Missouri

We just returned home from spending the last 10 days in Missouri with family. It was so nice to be there for the summer. It was the best trip (in my opinion) we have ever had there. We went to attend and participate in Sara and Brian’s wedding. Getting there was a little rough! We had to wake up at 4:00am to make our 6:00am flight. Rachel did great until she got motion sickness. She vomited on the first flight which we were highly unprepared for. It was everywhere! We bought a new t-shirt for her at the Dallas airport since I didn’t have a change of clothes (a pink shirt with Elmo-Perfect!). Then she vomited again on the second flight. We were much more prepared the second time having the bags ready! We were so glad to get off that plane. Brad took us straight to the hotel and we showered and rested.


The wedding was held at a vineyard in a small town called Herman. The rehearsal went well and it was so refreshing to see the whole family together again. We finally got to meet Braden for the first time. He was so alert and showed off his beautiful blue eyes…so precious. He is 5 mos old.


The day of the wedding, Aaron and I showed ourselves around the charming little town and found a Music and Arts Festival which we LOVED!




The wedding was beautiful and everything went as planned. Aaron led the ceremony and did a fantastic job, Rachel was a flower girl and I sang. I was mostly concerned about how Rachel would behave during the ceremony. She was wired and squirmy before the wedding, but did uncharacteristically good walking down the path with Olivia and sitting with Nan during the wedding, thank goodness. Sara was radiant and at times teary, and Brian was handsome and sincere in his gaze. After the dance, we were all exhausted and crashed at the hotel another night.





The rest of the week consisted of a lot of rest and a much slower pace. We spent time outside watching the kids play in the water. Seth and Olivia were tireless as they played on the slip n’ slide and Rachel sat in her kiddy pool and enjoyed splashing around.



On Wednesday, Nan took us to Grant’s farm (now owned by Budweiser). It was a beautiful day and Rachel loved it! We got to see the Clydesdale horses, elephants, turtles, lamas, camels, and more. It was so much fun for all of us.





Later in the week, Aaron took us out on the four-wheeler to show Rachel the cows. The cows were eager to see us, because they thought we were bringing food. They “mooed” right in front of us. They were large and intimidating. Rachel plastered herself to me or Aaron as they surrounded us. As we rode along to the back of the land, I snapped pictures of the stampeding cows following us wherever we went! The land was green for miles as it has rained so much there lately. The rain flooded several surrounding towns and there were many bridge closings. Aaron was surprised that they were comparing the floods to the flood of 1993.

Friday night, we went to a Cardinals game. It was Aaron’s first time to go since the stadium renovations. Rachel was crawling over seats and up stairs until a Cardinal player hit a homerun. The fireworks certainly got her attention. She was so startled that she scrambled for my lap and sat still for a good 30 minutes just in case it happened again. We had good seats, however, the Cardinals lost terribly (2-22). Even though they lost, we had a great time. That night we said goodbye to Sara, Brian, and Braden. I am not sure when we will see them again (tear) especially if they stay in Japan.

Sunday was Father’s Day. We had lunch after church at Eagle’s Nest Café in Louisiana with Nan, Brad, Adam, Nicole, Ashton, and Kobe. It was SO good!
The rest of the day was spent traveling home. Rachel got sick again, and we decided she might be getting nauseous because of the Elmo movie we set up on the laptop to occupy her attention. She did better after she stopped watching it, but who knows. It is great to be home. Thanks to our friend Steven, our plants are still alive…and thanks to Carrie and Jeff, our dog is still alive! Rachel was so happy to see Sebastian and she can finally say his name now!