June

 It was nice to slow down a little in June, but we still had some summer adventures. 

We went to the Albia rodeo and got to see some brand new lambs. It was fun to cheer on the Snakenburgs with team roping and barrels. 

Tanner surprised the kids with a go-cart and they have had a blast zipping around the property. 

Asa got to play whiffle ball with the big boys at Wednesday night activities and he took his position very seriously. 

Josie found a nest of baby rabbits and we had fun snuggling them before moving them to a safe place for their momma to find. 

We decided to be brave and take the whole family tent camping for the first time since Eliza was a baby. 

First we stopped at Onondaga Cave State Park and took a little cave tour. The kids loved their first cave experience. Then we took a windy back country road to Johnson Shut Ins State Park. Our campsite was one that you had to walk into and the kids were such good helpers packing everything in. 

Asa insisted on taking this loaf of bread the whole way. What should have been a five minute walk turned into fifteen, but we were in nature to slow down, right? 

It started to drizzle just as we were setting up camp so Tanner made the tent the first priority. We made a fire and roasted some hotdogs and just as we had finished dinner and setting up the tent, the rain came pouring down and it didn't stop all night. But thanks to Tanner's tent skills, we all stayed dry. 

Asa was thrilled with the sleeping situation. He kept flipping on everyone's beds, every once in a while he would miss the pads and conk his head on the wooden platform, but he'd jump right back up and keep going. We finally had to basically hold him down for him to fall asleep. 

We woke up the next morning to more rain so we spent the morning around the campground waiting for it to clear. 

The kids loved the creek by our campsite. 

After lunch we headed to the shut ins. Asa fell asleep so I sat in the car and worked on my Father's Day talk while Tanner took the other kids down to the river. 

When Asa woke up we headed down and showed up just in time to rescue Vivi and Eliza. They had quite the tale of Dad trying to hold back the water with his body so they could get through narrow passages more safely. I was grateful I got there when I did. But the story made for a good analogy in my talk. Tanner and the older three continued down the river while I went up to calmer water with the younger three. Asa spent the time throwing rocks in the river like it was his job. One right after the other. Mariah and Austin had a scary moment through one chute but besides some bumps, bruises and a little emotional trauma, they came out alright. Apparently the higher water levels from all the rain made the water stronger. 

After the shut ins, we headed to Elephant Rock

At first the big kids were so tired from the shut ins I didn't know if they were going to do much climbing, but they caught their second wind and were soon running and climbing all over the place. 

We went on a hike that ended up being a lot longer than we thought and towards the very end it started to pour. But that didn't dampen our spirits and we had fun learning all about quarries and granite and mushrooms, thanks to some people who were foraging and willing to show us their haul. 

We went back to our campground and enjoyed time around the fire without any rain. I've decided that a toddler and campfire don't really mix, and Mariah, Tanner, and I spent all our time trying to keep Asa alive. But there were small pockets of time where I almost felt like I was relaxing. It was nice. 

We slept much better that night, exhaustion will do that to ya. Asa was still excited about the sleeping situation, but I was able to turn some classical music on my phone and he calmed right down and fell asleep. We woke up the next morning to rain, surprise surprise. But we were able to pack up fairly quickly and after showers we headed out. We stopped at the cousins in Kirksville on the way home for dinner and then headed back to our own beds. 

Tanner got to baptize a dear friend on Father's Day and my talk went well. We are all so grateful for the wonderful dad he is. 

We had more days driving the go cart, Ace, four wheelers and the neighbor's side by side. Trey was so great about taking the littles for rides. 

The oldest four got to do Missoula Children's Theater Wizard of Oz. 

Eliza was a kaleida and was so fierce and sassy and especially loved her song and dance. 

Austin was farmer Munchkin and came up with a great accent for his lines. 

Chet was the Professor and Wizard of Oz and had awesome comedic timing. 

And Mariah was such an expressive, sweet Dorothy. They had such a wonderful time. 

Asa got to sample some of Tanner's creami creations and had a pretty awesome 'stache. 

Eliza, Vivi, and Asa decided to pamper Mariah before a tea party that Eliza had decided to organize. 

I took the boys to see Annie and besides their "horribly uncomfortable" dress clothes, they really enjoyed it. Mariah watched some friends' children so they could go to the musical as well and we all had a great time driving home that night way too late. These big kids are so fun, even if they only want to wear basketball shorts.