Birthday Weekend in Missouri

Well, I'm behind again. The best of intentions inevitably fall by the wayside when sickness comes calling. We've all spent the last week and a half since returning from MO, feeling lousy and coughing up a storm. Though, even in our sickness, I have found humor in Ashlyn's take on things. "I'm coughing my jiggles out!" and "My lip is running," are two of her best recent quotes.

But I digress. My cold made me feel lousy and lazy, but I'm finally getting back in the swing of things. So let's get caught up on our weekend away, shall we?

We went down Friday afternoon and spent the night with Dakota's brother, Sonny, and his wife, Tara. Their little boy, Noah, turned 2 about two weeks before Ashlyn, so the plan was to have a joint birthday party for them on Saturday. Saturday was gorgeous! Since Sonny and Tara live just a block from the college campus (NWMSU), and there are some great little playgrounds on campus, guess where we spent the morning!






We ambled through campus a bit on our way back, taking in some of the sights and changes since the days when we called Northwest home. One spot we stopped at was the kissing bridge. It was a beautiful spring morning, with everything in bloom--how could we not stop!










After that, it was back to the house to get ready for the party. Grandma and Grandpa showed up to play with the kids.

Grandpa read some books with Ashlyn.


Then he played "shoot the sharks" with Noah.


Sonny and Tara made a great lunch for us all, and we dug into the Super Why birthday cake shortly after.


Then came presents and naps and a trip out to the farm.

The next morning we went to church at Laura Street, where I attended regularly during most of my college years. It was so nice to see friendly faces and catch up with people we hadn't seen in ages. It felt so comfortable and homey, I really missed it. And speaking of missing things, who doesn't miss Pastor Paul after even a week away? Wish I could hear him preaching again every Sunday. We enjoyed catching up with several friends, and we all watched in amazement as our kids (each looking like little clones of their moms and dads) quickly bonded and ran around the church together. It was a too-telling reminder of just how much time had passed since we were the youth of the church. Time for a reunion, anyone?

Anyway, it was an enjoyable weekend. Thanks to all who made it fun!