Our Trek East

We decided to break up our trip Eastward into three separate days. Day one included a five hour drive with a quick stop to Memphis where we checked on our home and got the chance to catch up with some wonderful friends from the past. Day two was the longest stretch where we completed ten hours, then surprised the kiddos with a stop at Great Wolf. We felt very blessed with wonderful, resilient children and great weather - but for some reason - that was the longest ten hours ever! :) Steven put it best when he said, "this was the perfect ending to a horrendous day." :) We woke the next morning and played again for another four hours, then hopped in the car and completed day three with a short four hour drive before arriving at our new home in NC!

Thatcher's "Fake" Birthday

Three years have passed since we began moving year for year. By July 4th our home is packed, loaded on a truck, and the Ballard family is on their way -  somewhere between old and new. Thatchers birthday also happens to be July 12th, and thus, each year he has decided to celebrate with a family party.....mainly due to the fact that we don't know a soul! This year was different though. This year he completed kindergarten - and completed it well. This year he made new friends that he will remember forever. This year he turns 6 years old, and thus, this year his Mom was going to make certain that her little boy had a "friend" party to remember. Now, seeing as our house is packed and completely void of anything, I did have to get creative and find a location that could actually entertain a group of youngsters. Bounce U was his choice and I must say, it was a great one and definitely worth every penny. We love this kid. We love his never ending enthusiasm. We love his thought provoking questions and ideas. Most of all, we love his sweet smile and spirit. Happy "fake" Birthday Thatch!

Summer Time (Week 6)

Last week was one of "shakin' things up" a bit for the Ballard family. For starters, we decided to try a new pool located just down the street. I think the kiddos really enjoyed it, but I have hunch that the wave pool at our usual location would keep them at #1 if voting for favorite features. A few days later I was "shakin' up" again when I dropped Ryley and Kadyn off at the pool to enjoy a day in the sun with their good friend. Her nanny (who I know well) was watching over them for the afternoon. I mention this because it was one of those moments (for me) when you realize your kids are growing up on you. They are maturing and getting old enough to venture off and enjoy activities with their friends. Even though they had adult supervision, it was so weird that the supervision provided wasn't me. 

We also had a great evening at our favorite park and, of course, we couldn't leave St. Louis without visiting the zoo for their opening day of a brand new sea lion exhibit. We went in an hour before the zoo closed and enjoyed a fairly empty exhibit, plus, ended up hitting their evening feeding time. It was awesome.

Summer Time (Week 5)

We began our week with a wonderful Father's Day for a wonderful Father. Early Monday morning the kiddos and I headed for the zoo where Ryley and Thatch kicked off their week long zoo camp. Kadyn enjoyed it last year but decided to forgo the heat filled days this year, and instead, hang out with me and the younger gals. Once we dropped them off we "snuck" into the zoo and enjoyed a cool morning of feeding the sting rays and visiting the children's area. We considered ourselves the "lucky" ones when we skipped out by noon with ice cream and still relatively cool bodies. Kadyn's decision must have been inspired because on the way home the military called and gave us the option to be packed two days later, or, move ourselves. I quickly responded, "I'll see you Thursday" and jumped into prepping mode in efforts of getting the home and ourselves ready for three weeks of living with the bare necessities of life. Kadyn was a life saver with the younger gals and did an incredible job entertaining them for me. We ended the week with a family zoo camp party, learned how to make soap while the movers took away boxes, and on Saturday enjoyed a BBQ hosted by the sweet nurses who work with Steven in the OR. We ate, the kids swam, and we returned to our empty home full and tired from another wonderful day with wonderful people. I can tell you one thing for sure. We are always excited for the adventures ahead, but we're going to miss St. Louis (and the people who live here) a great deal!

 

Summer Time (Week 4)

A visit to the Children's museum and much more swimming. Upon arrival we found the museum had change their pretend house area into a full fledged veterinarian clinic. Any guesses on which child spent the majority of their time in this "awesome" new area? :)