Kansas City bound!

Scott's brother Aaron got married April 25th. Only a few weeks before did we decide that I would drive ahead while Scott and Levi flew in. Addilyn and I started our drive the Wednesday before and made it to Clarksville Tn for the night. We had a lot of fun together. Addilyn is super easy so it made for a good trip. Did I mention our dog Lily came too?

We stopped in Knoxville at the World's Fair park. It was a little less exciting then what I was hoping for. But it was really good to get out and walk around.

After the park Addilyn passed out. It took her some time to find a position to get comfortable in but she managed. We then stopped in Nashville at the Centennial Park. They have a life replica of the Greek Parthenon. Addilyn spent her time swinging. That night we stayed in a hotel with the Western's who were also driving in for the wedding from Atlanta. The kids went swimming in the ice cold pool and we ate Chinese.

Our second day of driving was slightly less eventful. We stopped in Mt Vernon, Illinois to pick up our Illinois state badge for geocaching. The pics below are of the cache- I had higher hopes for it but Addilyn liked it.

We drove straight to Grandma and Grandpa's store and got in about 5:20. Grandma was with a customer and saw us walk in and was in so much shock! They were the only ones who didn't know that we were coming. She went into the back to get Rand who was in the office and he really couldn't believe we were there! That night we had a fire and roasted hot dogs. Everyone but the Meldrum's and Scott/Levi were there. 

Friday morning the kids played outside and did some kickball. Addilyn was not interested to say the least... We picked up Scott and Levi at the airport about 1pm. We then went back to the store. Scott and I had never seen the store before this trip. Levi gave grandpa the biggest hug ever. Scott was put to work trying to fix a leak in the sink. After we went and got some BBQ with Uncle Morie and then checked into the hotel. Thankfully the pool there was warmer and I was able to spend some much needed quality time in the water. 

For dinner we went to Pizza Street and ate with the bride's family who came in from Arkansas. That night everyone went to the church to set up for the luncheon for the following day. Shirley and I went back to the hotel with the kids and  put them to bed!

All ready!

The kids hung out at the church across the street during the sealing. It was so nice and there was a lot of family there. The last time we were at this temple was when Addilyn was 3 weeks old! She was just blessed and the temple was still under construction. It's a beauty!

cuties

The sealing was at 9am, so afterwards the kids were still cooperative for photos. When we had woken up that morning it was a downpour. Thankfully the rain subsided long enough for us to enjoy the temple and take some photos. Then it came right back.

The luncheon was BBQ and delish. We had some entertainment by Scott's youngest brother Isaac who sang a song for the couple. They had their first dance and we all danced. 

After the luncheon everyone went to Arkansas for a reception except for the Busby's (who came in from California) and our family started our treks home. We needed to get back for Scott to go to work on Monday. Saturday night we stopped just past Paducah KY for the night. 

We spent a couple hours in Nashville at the same park but went around to different parts that Addilyn and I didn't get to go to. This included the majority of the park... We stopped at the dog park and let me tell you, Levi was in HEAVEN. Lily was a wuss. But I don't blame her because apparently it was "big dog Sunday". There was a group who met up who all have mastiff's. Or as Scott called them horses. They loved Levi. We ate leftover BBQ from the wedding for lunch and then made our way home. We got in about 9:30pm and were in bed by 11 after unloading the car. 

As for that drive, I had to drive a good chunk of it because if I wasn't, I had to pee more often then when I was driving. All of our potty breaks were initiated by me for obvious reasons! It was a fun and fast trip. The family had a kick that I even made the trip out because I was due in less then a month. But my friend said that either I would regret it....or it'd make for a good story. 

4th of July!

[[Okay- so these first few pictures are not from the 4th...]]

Scott's work went paint balling again in April. They had a strict not plus ones this year. BUT they order too many paint balls (like 1/2 of what they got was left over, roughly 15 boxes full). So they organized an off the record group to go and I came! I was pretty nervous because unlike the other times I've gone, this time we were playing with those who were just at the place. That means, you could be up against kids who: 1) play all the time 2) have really nice guns that hurt and 3) are just really good. It ended up not being so bad. There was just one time that I had a close encounter with one of these guys- My glasses had fogged up and I was hunkering down trying to wipe them so I could see. The kid ran up and aimed his turbo gun at me and told me to surrender. After the game he said if I was a guy he would have just shot me point blank (10 feet away). THANK YOU GIRL CARD.

Also, I designed the shirts for Scott's work tournament. They had ordered too many so they gave a few to the workers there. Two of them were wearing them the day we came- so I asked if I could take a picture. Of course.

Our 4th of July weekend was so much fun! The Westerns pulled up late Thursday night and stayed through Sunday. On the 4th we went to Old Salem. They had a few activities outside and the kiddos really loved it. They also did one of our favorite geocaches in a tunnel. The girls were panicked but after the fact said it was the coolest.

bro/sis throwdown

Afton, Addilyn, Eila

Pretty sure that Addilyn and Eila could be twins. I always say that and probably always will. Addi is right in between Afton and Eila in age.

Olivia jumpin in the picture!

playing some games

naturalization ceremony

cuties!

The weather could not have been more perfect. It was sunny, 70's and with a breeze. We totally lucked out! Did I mention the humidity was cut in half? There was a tropical storm leading up to the weekend and the humidity was unbearable. Once that storm cleared up it was heavenly. After Old Salem we went to some awesome New York Pizza at Marios for lunch. YUM.

My kitchen helpers for dinner- Levi and Ammon.

Aunt Shirley reading a book to the girls

Scott had woken up at 5:30am to throw in our pork in the dutch oven and put it in the oven. It roasted all day on low. We had some friends over for dinner and the menu included: pulled pork on buns, corn on the cob, baked beans, watermelon, cole slaw, green beans, and lemonade. SO GOOD. Desert was a blackberry cobbler and ice cream. Scott had picked the berries himself. 

The only fireworks we did were sparklers for the girls. Addilyn wanted nothing to do with them in the beginning. After a short while though she got into them and loved it. We also sang happy birthday to Shirley (which was a few days later)

hating it

loving it

Saturday we took the Westerns to our new favorite park- Dan Nicholas! Which it seems every other post I have done lately includes that park! Everyone had SO much fun. We had wonderful weather again and everything went really well.

checking out the turtles...

The highlight probably of the whole weekend was this bear. He was just hanging out eating grass and then decided to take a swim, while we were standing on the other side of the glass! It was so neat.

Levi demolished this peach.

train ride!

Ammon and Levi