Snakes and Snails...Well, just mainly snakes!

Each week this summer our library has brought in a special guest. (We've only been able to go to the last two, but they've been great!) Last week was a science show--cool chemistry and physics that kids can get into--that kind of stuff. This week there the play bill listed "Reptile Show." Cool. Christian loves reptiles! It didn't disappoint either!

The guest was a herpatologist by the name of Jeff Nieves. This man knew his reptiles and was a real-life Jeff Corwin or Crocodile Hunter. He told us about his trip to study and photograph komodo dragons (and he got up close and personal with them...along with scorpions and 18 inch centipedes too! Yikes!). And, to top it all off, he was a fabulous presenter! (See photos below of some of the faces he was making while holding a white rat snake--can you imagine how he was talking??)



Mr. (Dr.?) Nieves also brought along an alligator snapping turtle, a fairly large monitor lizard (see below of him grinning at it...and is it smiling back??), a baby python, a vine snake, and....

Last, but not least, meet Sampson. Sampson is a 70 pound albino anaconda. CRAZY huge reptile. Christian was in heaven. He came over to me afterwards (b/c I was sitting in the back with the other adults) and made sure I got lots' of cool pictures. Emily was a different story. She liked the non-snake reptiles and the pictures he showed. Once the snakes came out though, she was back with the grown-ups and on my lap. Kari thought it was all pretty cool...as long as my supply of pretzels and animal crackers didn't run out!

This guy has loved reptiles since he was 8 yrs old and is a very accomplished scientist. He really emphasized that he began to nurture his interest in herpatology through books and asking questions--very simple ideas for kids to understand. It was a great show and we're so glad that we were able to go!

Our Other Visitor

Well, our other visitor this week was more beautiful than just cute and she definitely wasn't fuzzy--it was my mom! Grandma Karen came for a "visit" and stayed for just about three days and even two nights!

The origin of this idea was that sure, Grandma lives in town and so we see her fairly often. However, it's usually only for a few hours at a time and it's often times over a meal or an afternoon and it's usually just a tad crazy! So, my mom thought, "Why don't I pretend that I'm coming from out of town for a visit and then we can spend some large chunks of time together, and we can all both play and relax." Sounds great to me, Mom! And it was great--even if the weather was so hot and humid that we didn't want to venture out to anywhere but the pool!

But, even the icky weather worked out okay since that gave us an excuse to have a kick-back day at home and go through some closets, re-organize some toys, all that good stuff that Mom is so fantastic at! And, as you can see from the picture below, a day of relaxation was needed for one busy little boy!
This little scenario actually repeated itself a couple of times this week! (He plays hard, he crashes harder!)Thanks for coming to "visit", Grandma Karen! My vote is that this become an annual summertime tradition! We love you!

Fuzzy Friends

We've had some fuzzy visitors lately! These caterpillars love our front flower bed. We can usually walk out our front door and find 3-4 of these little guys crawling around; at one point there were 8!

Not quite sure what type of butterfly or moth they'll will become, but they're awfully cute and the kids love how fuzzy they are!

Group Shots

Here are "The Group Shots." Now, we had meant to get pictures of each individual family, but it was 100 degrees outside (literally) and the humidity was oppressive. Not exactly condusive to a huge photo session with multiple little ones. Plus, we only had about 20 minutes to take them before Amy and Luke had to get to the airport. (And the reason we only had 20 minutes was because Cubby and Shawn got lost trying to find the movie theater to get tickets for Harry Potter!--Our one "show" that we saw in Branson! Ha!) So, we did the best we could!

Here are the "original" Lindseths...minus Peter who just got a new job and couldn't get away. We're going to try and photoshop him in :-). Here is the whole clan! Not too shabby either considering our circumstances! (And, this outdoor shot was taken on a hill that was atleast at a 45 degree angle and we were all just inches away from sliding right down it!)
And, finally, I just love this shot! Regan, Auntie Amy, and Emily look soooo similar it's spooky!

The Pool

So this is where we spent most of our time while down in Branson! And, can you blame us? This pool was fabulous and perfect for the kiddos (and the grown-up kiddos :-) ).

Emily is such a waterbug!

(Her cousins Carson and Kaden--doing the dead-man's float---were also loving it!)

Cubby took Kari down one of the slides (she wanted to!)...it was a VERY fast ride and Cubby did his best but in the end, she got dunked! Amazingly, she didn't cry...but she also didn't want to go down the slide anymore :-). Instead, Kari enjoyed being thrown back and forth!

Kari has also joined the Waterbug League

And here is Christian! He had a great time being Scubba-Steve... And blasting everyone with his new water-gun from Granmda and Grandpa.

Here's a fun little group shot--happy campers..er, swimmers!

Ride the Duck--a Trip Through Dantes' Inferno

Here's the group before the trip...all smiles! (Well, mostly...we're a big group!)
This is the Duck-mobile (with us in it)

QUACK!!!!
While in Branson, we did the "Ride the Duck" tour. Now, the online reviews were all very positive; and, if it hadn't been over 100 degrees outside, it would've been a tad more enjoyable for us as well!

Now, granted, we knew it was going to be hot. How hot, however, we had no idea! Never-the-less, we made the best of it and honestly, most of the kiddos were impervious to the heat and humidity. (The adults and babies knew better and we were oh-so grateful for the air conditioning upon our return!)

Here we are on the outset--trying to keep it cool in the shade!

Emily and Reagan (and Auntie Amy looking chic in the background)

Daddy and Christian--

By the end of the trip, the late-night fun and the heat combined to put Christian into a coma-like nap.

The highlight of the trip for the kiddos was getting to "drive" the Duck! We went out on Table Rock Lake and each kiddo got to take a turn at the wheel. (It was honestly all I could do not to jump ship into the cool water!)

Here's Cubby's brother, Shawn, and baby Sovie--poor thing, she's just so chunky and it made it that much tougher to cool down.

They were pouring water down her legs to try and help keep her more comfortable!

And, finally, here's Miss Kari, drinking her juice with her oh-so-rosy cheeks. All of the kids (and adults!) were real troupers but everyone definitely needed a rest once we got back to the cabin.

So, if you're down in Branson and want to take a tour, the Duck tour is great...if the temperature is less than 80 degrees outside. The guide was funny and had a lot of information about the town,the strip, the dam, and local fish hatchery too. It was fun to be out and be able to do something all together as a family. Unfortunately, it kind-of made us realize that any family outing from here on out would need to be kept to the local pool!

More to come....

Family-time Highlights--Part 1

Here are a couple of the "at the cabin" highlights that we experienced: Meeting our newest cousin, Sovie!

(This little beauty is only 4 1/2 months old and has the chunkiest legs I've ever seen on a baby--and Christian was nothing to scoff at!) Those chubby legs were quite fun to kiss!

Bathtime with cousins Reagan and Kaylee!

(Can you tell these girls are related??)

And, finally, some craft time! Here are the girls are doing some painting. And here, Auntie Amy is showing everyone how to make fairly slimy silly putty! Lots' of fun!

More to come....