End of Summer

School started this past week so blogging has been at a standstill until we get back into our new, busier rhythm of life. Since I can't quite accept that summer is over I decided we needed to have one more blog post of our final summer activities!  Here are some pictures our last week leading up to school. 

Everett with Great-Grandma Johnson.  

We had such a GREAT summer.  We were incredibly spoiled because the three of us were able to spend so much time together.  The school year is great in it's own way but I am already missing all of the time I got to spend with these two great Meyer men.  

Meyer Family Vacay

This summer we were able to meet up with Tom's parents, siblings, and their kids at the Lake of the Ozarks (it is located in Mid-Missouri about 3-4 hours from where we live).   We rented a house for a few days so we could enjoy some quality time together.  

Here's the view from the house.  So pretty!

A highlight of our time was seeing all of the Meyer cousins interact.  There is Moses (almost four), Leo (2 months older than Everett), and Claire (about 10 months old).  The three boys played with Hot Wheels, trains, and Legos pretty much the whole time.  It was awesome. 

We did a lot of eating! 

Baby Claire, her mom--Jen, and I. 

Uncle Tom and Claire 

Tom and E making homemade ice cream. 

The boys LOVED playing games on Grandpa and Grandma Jean's iPad/iPhones.

The weather was unseasonably cool and rainy while we were there so we didn't get to do as much swimming as we hoped, but we did get to have some fun hiking and playing at parks.

Leo and Everett just happened to wear the same shirt on the same day.  They were so cute together.

The boys were chasing each other around these old ruins at Ha Ha Tonka State Park.

We were also able to stop in Jeff City for a visit with Tom's Grandma.  She is such a wonderful lady.

It was a special treat to be with Tom's family, especially since we all live in separate cities.  It was such a blessing to have time together this summer before the busyness of school begins (only a few more day of summer...!!!). 

Summer Exploration in KC

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is a famous site in Kansas City.  The last time Tom and I took a stroll around the museum was before Everett was born.  This morning we wanted to hit up the Apple Store to inquire about purchasing an iPad so we headed to the Plaza, which is next to the museum.   After getting a tasty coffee beverage, strolling around the Plaza, and checking out the Apple Store we wanted to give E some time to play around.  We knew just the place...

There is a lot of interesting stuff inside the museum, but what is perfect for an Everett aged person are all the cool sculptures outside. 

 Everett was actually more interested in playing in the puddles of water around the giant shuttlecock than anything else (see below). 

Right after we took these pictures Everett started to get closer to the shuttlecock and then a giant beeping sound triggered and we were told to "Keep our hands off of the sculptures."  We decided it was probably time to move on to a nearby park. 

 As you can see, the boys enjoyed it.  Everett LOVES slides! It is so hard to get him to leave because he just wants to ride the slide "one more" time. 

Kansas City is a pretty cool city when you have the chance to explore it.  Last summer was CRAZY.  We were buying a house, cars, phones, etc...This summer is moving at a slower, more enjoyable pace so we're trying to live up what KC has to offer. 

cherry picking

This is the time of year to enjoy picking fresh fruits and veggies.  Cherry picking was really easy for us this year because we were able to do a small bit of it in my parent's backyard.  One of my dad's favorite treats is cherry pie and while I was growing up we would get to pick cherries off of my grandparents cherry tree to make pie for my dad.  My parents are now continuing the tradition with their grandchild (soon to be grandchildren!).  They planted a dwarf cherry tree in their backyard.  It's just a small little tree right now, which actually makes it perfect for Everett!  

My dad took Everett out yesterday and the two of them were able to pick the first round of cherries from the tree.  I wasn't sure what Everett would think but he got really into it!  He was so fast at picking the cherries that my dad and I could barely keep up with him.  His picking quickness was impressive but it actually made it tough to make sure he didn't pick the ones that were not ripe enough yet! He would have picked the tree bone dry if we would have let him!

Maybe next time we come over Granny will have a cherry pie for us???

Our First Garden

Growing up both of our parents had gardens.  I have great memories of sitting on our back porch and helping my parents prepare green beans to be canned.  Now that we are homeowners we decided it was time to do some growing of our own.  

E helping plant some flowers at the front of our house.  Nice farmer's tan buddy! 

My parents created their own raised garden beds for their house and my dad was willing to build one for us.  We decided to keep it on the smaller side since it's our first crack at gardening and we're not sure how successful we'll be.  I love the look of the raised bed and it's great for keeping rabbits away (hopefully) and for not bending over as much. Score! 

My dad built the frame of the garden with the help of "his little buddy."  Everett actually did a really great job of "helping."  He mainly handed my dad screws and played with the tape measure.  Gramps would say, "Everett, I need a screw."  Everett would sprint over to me (bearer of the screws while sitting in a lawn chair) and then he would take it straight to my dad.  This happened over and over and over again.  It was awesome. 

Tom helped fill the bottom of the bed with some of the dirt he dug out of the front when he put the terraces in.  My parents then bought a compost/top soil mixture to put in on the top to help the plants grow.  

Once the bed was built Granny took over.  To say she has a green thumb is an understatement.  She is ridiculously talented at gardening and I am clueless, so as we planted she taught me about how to plant things and care for them.  The green beans, however, were left for Everett to help plant. E dropped seeds in one by one in fistfuls and Granny helped make sure they got to where they needed to be.  

We planted tomatoes, herbs, green beans, and squash.  We're so excited to see how things progress throughout the summer. 

I love the idea of growing our own food and having a garden in our own backyard.  Let's hope I like it now that it is a reality! Ha! 

While Tom Was Working...

As Tom mentioned earlier, he did a smashing good job on landscaping our house the first week of summer.  I'll be the first to admit I was of little use...you know, being pregnant and all. So here are some things E and I did while Tom was working his tail off. 

My primary role was to keep the family fed.  Tom got me a bread machine for my birthday so we've been living it up! Homemade cinnamon rolls and panini's! It's been fun.  Do you have any good bread machine recipes for me to try?

Everett did his best to help when he could.  It's hard to see in this picture, but he has a little shovel and he's trying to help Tom move dirt.  So cute. 

Everett's primary role was to keep everyone company.  Here you can see him and Gramps both enjoying their "sippy cups."

A unique treat that Everett and I participated in was to attend the Scottish Highland Games with my parents and aunt.  My maiden name is Robertson, which is Scottish, so my parents wanted to go explore our Scottish heritage.  There were numerous Scottish games (like the caber toss--throwing a giant pole), Scottish food (I ate kettle corn, which I don't think is really Scottish), Scottish sword fights, and connecting with Scottish relatives. Oh...and there were a TON of people in kilts.  Not our thing, but kuddos to all those guys in skirts.

We have also done a lot of playing outside with family and eating ice cream!

As you can tell, E and I have done a lot of hard work this summer. :) 

Boulevard Brewery

This past weekend Bonnie's brother James invited us to join him and his girlfriend on a tour of Kansas City's own Boulevard Brewery.  Bonnie's parents and Jen's parents also joined us on the tour.  The tour itself was somewhat uneventful to me but may have been enthralling to someone who loves beer and the beer making process.  We saw a lot of metal pipes and big metal beer containers.  One thing I do remember them saying is that is takes Budweiser 12 hours to make as much beer as they make in a year.  But that doesn't really bother Boulevard because they are "craft brewers."  I didn't realize this but some of their beer is aged in barrels.Unfortunately the assembly line wasn't running since it was a Saturday.

The best part of the tour was the end when we got to sample some of the brews.

Amber and Stout were my first two choices.

James, Jen, and Jerre

James and Mike enjoying their selections.

Jen's parents Rita and Kirk

Unfortunately Bonnie had to enjoy her own special brew of Price Chopper water. This baby could be here any day now! She is at 39 weeks today!
Cheers!