Sisters Go Camping

Well summer is in full swing and that means full schedules and lots of traveling!  My sisters and I grew up camping and now that we are older, we want to carry on that tradition with each other and our growing families.  We hadn't been since 2008 so we finally got something on the calendar for this past weekend!  Allison had reserved two campsites for us at Table Rock State Park and we all arrived late Friday evening to set up camp!

Getting the campsite set up and dinner ready!

Sittin' around the campfire

Roasting marshmallows for s'mores!

Saturday was Silver Dollar City day!  It was a beautiful day for the amusement park and everyone was so excited to get there and play all day.  Unfortunately, that's what everyone else thought too...

Taking the shuttle over to the park

Stew was way too excited to be in the carriage

The girls getting measured for which rides they can go on!

Uncle Jay and Aunt Leslie taking Lucy and Amelia on the Grand Exposition Coaster

Hands in the air!

Chris and me wearing our aviators :)

Ummm... the best part of the day!  Fanny's Funnel Cakes!  Yum-O

Ice cream for everyone!

What a mess, Stew!

After our afternoon dessert, Allison and I took the kids to the Marvel Cave tour.  Leslie, Jay and Chris went to have some fun on the "big kid" rides.  

Here we are waiting for the tour to start... too hilarious not to post.

The beginning of our cave tour...  Allison ended up having to leave the tour early with the June bugs so it was just Lucy and me.  We had some really great one-on-one time together!  

Going down, down, down the stairs!

 Some cool cave features...

The train ride back up!

Overall, a great day at SDC!

Sissy pic

Saturday night we were exhausted from the long day, but not enough so that we couldn't celebrate Amelia's birthday!  Allison made a chocolate cake in the dutch oven - impressive!  We all gathered around to sing happy birthday and watch her blow out the candles.  After Chris and Allison sent the kids to bed (they were EXHAUSTED!), we sat around the fire again and talked late into the night!  We were exhausted, too, but it was worth it to spend that quality time together. 

Sunday morning we woke up to thunder so we quickly packed up camp and went into town for a last hoorah at IHOP.  We said our good-byes after breakfast and headed home.  Here's to our next camping trip and more fabulous memories!

Good-bye Central Street

This Memorial Day weekend we spent some extra time with our church family.  Our community group has seen some people come and go over the last few years but we're still family and we try to live life to its fullest together.  For nearly four years, Jonathan and Heather have hosted our community group get-togethers at their home on Central Street.  They have graciously hosted time after time and we've shared so much in their living room together.  After Jonathan got his job in Ottawa last spring, they decided they needed a place a little closer to his work and also a place to start a family! :)

Story number two...

After Bud and Mackenzie got married in November, they moved into a home about 10 houses down from the Sterks, also on Central Street!  They are beginning to open their home for foster children and they, too, were needing a home available for expansion.   So, to summarize: Two of our really good couple friends from church have recently bought new homes and are moving away from Central Street.  :(  We spent our last few hours in 9120 Central Street last week eating dinner together, playing games in the front yard and, of course, moving!!  Unfortunately, we won't be able to help Bud and Mackenzie move this weekend because we'll be camping at Table Rock Lake... But here are some pics from our farewell parties last week on Central Street:

Playing bocce ball

Girls vs. boys

Across the street!

 Move-in day...

Reynolds' came down to help!

A sunny, hot morning!

The truck is getting full!!

Last pic in front of 9120 Central Street

It was a long, hard day but we got so much done and feel great about getting the Sterks moved into their new home in Paola, KS!

Branson Get-Away

Last weekend we Thorpes got together for a weekend get-away in Branson, MO.  Rob and Billie had rented a house to fit all twelve of us and we planned to just hang out together as a family.  We ate yummy food, played games, went shopping at the outlet malls, and talked late into the evenings.  It was so fun to be with family for a second weekend in a row!  We had such a special time just being all together, playing with the kids, and catching up on life.  We feel so blessed to have such wonderful families who love the Lord and make time for each other.

Jay and I got to leave early on Friday and we were able to make it to Branson just before dinner time!  Rob, Billie, Wes, Catherine and their kids were already there so we took a tour of the house and waited for the Matt Thorpe family.  Once everyone arrived, we ate dinner and relaxed well into the evening.  Saturday was fun.  We spent the morning eating our meals together and playing outside with the kids and then headed into town for some deals at the outlet mall!  Can you ever go to Branson without going to Tanger?  I think not. ;)  Shopping was exhausting (isn't it always?!) and wore everyone out so we were all ready to head back home for some dinner and relaxing.  Too bad I got car sick on the way home...  Oh well, this baby is so worth it.  After another delicious meal, we were ready to put up our feet and share some more stories together.  What better than to do that around a campfire and with s'mores to boot?  Rob made an awesome fire and we sat around the pit snapping pics, listening to music and making a mess with some sticky marshmallows and chocolate!  My in-laws are just some of the greatest people on earth and I enjoyed every minute with them.  

Aunt Cat reading a bedtime story on Friday night

There were these two stone homesteads on the property that actual people lived in hundreds of years ago.  The girls really liked them.

Playing frisbee and soccer

Fire and feet :)

Siblings and wives and kiddos!

The Wes Thorpes

The Rob Thorpes

The Jay Thorpes

The Matt Thorpes

Thorpe boys!

Uncle Jay taking the girls on a hike

I got to read the bedtime story on Saturday night!

All weekend the girls were dying to play Flickin' Chicken - so we finally got it out on Sunday morning to play a round or two before everyone left!

This weekend we've enjoyed staying home and relaxing.  When summer hits we feel like things might get a little crazy so we're trying to enjoy every second while we can.  We had a fun date night last night - BBQ at Gates followed by The Avengers at our favorite movie theatre.  Today I enjoyed sleeping in and so far we've been pretty productive while really taking advantage of the warm weather!  More on the pregnancy and a belly pic hopefully tomorrow!

Gone Country (for the weekend, at least)

This weekend Jay and I met the family in southern Oklahoma for a good 'ole country family reunion.  This is one of two that we go to every year and it's always a good time with great food and excellent company! It was a long drive down but we were able to leave round 1pm which saved us a really late night.  :)  Saturday morning we hung around Grandmother and Papa's house, on the front porch, in the beauty salon (yes, my Grandmother has one of those) and got ready to head over to the citizens center for the big meal and gathering.  The food was amazing as always and the weather wasn't so bad either for some ladder ball and playing outside!  After the meal and clean-up we came back to take naps and hang out under the shade of a tree.  After a while, one of my dad's cousin's set up a speaker and his guitar to play some live music for us.  We talked and hung out late into the night while the mosquitos bit at out ankles and the kids enjoyed the glow necklaces and bracelets.  Sunday morning we had an awesome home-cooked meal and got everything packed up to head back home.  It was a fast and furious weekend but oh-so-fun to be with family.

Flint Hills on our drive down

People gathering for the meal

Since there are so many of us every family made a poster board with pictures... quite helpful!

Setting up the food table

Stew fell asleep on Uncle Jay's shoulder while walking across the street

Everyone gathered to say the prayer

Lucy and Amelia sporting their star glasses

Hanging out under the shade tree

Amelia collected all the glow-stick necklaces!  The flash was a little bright...

What a whirlwind weekend!  We've got another family get-together in Branson this weekend with Jay's family and we're looking forward to that, too!  Have a happy week friends!