Our Bed & Breakfast

Ever since we were dating, Kevin and I have had a bed and breakfast that we have gone to about once a year.  We usually don't even tell people the name of it, but since it is closing we wanted to blog about it.

We found out in June that Linda and Alan were going to stop running Dear's Rest Bed and Breakfast at the end of 2012.  They had been running it for about 20 years, and we have been going for 8 years.  We planned on going for many more years, but this was a second career after their first retirements, and they are ready to move on.  We have some fun memories there.  The cabin is Amish-built and located in Ozark, MO s few miles south of Springfield.  It is for one group at a time, sleeping up to 6.  (2 on the main floor and 4 in the loft.)  So your don't share anything with anyone.  It has a hot tub on the deck that overlooks the hills.  They have always had Sandy, their dog, whom we love to see.  This time there was a cat named Hemmingway.  Linda found him near starvation a few months ago.  They have a wood-burning fireplace that Alan makes sure is going when we arrive on cold evenings.  (It reminds me of when I was younger, so I like to take care of the fire, even if I don't get to very often.)

The first time we went, we were dating.  (It was a few weeks before we got engaged.)  The next time we were married.  We went on a hike and I was exhausted!  We found out a few days later I was pregnant with Kevin.  The next time we showed up,  we had a four month old baby!  The next time I was pregnant with Colin!  We always had something new!

Most of our time is spent watching cable tv, and almost always HGTV.  The other time is spent in the hot tub or in line at Lambert's Cafe, which is a few miles away.  We have explored the small town nearby, walked to the stream to feed the fish (and local dog),  hiked, swam, and 8 years ago was the first time we saw or played the game Ladder Ball.  We drove to Springfield to go shopping one time, and another time we saw a movie (Avatar). We have only been there with another couple once.  The Kerr's went with us one summer.  That was right after the pool was added.

Since our first visit in 2004, they have updated many things!  They have added an outdoor room (a small enclosure in the woods with an opaque roof and screened-in walls.  It has both chairs and a hammock.  Great for reading!), a waterfall by that room, an in-ground pool, a fire pit, an upgrade on the tv, wireless internet, paved paths from the car to the house and from the house to the pool, and probably more. 

Here are some pictures.  We don't have any from the outside :( because we were too busy getting video.  We will miss it!

Kevin in the blue chair we used to fight over, before the couch upgrade.

Av view of the living room and fire place.

View of the kitchen and dining area, from behind the blue chair.  The stairs to the loft are included.  The entire cabin is Amish-built, so there are no nails.  Very cool to see!

Hot tub from the dining area.

View of the hills in autumn.  The picture does not do it justice!

Gwyn's Hair

She really doesn't like her hair in her face, so Gwyn's hair is almost always pulled back.  I try to keep it down the day after a bath, but it ends up soon after breakfast. At bath Sunday, I actually saw her with her hair down.  I feel like I never get to do that, so I took some pictures to share.

Halloween 2012

If you remember, last year Kevin was a mummy, Colin was Batman, and Gwyn was supposed to be a ladybug.  She screamed every time we put the costume on her.  Well, she must have remembered that.  The first time I walked towards her with the bumble bee costume, she turned and cried.  We finally broke down and tried to put her in it, hoping she would calm down.  The pictures pretty much explain it.  In the end, I just told people she was going as a temperamental teenager.

As for the boys, they were Hulk and Wolverine.  One afternoon I was waiting for Kevin at the bus stop.  Colin came out wearing his Hulk costume.  It was adorable to see this miniature Hulk yelling "Mommy!"

Gwyn Helps With Laundry Again

Why I Love Kindergarten

Outer space with a rocket and aliens.

More rockets and the moon.

His monster.

"I like rain play because it is fun."

"I made a snow angel."

"I like to go down the waterslide." (Or as he thinks, waterflied.)

"I like to jump in a pile of leaves."

"I like summer.  I like to play in the pool."

Something about how artworks transforms in school.  His people are actual people, not sticks anymore.  (But those pictures are still adorable.) But nothing can top the phonetic spelling!

McWeekend September 2012

I know, FINALLY!  The Kerr's blogged, and I mentioned it, but I wanted to still include some of our pictures.  These are the ones from the best pumpkin patch in the world.

On the turn, right before Kevin falls.  (He is in the lead!)

He is no longer in the lead.

Colin and I rode the tractor over to the pumpkin farm area, where you can pick out a pumpkin.  In the distance is part of the play area.  There was still more than that!

Some of the logic puzzles for families.  You had to walk certain paths to solve them.

The best picture I have of all the kids.

This kid flew across the wall!  We need to get him climbing!

Gwyn Update

Here are some updates on our big girl:

She says a lot of words.  I tried counting, and it has to be close to 100.  Some of her (and our) favorites are: Colin, Bubby (which is both brother and Kevin), strawberry, blueberry, Corduroy (the bear), bus, airplane, cheek, chin, nose, mouth, eye, hair, mummy, daddy, noooooo!, fish, moo (what most of her animals say), jacket, bean, bear, meow, doggy.  She is not only saying mulitsyballic words, but also putting words together.  Mostly, it is words with please.  The most common one is either "book please" (which sounds like "bu eeeee) or "up please" (ba eeeeee).  For those two words sounds kind of iffy, you would be shocked to hear how clear her bigger words are!  (Although jacket is still ya-eeeee.)

Her stats: weight- 26 pounds (85%)  height- 34 inches (95%) 9 teeth (FINALLY one came in in the back, but still waiting on the others...)

Her favorite books: In A People House, He Bear, She Bear, Goodnight Moon, a book on colors with textures and smells, and Sleeping Beauty

Her favorite foods: bananas, beans, ham

Her favorite activities- reading books, taking care of stuffed animals/dolls, reading books, play peek-a-boo, read books, dance, snuggle, suck thumb while holding her corner of her blanket (each blanket has a special corner), play with brothers

She is a strong-willed girl.  She lets you know what she wants!  She yells a lot already.  Often, very often, she squeals loudly, and laughs loudly.  She is our loudest child.  But they are happy squeals, so it is hard to get mad at her.  She has to do anything her brothers do, and doesn't like to be told that she can't do things.  She loves to chase her brothers around and scream with them.  The boys are PHENOMENAL with her.  They often stop playing to chase her and run around, or wrestle.  She is so happy she screams.  They both take care of her as well, and Kevin gets her down from her chair in the kitchen, and Colin keeps her in the grass when I pick them up from daycare.  When she fusses, the boys are sometimes there before Kevin or I even ask for help.  They look out for her!

Blog Update (And Explanation)

It has been way too long since I blogged, but there is a reason.  We can not find our camera.  We had it coming home from the Kerr's, but we haven't seen it since.  And posts are not fun without pictures.  And there are a lot of things that happened in the last month.  I will do my best to update you.

McWeekend
We went to the Kerr's a few weekends ago.  It was a blast.  We all went to the BEST pumpkin patch I have ever been to.  It was huge.  It has a huge orange thing to jump on, a bunch of slides, several trains for kids to ride on, bike racing for kids and adults, logic puzzles, zip lines, a climbing wall, animals, duck races, wagon rides, and more.  It was huge.  Kevin and Steve races on the bikes, and Kevin was totally kicking butt, until he fell over on the turn.  The picture is pretty funny because he is falling and Steve is laughing while passing him.  Just imagine it.  The Kerr's have some pictures posted on their blog here.  Steve also introduced us to Gangnam Style and the game Yikers!  Needless to say, it was an epic weekend.

Marathon
Kevin ran the half marathon is the Rock and Roll Marathon here is St. Louis.  He did amazing!  His time was 1:19:42, and he got 2nd in his age group.  I got all the kids up at 5:45 so we could cheer him on twice.  It was pretty easy.  We just hopped onto the MetroLink and got off at the Grand station.  The race went right over it.  Then we got back on for one more stop and the race finish was three blocks away.  The boys played in the leaves while we waited for him to finish.  A big thank you to my mom, Downtown Grandma.  She not only helped me with the kids all day, but she let Kevin stay at her loft downtown the night before.  It makes the morning very easy when all he has to do is wake up, eat, and then walk to the starting line. The only snag was that the race started 10 minutes late.  Apparently, the Packer fans thought that all the roads were closed to make more room for their tailgating. 

Soccer
The boys had their last soccer game today.  We are so happy.  It is exhausting.  Kevin didn't really enjoy it, but Colin did.  Colin actually didn't really do much until the second to last game.  The first halves of his last two games were the best he played all season.  I think he lost focus the second halves.  Pappy Grandma came to the last game and Colin kept explaining things to her instead of playing.  He told her what his number was and what Kevin's number was.  Then he explained that he was going to sit over there on the side when he was subbed out.  Adorable.  It was better than when my dad, stepmom, and brothers came to watch.  A storm moved in and the game was cancelled.

Update on the update
I told Kevin to look under the seat in my car.  He found the camera.  Pictures to follow, and more blogs!  I'm back, baby!