Kids on Track

Well, we completed 26.2 miles over the course of 10 weeks this summer. WOW! This was actually our second summer of "running." I use the term "running" a bit loosely because some ran, some walked. They completed the distance though and that is the important thing!

The marathon is sponsored by a local museum called the "Youzeum." Here the kids learn all about healthy eating and exercise. It has been a wonderful program and the kids are always talking about making good choices.

Here are some pictures of the kids at the finale. We ran 1.2 miles around the "quad" on MU campus. They finished with prizes and free admission to the Youzeum. It was a great time!

Before....all smiles!

After.....well, three out-of-four smiling faces!

TableRock Lake Vacation

Learning to Ski

Brendan Owen Emma

Aunt Kim and Lauren came over and we finally got some pics of the kids skiing. I spent several days hanging out in the water helping the kids learn. Emma did it to do it and be like the boys but once she was successful, that was enough for her:-) Brendan and Owen loved skiing and kept at it, each wanting to out-do the other.

Their cheerleader

Claire, who usually loves flips and going fast and such, is much more reserved when it comes to the water. This year she put her head under and even slid into the water from the tube (her version of "jumping in"). However, she still is not interested in tubing or skiing or even jumping in off the dock. She will sit for hours and watch the other three ski or tube, not complaining once!

Tubing

Since Claire wasn't interested in tubing, we decided to buy a tube that would fit the other three all at once. This way it meant more riding and less time switching for all three. Thought this pic was cool by the bridge. I wish I was able to capture some better action shots because one would often tumble or fly off once they got outside the wake. Good times!

Boating

Hiking at Roaring River State Park

We went on a 2 mile hike in 90 degree heat. Everyone did great! Had a couple skinned knees, but found lots of rocks to climb on, made it to Devil's Kitchen (where Darran and kids are above) and enjoyed a splash of water from a fresh spring to cool off with. We had a picnic lunch and visited the trout hatchery after our big hike. What a fun day!

Silver Dollar City

I have no cute pics to go with this, as my camera ran out of batteries (boo!). Anyway, this was actually our first trip to SDC in all the years we have been going to Branson and Shell Knob. We ended up going for their Moonlight Madness, which is totally the way to go! You get to go from 5-10pm for only $20pp. You beat the heat and the crafts, but the kids were only interested in the rides and the funnel cakes anyway:-) Brendan and Owen went on Thunderation with Darran, which is an official make-your-face-go-pale ride for Owen, especially if you ride it backwards. He decided to stick with me and the girls after that and we hung out in the kiddie ride area while the big boys went on Wildfire and Powdered Keg. We all rode the log ride and the younger three and I went back a second time. We didn't make it out of Branson before they fell asleep!