the doctor revealed a drug reaction causing the rash and blood from the scabs falling off. Tomorrow I will post photos of the rash.

On a lighter note, I want to say that I am very proud of you Mark for completing the D.A.R.E. Program, and I hope that as you grow, you will remember and put into practice the things that you have learned!!!