If only weekends were longer.....

This weekend, instead of being at the Lake of the Ozarks we were at Mark Twain Lake with our boat. we organized a gathering with the Pollard's, Jeremy, and the Love family to meet out at the lake. Since the Pollard's live in Burlington, IA it's not exactly in the middle but close enough. As the day was going to be ridiculously hot we decided to be on the water by 10 and off by 3 or so. The Pollards left by 3:30 but we stayed until about 5. Most of the day was in the water because it was just too hot. We found a great cove spot, had a good lunch, and did some skiing/kneeboarding/tubing to end the day.



Here are Abby and Megan being forced to drink some juice boxes before they can get back in the water. Abby is getting braver and braver with jumping off the back of the boat. She is up to the top step on the ladder. Maybe next week she'll finally jump off the swim platform!




This is actually Megan and Abby on our tube. They are in the middle of course and we are maybe going 5 mph tops. They were loving it and didn't want to get off, but Megan was starting to fall asleep so it was time to pull them off. This is the first time they have rode it together - and asked to do it!! I see a lot more tubing in our future with the girls. When Abby got off the first thing she said was that she wanted to go tubing with her friend Ashley and go "medium" speed.


(out of order photos for some reason) - I actually won a radio call in for a free dozen of roses. The girls picked them out for me. Bet you thought Tim got them for me.........nope.

Suellen, Tim, and Justin relaxing on their boat.

We had a great day on the water. It still amazes me how much the girls are enjoying the boat and swimming in the lake and how adapted they are to it all. I know I was not lake friendly at all when I was 4.

Weekend with Grandma Papke

This past week Grandma Papke came down to Columbia to spend time with the girls while the men were fishing up in WI and to also help while I took my CPP re-certification exam (which I passed - yeah!). She came down on Tuesday evening and got plenty of Barbie, princess, and animated movie time with the girls. If she has to watch Shrek Forever After again I think it will be too soon. Thanks to her help I completed my test on time by Friday and in celebration we headed to the mall for some pedicures....


The girls both got their nails painted - "tops and bottoms" as Abby likes to say. This was Megan's first time getting her nails done.


As you can see - she is a pro - however all the cute nail polish on her hands was peeled off before the afternoon was over. I think she has maybe 1 or 2 nails still there if that.

Being silly and drying things off even more.

What trip to the mall would be complete without a ride on the carousel? Grandma got to ride along with the girls. She left on Saturday morning though and everyone was sad to see her go. There have been many questions on when her and Grandpa will be coming back and when will we be going to their house to play with their Barbies.....

A little belated shout out to my sister-in-law Colleen whom celebrated her birthday yesterday.

Also a belated congrats to Carrie Miller (yes I know your last name is Sims - but it doesn't roll off the tongue as well) - who welcomed her baby boy - William Vincent Sims this past week.

Also a Happy 2nd Anniversary to my brother Andrew and his wife Rebekah - how time flies.

4th of July

We hope everyone had a great 4th of July - because we certainly did! We headed down to the Cowan Lake house on Friday evening - surprisingly with no traffic issues so that was a miracle to start with. We started off with a BBQ - and just relaxed and unpacked. Saturday morning we hit the lake early for some tubing and skiing before the lake got really choppy - which happened relatively quickly due to the GREAT weather we had all weekend. So after about an hour on the lake we headed back and just hung out at the cove and on the dock. Lots of sun - even Jenn and Tim mentioned that I even look tan - which never happens - I just burn randomly. Saturday evening we went to the Slenker house for their annual fish fry. Catfish, crappie, walleye - it was all there for the taking along with some excellent sides! Since the kids had been out playing all day it involved some crashing early - so we had to leave only after a couple of hours. Megan had "lake ass" as we like to describe it and wasn't feeling so great. Then due to the fried fish/deviled eggs/beer/etc. the men had some room clearing aromas of their own - thankfully the ladies went to the outlet mall to return a few things and missed out on that.

Sunday morning was about the same - we got out on the boat early to ski - only to be surrounded by more idiots on the water not paying attention to what they were doing. When it was all said and done and we headed back to the house - as Dave said - it was like playing Frogger. We did a little swimming then headed to the Resnik house to cove it out for a while - one word for you there - Margaritas!!! A storm threatened - but all that did was clear off most of the lake so we had a smoother ride home. Dave made a fabulous pork loin, Megan ate all of my corn on the cob - which if you know me, I love corn on the cob so sharing was rough - thankfully there were extras. We took the boat out to watch fireworks at Captain Ron's only to get rained on but still saw the show then the rain stopped and the Cowan Fireworks Festivities began. Of course we have front row seats - they are more like directly under the fireworks so you are looking straight up. Megan wanted to go to bed halfway through but Abby made it to the end.

Monday we all hit the road early but got a few pictures of the girls in the 4th outfits.


Ashley, Megan, and Abby


Hugging it out for the camera.

1st attempt with Allison in a picture.

2nd attempt with Allison in a picture - she just wasn't a happy camper that afternoon, it was time for a nap.

Abby and Ashley - best buds photo.

We loaded up the boat and the kids and headed back to Columbia - only to get to clean the boat - it was due for a wash. Tim is fishing with the Papke men in WI this week so if there are any big fish photos - I'll let you know. It will be hard to live up to last year's catches. Grandma Papke will be heading down to Columbia for the week to spend some time with the girls. They couldn't be more excited that there are 0 more sleeps until she is here.

Happy 4th to all!

GBS Girls Weekend

This past weekend was our annual "GBS Girls Weekend" down at the Lake of the Ozarks. We had our usual crowd, minus Leann unfortunately - Saskatoon was a little far to go for a weekend trip.

We all arrived Thursday evening and ate at Tres Hombres (oddly enough my request for Mexican if you can believe that! They have the best Queso dip!) Then we went back to the Cowan house to unload our gear, have some more beverages and catch up. Friday morning - fishing was attempted by Greg and Tim only to get rained on. Thankfully the storm passed quickly and we took both our boat and Dave's (or Ashley's boat as the kids say) to Scott's house for the day. The lake was empty so we got to use our boat to tube and ski without any issues. The afternoon was spent at Scott's chilling at the dock, enjoying margaritas, BBQ & friends.
Friday night we had babysitters and the adults got to go to the Trail House for dinner and then Hollywood Dolly's for a revisit of New Years a couple years ago.

Saturday was a cove day - the morning was rained out for any skiing/tubing but we were going to go out at noon one way or another. After a trip back for the anchor - we made it to a new cove suggested by our friends for an afternoon of more beverages and friends and good times. The sun even managed to peak out at us in the afternoon to make it just a little bit warmer.

Sunday (of course the warmest day of the weekend) we had breakfast at Captain Ron's and then the group had to depart for the drives/flights. Since we don't have that long of a drive we got to enjoy some time at the swim dock at the Cowan's house with the Taris family plus Jess/Rob. The sun was out and the water felt very good. Megan even went down the slide multiple times and there were some wave runner rides for the kids to enjoy.

On our trip back to Columbia Tim decided we should eat at Shakespears (and who am I to argue with that?) so we hooked up with the Slenker family for pizza and then ice cream at Shaky's - which is where the photo of the girls comes in to play as they always like to get their picture with the bulldog. It was a nice ending to a great weekend.

Now we just need to catch up on all the laundry, sleep, cleaning, and detoxing from all the food and drinks.




Happy Birthday to my Mom who turned another year older on Saturday. They spent the weekend in Chicago with my two brothers and their wives for some Chi-town fun. However from what I hear Mr. Trump needs to work on the service level at his Tower......better hop to it Donald.

Father's Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day and showered the much deserving Dad's with love and maybe a couple gifts. We spent Father's Day on Mark Twain Lake with Tim's family and had a great time. Didn't get any pictures though - you'll have to ask Pam or Betsy for some photos of the tubing or Theo (pretending) to drive the boat. This was his first time on the boat - he's more of a captain than anything else. The water was a little cold in the cove we swam in - which we figured out last night after wards that it was close to a spring fed area so that's why it was colder. The water was actually warmer in the main channel. After the boating we had a family meal at the Rustic Cabin then headed back to Columbia.


So these photos are from Saturday. Since it was Father's Day weekend - why not do a project with Mom :)


Home Depot was having their monthly Kid's workshop - which we have yet to participate in due to our crazy schedules. So I packed up the kids and headed to Home Depot so we could make our tool boxes. The girls are all outfitted with their "tools" and kits for the tool boxes. I do have to say they are ridiculously cute - I could be biased.


We are almost done with the constructing. I'm trying to help both with the hammering - but still let them do it.



That's where our trusty Home Depot associate Blake comes in to assist so we can get both girls hammering.


Last step is the Ryobi stickers that came with the kit.

Finished - and proud of our work. They also cleaned up their work stations too if you noticed.

The girls also got certificates of completion which they proudly showed their Dad when they got home.

And since we are girls we had to paint our toolboxes.

Saturday afternoon we had a birthday party for the girls, dinner with friends, and then some serious crashing. Sunday was much the same, but well worth it for time with the family on the boat.

Big Cedar Weekend

This past weekend the Schmidt and Cowan families headed down to Ridgedale, MO and Table Rock Lake for a weekend of fun at Big Cedar. We brought our boat down too so there could be some fishing and boating as well. We made it down to Rogersville Thursday evening and spent the night at the Cowan house and then headed out early Friday morning to enjoy the resort.
We did our owner's update while Jenn bravely stayed with the kids in the Kid's room, ate lunch at Devil's Pool, finally got the boat in the water and in the slip (had some technical issues with all the high water and finding a boat ramp that was deep enough), went swimming at the pools, and then took a sunset boat ride. It was a VERY busy day.



Saturday morning Tim and Dave went fishing - so of course we had all the kids and went and played at the park for a while, then decided to attempt to take them to the stables to do a pony ride. Ashley had been very excited about it.


First we had to pick out our Cowgirl Barrel Racer outfits that were part of the package.

Here is Ashley on "Chester". She was all smiles and very excited about the trip.

Megan is watching with a not so happy look on her face.


Here is Abby on her ride with Chester - this is actually the after photo as she was throwing a fit before and didn't want to ride until they started going and she had a great time. Just have to trust mom every now and then.......


This was Megan's close encounter with Chester - no riding actually took place. She wasn't going to do it. So Ashley and Abby got to take another shorter ride since they wanted to and it was easier than waiting to get our money back from Megan freaking out and not wanting to ride.


The girls with Chester.

We all piled back in to the Cowan Yukon XL - yes 4 adults, 4 car seats.

After that we headed out for the afternoon on the boat. Did some skiing, some swimming, and Tim attempted to wakeboard. It didn't exactly work out - so if anyone knows how to wakeboard feel free to let us know because we don't have a clue.

After boating we had to go swimming again. The girls discovered they actually liked the slide at the pool. Megan had been going down it from the first day, you couldn't stop her, she is fearless. Abby and Ashley however took a little longer to figure out they liked it.
We ended the evening with a great dinner at Devil's Pool and the Dad's took the older girls Miniature golfing while the Mom's took the younger ones to bed.

Sunday - enter rain storm. Tim and Dave were smart enough to get the boat out of the water instead of going fishing so they were back home at the cabin before the downpour. Then since they are good husbands, they took the girls (except Allison) and played while Jenn and I got to do a little shopping and be kid free for a couple hours. It was well enjoyed :)

We had a great time and enjoyed having the boat on Table Rock as our last vacation there is the reason we bought the boat.

On Tuesday Tim and I celebrated our 8th Wedding Anniversary - hard to believe I know. It doesn't seem like we have been married that long, and we still remember our wedding day very well and all the activities. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes.

First T-Ball Game

This Monday was our first T-Ball game for Abby and the Yellow/Gold team. Not sure if we actually have a team name yet, we just got the shirts last night as well before the game. Abby is #21 if you couldn't tell, her shirt was a little big so it's tied in the back with a hair tie to keep it from getting in the way. She batted 2nd and played short stop and 2nd base.

To explain the rules of T-ball:
The whole team bats at once.
You run the bases no matter what - just one base at a time until the last batter is up then they, and everyone left of base runs as if it's a home run to clear the bases.
No one is ever out, even if you really are.
Your team gets to bat 3 times.

What really happens at T-ball:
Lots of hugging/talking with the other team as they were in your preschool class and you haven't seen them for a week.
Running all the bases isn't necessary - sometimes 2nd to home is acceptable.
Throwing the ball in the general direction of first is as good as it gets.
Everyone chases ground balls like it's a soccer game.
The pitcher's mound is not a base, but feel free to run to it in-between your jaunt from 2nd to 3rd.



Here she is on deck waiting for her first at bat.


1st at bat - batting right handed this time. Undercut the ball a few times then hit a nice grounder through the infield - which isn't hard to do as most kids just let the ball go by.



2nd at bat - this time we are left handed. She hasn't figured out which is more comfortable. Coach Matt just let's her go with it.


Megan was a good cheerleader and stayed occupied during most of the game and spent some time in the dug out "cheering" the team on while they were in the field. I was just happy she stayed off the field. I heard all to many times "I want to play ball!" I am sure her time will come.

Abby's last at bat - yes she will pose at the on deck spot for you. Always one for the cameras, and this time batted right handed again.

Lining up after the game to "high five" the other team. Abby has the yellow hat on.

Shaking hands with the green team.

Thank goodness for the other coaches that assisted getting the kids through the bases. Sometimes they pay attention, sometimes the don't. When the other kid shows up at your base, then it's time to run.

It was quite an entertaining game and the best part was that everyone had a good time. Abby can't wait for her next game. We are very proud of her.