Our First Family Vacation

June 2013

Tablerock Lake

We decided we were overdue for a vacation and Burke needed to go swimming.

A car trip seemed like a good first vacation (vs. flying).

So we packed up for the 4 hour drive to Tablerock Lake near Branson, MO.

Out of the 8 hours in the car, Burke only slept one of them. We had a wild child in the back seat so we played some kid music, played games, sang and got silly with him. 

We stopped at Bass Pro in Springfield to stretch our legs and see the sights.

Roar!

Burke loves to swim. Once we arrived at our resort I took Burke swimming as promised while Dad ran to the store to get breakfast and lunch food for the condo.

Our first full day we headed to Silver Dollar City.

Since Burke is only 33" tall there were just  few rides he could go on. There were still plenty of playgrounds, petting zoos and entertainment for all of us.

Our second full day we rented a ski boat to go cruising on the lake. 

Dan loved driving the boat. 

Burke liked the bumps but was not a fan of his life jacket.

The boys hopped in the blue water to cool off. Brr!

Burke and I also paddleboated in the cove of our resort while Dan kayaked by our side.

Our resort had a waterslide. Dan took down with hime a few times and then we felt comfortable letting Burke go down on his own. Dan would put him in the slide at the top and I would catch Burke at the bottom. The instant Burke's head would pop out of the water he would squeal, "I do it AGAIN"

On our way out of town we stopped at the Fish Hatchery to see rainbow and brown trout.

We also stopped at Lambert's Cafe. Home of the 'Throwed Rolls' where the literally throw rolls at you.

It was down home cooking... in a skillet.

So handsome and fun right now. Love this guy!

A photo of our condo.

BURKE QUOTES:
* In the car with mom and dad after not taking a nap, "People stop talking!"
* I have two thumbs on my feet (big toes)
* Girwls (squirrels) are eating my breakfast (on the balcony of our condo we fed the squirrels)
* "Its a bee (fly)."
* "Its a shoofly (fly)."
* "I WANNA GO SWIMMING."

June 2013

Happy Belated 40th Anniversary to Mom and Dad!

Last December Mom and Dad celebrated their 40th Anniversary. Nicole and I treated Mom, Dad, Mike and Dan to a belated celebratory dinner at Nicole's house. We had a Spanish themed wine dinner with meats and cheeses, gazpacho, salad, paella and flan. We shared factoids about the food and its region for each course. Considering how rare it is for us to enjoy adult conversation and a nice dinner all together we had a wonderful time planning, cooking and eating together. What great parents we have!

Manchego cheese, priscutto, manzanilla olives and bubbly

This was my first time to make flan. It was pretty easy. It turned out delicious!

Memorial Day Weekend we visited Deanna Rose Farmstead.

The boys got to fish and caught one!

We may or may not have thrown in some fish food to coax this bluegill to the surface.

The next weekend we hosted our friends Mike and Staci with their daughter, Eliza, for dinner. Burke and Eliza had a ball together playing soccer in the backyard. This is what having a large backyard, with grass, is all about!

Burke's last day of preschool was Friday, May 31st. He will be moving to the Canterbury Preschool June 3rd. I can't believe how much these gals at Canterbury love him and how much they have taught him. It is great to have good daycare.

Miss Chrissy

Burke is a bike riding machine. He has a few neighbors in the neighborhood his age so we are constantly outside playing. Will, the 4 year old neighbor has a bike helmet so Burke wanted one to be just like Will.

BURK QUOTES:

* "George (teddybear) needs to walk away."

* "Mommy make Burke sad." (I took a toy away)

* "I want to sit time out."

* "Daddy live at the zoo with the monkeys."

* "You want some?"

* "I want to go outside."

* "Mommy, cuddle Burke."

* "Fisshies (nightlight) scare Burke."

* "Actually, I want to wear different pants."

BURKE'S FIRST FLIGHT!!!

 Dan has been asking "When can he go up with me?" since Burke was born. At 2 1/2 years old we decided it was worth a try. Burke was very excited to be at the airport and was loving spotting all the airplanes and helicopters taking off and landing. A motorcycle even pulled into the parking lot and Burke was squealing with delight. The kid was in heaven.

And then we got in the plane to taxi and actually take off..... Let's just say Burke was antsy in the air and not the best passenger. We will wait 6-12 months before we take Burke flying again.

 Back at home each evening it is a regular occurrence for the neighbor kids to ring the doorbell during dinner to see if Burke can come out to play. Each evening we enjoy hanging out with all our neighbors on the driveway while the kids all play. 

This is Emma (4) and Theo (2). Theo and Burke are only 3 months apart in age. Emma is really sweet on Burke. Burke has even told me, "Mommy, that was Emma. I love her." Oh boy. 

 Baseball is the current favorite sport.

 Burke has OCD tendencies already showing up. He is always lining up his cars. Dan was proud of this order showing off his knowledge of ROYGBV.

 We have been wanting to take Burke camping so we gave it a trial run in the backyard when we had a nice cool 65 degree night. Burke slept better than we did!

Let's GO CAMPING!