California Dreamin'

Well, Matt and the grandparents arrived home late Tuesday afternoon and all were well. Matt seemed really glad to be home and we were certainly glad to have him home. He gave out lots of hugs and even a few kisses (really, he did) and he brought "surprises" for his brothers. In fact, he asked them to hide in the bedroom until he could get the gifts out and ready. He didn't want to ruin the surprise!! Owen was so excited about his gift that he just kept giving Matt hugs and saying, "Mommy, Mattchew got me a surprise in Califordna!" Ben, believe it or not, was even satisfied with his gift (he usually wants what the other person has, even if he picks it out himself). Matt, as I mentioned earlier, bought himself several gifts, but was nice enough (at least for now) to share with his brothers. We'll see how long the generosity lasts!! He told us a little about his trip, but he was really anxious to get upstairs and "introduce his new toys to his toy family". I swear, that is what he said!! That boy really enjoys his play time! We don't have much else on the agenda for the next few days other than haircuts (always a favorite of mine - yes, sarcasm again) and going to the lake. Oh, let's not forget exercise class, I wouldn't want Cornelius to feel neglected!!

Only Child

Not much going on around here the last few days. Matt is in L.A. having the time of his life. We talk every evening and he gives me an account for his days activities. So far, he has visited Warner Brother Studios, Universal Studio and Theme Park, Disney Land California Adventure Theme Park and two Angels games. Not to mention all the eating out and shopping! The first day in L.A. he got to see the big "Hollywood" sign. My mom said when he saw it, he said "We don't have to climb that big mountain, do we?" As I have said before, he's not into physical activity! Chris asked him tonight which was better, Branson or California? Each time he calls, he tells me about a new toy or game that he bought that day. I'm thinking about how much money I sent with him and I know it was gone a LONG time ago!! My parents are so sweet!! Ben went to the lake with Brian, Laura, Will and Andrew on Friday. Chris and I feel like we are on vacation with only one child to take care of all weekend! He and I went to a wedding on Saturday evening. Becauase Candy offered to take care of Owen, we had the nignt to ourselves. What a treat! Ben came home today and we had Chris' parents and brother's family over for dinner. We were celebrating his mom's birthday and we had a nice time visiting. We are all looking forward to Matt's return on Tuesday. We should have some good stories and hopefully pictures to share! Until next time...

Greer's Ferry, Branson and Los Angeles (oh my)!

Well, we finally arrived home on Saturday night, exhausted, but home!! We had a great Fourth of July at the lake with the fam. It rained some, but we still managed to eat, swim and see fire works (that's the important stuff). On Monday (July 7), we left Greers Ferry and took off toward Branson. When we got to town, we first went to the Kirby VanBurch Magic Show. If you know anything about my boys, you know that they love magic (actually, Chris loves it too)! Well, Kirby and Bambi (his wife), did not disappoint. The show was very entertaining, and the boys were amazed. He even made a 500 pound White Siberian Tiger disapper from the stage. He switched heads on his assistants and also on a chicken and a duck! But the biggie was when he made a helicopter "magically" appear in the middle of the stage! Big hit! However, the boys did manage to spend ALOT of money at this show. They had to have magic landing lights (3), a stuffed tiger (1), an instructional dvd (1) and a "magic" coloring book. Ben even stood in line to get a picture and autograph from Bambi! After leaving the show, we went and settled in at the hotel and let the boys swim a while before dinner. Later, we met Candy, Ralph, the girls and my cousin's family (live in Springfield) at Branson Landing for a nice steak dinner and a light show at the promenade. We ended the night with ice cream! Tuesday was White Water day. We got to the park bright and early and spent the day playing on all the attractions. I actually spent the ENTIRE day in the kiddie pool and lazy river with Owen. Chris and Ralph took the bigger kids on all the slides and stuff, and poor Candy laid in the lounger ALL day and read a book (she also got to take a nap)! Who takes a nap a white water with 5 KIDS!!! That night we had pizza and more swimming to celebrate Anna's 10th birthday! On Wednesday morning, we woke up to rain so we did some inside stuff. We first went to the Bass Pro Shop and explored the area and looked at the cool aquarium. Next, we took the boys to a Dinosaur Museum (big, big, hit with Matt) and lunch at Joe's Crab Shack. Just so you know, not all of the boys enjoyed the dinorsaur museum. My little red haired, blue eyed middle child was afraid of the dinosaur replicas and hid behind me the ENTIRE time we were there (not to mention the crying)! Once we left, it stopped raining enough to try Silver Dollar City. However, once we drove out to the park and got parked and trammed inside, it had begun raining again. All the rides were closed so we just looked around at all the "old time stuff" for a couple of hours. We went back to SDC on Thursday, and were able to ride some rides. Matthew braved the roller coasters with Candy, but Ben and Lilli cried when they tried to ride one (imagine that). Matthew said that the rides were "extreme". Owen rode the kiddie stuff, but he was not vey patient while standing in line! Anyway, we ended the trip by traveling back to the lake and spending two more days on the water. We were readay to get home.

However, our latest big news is that Matthew left today for LA. This was his first time flying on a plane and he was so excited. In fact, while I have been writing this message, Matt called and said that they had just landed and were getting off of the plane. He even got a set of "wings" since it was his first time flying! He said he got to see the city lights as the plane was landing. I am so excited for him as his dream is to go to Hollywood!

As you can tell, I haven't posted any pictures of our trip b/c I forgot to download them from the camera before I sent the camera on a trip to California! I'll put picutres up as soon as Matt gets back-maybe he'll have some cool stuff to post by then! Until next time...

Branson or Bust!

We are getting ready for a long holiday. First, we are headed to the lake for a fourth of July celebration with the entire King and Keton clans. Then, on Monday, we are headed to Branson (along with Candy, Ralph and the girls). We have never taken the boys to Branson (Chris doesn't enjoy long car rides with the kids), so this will be a new experience for us. On Monday, we are going to see the Kirby VanBurch Magic show. Our boys love magic (Matthew puts on a pretty good amataur show) so we hope this will be a big hit (Chris really likes magic too and is looking forward to the show). Tuesday, we will be celebrating Anna Grace's birthday and visiting White Water. I know the kids will love this as they are all water babies! Wednesday, we are off to Silver Dollar City for some more family fun. We will end the trip on Thursday with a visit to the Bass Pro Shop (I do live with 4 boys, you know). If we have any time (and $) left, we are going to try to work in the Dinosaur Museum. The boys LOVE dinosaurs (Matthew can give you specific details abot several different species), so I hope it works out. Wish us luck, as we are not used to being cooped up together for such a long period of time (O.K., I am, but Chris isn't)! Therefore (Chandra), I won't be posting for a few days. I'll hopefully have some stories and pictures to share when we return. Until then...