Love this little girl to pieces!
We met Jake for lunch today and ended up eating in the natural light (due to the restaurant’s power going out.) We told the owner our reason for dining there that afternoon and he surprised us with a piece of cheesecake and a candle to celebrate our youngest Shecklet turning 4!
We gathered to celebrate our nephew’s baptism this evening. He was surrounded by lots of love at the church and didn’t make a peep when the pastor poured the cool water on his head.
I love this picture for two main reasons: one, we’re all looking different directions (at different cameras) and two, because of the sweet kiss my SIL is giving her son. ❤
Our Christmas Eve tradition of having my parents join us for mass and then soup supper continued another year. Shecklet #2 and I went to the church early enough to get enough pew space for us to sit in this year. (He selected our spot and sat on the end so he could see 🙂.)
After mass, we were able to get a few family photos, which are always so fun to look back on.
Tomorrow afternoon we will head to my parents’ house to celebrate with Tony and Kristin and their kids. It will be fun to have all of the Cimperman cousins together.
We had mass as a family in a very special chapel this morning, with our friend presiding. The boys read the readings and assisted as servers. As a mom, it was an awesome experience to watch. And I hope they realize just how special it was for them to be part of it.
After mass, we ate breakfast and went to what I can only describe as one of the craziest places I have ever been – the City Museum. We had been told wearing pants was smarter than wearing shorts and that you could spend an entire day at the place. Both statements are true. We spent all afternoon there (again closing the place down) and still didn’t see it all. The photos we took don’t do the place justice, but they do give you an idea as to how unreal it is.
After one final side, we headed to the house of our friend’s friends, on The Hill. There was a bike race going on and they were hosting a pig roast. They kindly invited us to join them. Afterward, we went out for frown custard at Ted Drewes. Yummy stuff! (The boys played “Statue of Liberty” with the dry ice that was keeping the custard cold.)
Today, after a hardy breakfast of yogurt, eggs, sausage and bacon, we embarked on a trip to Six Flags.
Before we left, we made sure to get a group photo (smiling faces and silly faces, of course!)
We all had a great time, but Shecklet #2 probably had the best. He is a roller coaster maniac after experiencing his first rides earlier in the summer at Valleyfair. He and our friend rode all the coasters they could in the time we were there and even got drenched midway through the day. We closed the place down – riding rides until they no longer took passengers! Three of the four Shecklets fell asleep in the car on our way back to the convent 💤💤💤
We hit Missouri on Friday afternoon and about an hour from our destination, I took the wheel. Apparently I take driving very seriously. (And Jake documented how empty the roads were AFTER we had passed a crash on the interstate.😜)
We finally reunited with our dear friend about 5:30 in the afternoon. We stayed in the visitor’s apartment at Mount Grace Convent. It was so kind of the sisters to allow us to stay!
After getting situated, we went out to dinner at Kemoll’s and had the most amazing view of the Arch from the 40th floor.
We had breakfast at the hotel before heading to the Iowa Children’s Museum. The kids had a blast with airplanes, creative play, and engineering. Great suggestion from my friend Steph!
Jake’s employer planned a company outing and employees were allowed to bring a +1. We had 7th row seats right to the left of home plate and watched the home team win by more than 10 runs. It was a fun night out!
Grandpa Dave and Grandma Patti took us to Valleyfair as part of Grandpa Dave’s work outing. Shecklet #2 couldn’t get enough of the Corkscrew – he and Jake went on it 4 times in a row! It was a hot day, so we tried out Thunder Canyon (minus Shecklet #4 because she wasn’t tall enough.)
