Summer's Summary

What can I say?  It has been a very busy summer at the Murphy house and blogging just never made it to the top of my list.  I find that I'm notorious for trying to cram as much as I can into our summer vacation before I have to sit still and focus on school.  I procrastinate on my "work projects" until the last month or so and I tend to pay for that.  I do feel good about the rooms painted, stairs stained, carpeting replaced and flower beds built.  The cupboards are stocked full of home-canned food grown by the sweat of our brow and the blessing of God. 

Don't worry, we had plenty of fun to fill our summer days as well.  You can see we made a couple trips to the local bowling alley for some air-conditioned play.  The kids all returned to summer camp for some of their favorite memories with friends they only see this one time each year.  We also welcomed our friends, the Morby's, for another annual reunion of our boys who were so close back in Ethiopia.  That's always a gift to us.

This summer was also marked by more fishing than usual.  I can say my man hauled in a large amount of fish AND did the honors of deliciously frying it up for supper.  What talent!  This photo shows that I can actually fish as well but we won't focus on that. :)

Aunt Laura made a trip to town for a weekend packed with swimming, fishing, Civil War reenactments, garden harvesting and hours of watching her favorite zombie show (very eye-opening).  I'm not sure how we actually crammed so much into a 3 day weekend, oh yeah - we didn't get much sleep.

 

Below shows the kids camping  out with Dad in the backyard.  They had so much fun making this memory with him and he was quite a trooper since he wasn't feeling well before it even began.  You can imagine he felt MUCH worse after the campout. :)  I almost felt bad for sleeping in my own bed, almost... 

Well it's been good for me to recount some of our summer here.  It's easy for me to think that this whole summer was represented by 100 degree temperatures and severe drought.  Just goes to show that we need to count our blessing so we will remember that we do have them.

College Reunion

1990 at Cedarville College

Maribeth, Me, Casey & Kelly

2012  - Not bad for 22 years huh? 

Our hair has definitely improved!

What a blessing it was to reconnect with my college friends after all these years.  It was actually 12 years ago we saw each other at Casey's wedding but we've shared our friendship for much longer.  Maribeth opened up her home to the rest of us and we stayed up all night to talk (thanks Maribeth).  How incredible to hear what God has done in everyone's lives over the years and what struggles He has carried us through.  Hearing about job struggles, big moves, adoptions (ours aren't the only ones), parenting challenges, extended family developments and marriage lessons learned - it was like our own mini-women's retreat!   I think it's safe to say that we all came home with a refreshed spirit and a thankfulness for God's goodness to us over the years.  A gift we hope to rekindle each summer from now on!

Grandma's visit

It's been a year and a half since Grandma's last visit and the kids were SO excited to have her come out to stay with us again.  She had very full and difficult challenges during that time as she cared for and said her final farewells to her parents.  We knew that she needed some time to rest so we stayed close to home for the most part and everyone reconnected. 

Here you see Jaybird teaching her some new computer skills on the laptop.  I hope my kids are willing to teach me these skills someday as I know they are surpassing my limited technology skills already.  Grandma had to learn some new card games as well since they are a favorite pastime around here.  We kept her busy as well playing tennis, bowling, golf and even dancing the night away.... on the wii.  She did pretty well for a first timer.

Farewells at the train station were hard but we trust God will bring her back for another visit before long. 

Silver Dollar City

Our last full day of vacation we went to Silver Dollar City Amusement Park.  I've heard of this place for years and now I know why.  It was more than just rides but more like entering a whole little world of its own.  The kids were so excited to ride the rides but we were surprised how much effort it took to convince some of them to try the more exciting rides.  Before long they were enjoying most of them, including this roller coaster which was their favorite - Thunderation. 

Aunt Susie was a total trooper as she got soaked (unexpectedly) while on one ride and then agreed to ride with the kids on all the other "soaking rides".  It really wasn't hot that day so I wasn't at all interested in getting drenched.  Once again she truly is the amazing, Aunt Susie.  The ride above was an easy ride but apparently, anyone walking by can aim water cannons at you and drench you to amuse themselves.  You can shoot back but really, you are a sitting duck!

Down below was a River Rafting one that also allowed people to shoot water at you, only not for free.  I was surprised to see people plunk down a bunch of quarters to squirt total strangers with water.  I'm sure there is something interesting to say here about misplaced agression or something. :)  Anyway, the kids loved it all. 

You can see that even the youngest had fun riding the coasters.  No one was willing to ride an upside down coaster but most other rides were no problem.  It was a great day topped off with some incredible BBQ - all we could eat.  This was quite the grand finale on a very fun week.

So Many Laughs

This week was full of so many laughs together, that was my favorite part.  Lots of new experiences provided some of those laughs.  Check out this zipline we rode (at least the little bit we caught on camera).  While not as long (or as awesome) as the one I did with my Big Sis last year, it was perfect for the kids and daring as well at 178 feet off the ground and a half mile long.

Grandma & Grandpa were the champion mini-golfers.  It was also evident that playing "wii golf" does not translate into great "real golf" skills.  :)   We had a fun time though with our multi-generational fun.  And aren't these lovebirds beautiful?

Even more fun was playing Lazer Tag as a family.  Watching my parents sneak through a maze and shoot at my kids, all-American fun.  We laughed so hard, we were in tears.  There were a few collisions as well but no one was hurt.  They kept score of our hits and our "wounds" and it was amusing to note that Jaybird won the whole thing by over double the points of anyone else (though I was in second place I might add).

Water battles for the kids were fun to watch but the go-karts were even better.  The kids were actually stressed out at first as a bunch of teenagers were tearing up the course and crashing into each other.  Our kids much preferred the slow and peaceful drive to all that excitement, who would have thought?

It was an all-around good day with fun family memories and a ton of laughs!

 

More Branson Fun

I just wanted to post some more photos of the fun times we had in Branson.  Above is the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Factory.  The kids loved watching the process and we ALL loved the tasting.  YUM!  It's a good thing we don't have one of these places near home.

One afternoon we went to "Ride the Ducks" which was pretty cool.  The old WWII amphibious vehicles were cool all on their own but the funny driver/tour guide made it even better.  We got a taste of old military history as well as a neat ride on Table Rock Lake.  The kids even got to drive the boat for a little bit. 

These two photos are at Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede.   I wasn't sure what to expect here but it was the most fun dinner theater I've been to.  We had an excellent meal while watching an old west/variety/rodeo show and it was great.  Definitely something to see while you are in Branson.  It was pretty cool to see so many animals (especially horses) included in the show but it was a hoot to hear Boo exclaim as the buffalo came running out, "I thought those were extinct!!"  Awesome day Aunt Susie!

Our Branson Reunion

 We just returned from a wonderful reunion with my parents and sister in Branson, MO.  I wanted to share this for family who couldn't be there and also inspire any of you who have considered vacationing in Branson.  It was an incredible vacation due in part to the location but also to my big sis, Susie, who is an amazing trip planner.  She really should go into business with this gift!

I think the big thing that set this trip apart was renting this gorgeous cabin in the woods instead of having us all stay in some hotel, navigating rooms for our down time.  They were called "Amazing Branson Log Cabins" and they were so comfortable and beautiful, I almost didn't want to leave the cabin to see the sights!  Not only did it save us some money by eating most of our meals "at home" but it made for some cozy memories of cuddling on the couch with Grandpa, making yummy treats in the kitchen with Aunt Susie or enjoying the hot tub with Grandma.

By the end of the week, the kids were ready to move in - permanently! :)