Family fun weekend

That was the theme of this past weekend- family fun weekend! We had planned to make a trip to the state fair in Sedalia, MO on our way to the lake for the weekend. But...we had a huge storm come through the night before. As a result, the fair had closed down until further notice for security inspections of all of the exhibits. Not being the most spontaneous person in the world, I was thankful Daddy had another plan! We decided to detour down to Springfield, MO and spend the afternoon there. In route, we stopped at Osceola Cheese in Osceola, MO. Being a cheese-loving family, we had to check it out.

They had lots of free samples and we were able to get a little snack tray to hold us over until we made it to Springfield (another 45 minutes or so) for lunch.
Once we arrived in Springfield, we stopped at McAlister's Deli for lunch and then headed to the Discovery Center. Thank goodness for our smartphones! I was Googling "fun places to go with kids" our whole way down to Springfield and the Discovery Center kept popping up. The reviews were right, too. It was a great place for Lily & Jackson....and Mommy & Daddy, too! We spent about 3 hours there touring their 7 floors of fun, hands-on, scientific activities. Here are some of the highlights of our time there:

In the Japanese cultural section
learning about DNA and talking to the Lab Assistant about a sick goldfish she was nursing back to health
Weathergirl Lily
and Newscaster Lily
in the water play section
Daddy and Lily creating a huge flowing bubble

in the electricity section, having a "hair raising" experience :-)
even Jackson had a good time in the "under 5 exploratory room"
shopping at the market

After our time at the Discovery Center, we made a quick stop to the Bass Pro Shop. Being the national headquarters, Daddy had to stop and make sure he wasn't missing something! Jackson was sleeping so I stayed in the car while Lily & Daddy checked it out.
To end the day, we headed to the lake for the weekend to spend time with the family!

the cousins with the turtles they found

the babies doing what they love...eating!

You would think that would be plenty of fun for one weekend, but since it was the last weekend for the state fair and we had originally planned to check it out, we decided to spend a few hours there in the morning on our way home.

at the Dept. of Conservation exhibit- Daddy's favorite

petting a turtle

checking out the rabbits
Daddy dreaming....
petting the show horses

We had such a fun weekend full of entertainment and laughter. Looking forward to another family fun weekend soon!

Summer 2011 California trip

Along with the beach trip, we spent 10 additional days with Grandma & Grandpa L. We had a fun time hanging out at the house on the patio- including a visit from cousins Amy & Patrick, visiting with Uncle Mark, and a day trip to Hermosa Beach to see Uncle Phil & Aunt Lauren.

Leo Carrillo beach trip 2011- 30 year anniversary!

This year was the 30th anniversary of the "Bradish Bunch" beach camping at Leo Carrillo Beach. The kids and I flew out mid-week to spend a few days camping with the family and friends. There were over 150 people who attended from our group and we all had a fun time!

all four cousins together

Lily with friends Emily, Mariana, & Reghan

"Water's too cold and I'm tired, Mommy!"

Lily and her California BFF's- Brooklynne, Emily

Uncle Phil & Aunt Lauren preparing foiled dinners

Sleeping Beauty in the tent

Cousins and their Jr. Ranger vests that Grandma made. They are headed to pick up trash to help out the park rangers.

There's Lily...saving our planet :)

As a sidenote, there is a funny story to share about the "picking up trash" experience. Lily and Sam are so funny together. There is only a 9-month age difference between the two of them, so therefore there is bound to be competitiveness. As we were walking back to camp, Aunt Sarah and I were pointing out the trash we saw...which was mostly cigarette butts. As soon as we would point or utter "there's trash!", the two would jump to see who could pick it up first (with their latex gloves...of course :). All of a sudden, we hear Sam say "Lily! That's MY cigarette!" It was absolutely hilarious hearing those words come out of the almost-4-year-old!

Making homemade ice cream with Aunt Lauren & Uncle Phil

Sister helping feed brother (one of his favorite activities..eating!)

Uncle Bill & Aunt Sarah jumping waves with Sam and Lily

Grandma & Jack time!

Cousins painting rocks

Lily giving Grandpa her "Grandpa & Me" book that she recorded for him

KC Royals game 2011

What began last year as a fun event, has now turned into a family tradition! The Bolinger clan spent an evening at the "K" watching the Royals vs. Tampa Bay Rays. As typical for late July, it was a hot night, but surprisingly tolerable with a slight breeze. And of course the spray park in the kids area helped too :) As you can imagine, there was little game watching with four kiddos wanting snacks and to go play! We all had a great time and look forward to next year's game!
(Jackson and Christopher stayed home and had some good Grandma and Aunt time...way too hot for the babies!)

the Bolinger clan

ready for game time with Aunt Sarah

spoiled by Grandpa with sno-cones. (notice all the girls got red and Powell got blue! :)

Mommy & Daddy taking a break watching the kids play

turning the big...wet...baseball!

Daddy & Aunt Sarah hanging out

cousins getting soaked!

Bolinger men

our "Lily sandwich" :)