weekend stories

The weekend started out with a trip to Six Flags for the boys.

Amber takes them every year, and this year was double the fun for them since Rob joined them also!

They had a blast!

Unfortunately there was a malfunction with the camera card and we don't have any pictures right now.

The rest of the weekend was catching up on things at home.

This pile of artwork has been on my desk for months.

It's the kids' artwork from school that we deemed worthy of saving.

I like to take pictures of it so that I can put their favorites in their books without taking up a lot of space.

It's been in that pile awaiting a photograph, so that is part of what I did Saturday.

I only got through Ethan's part of the pile.

He was VERY proud of this masterpiece:

I took a picture of the back of it, too, since he had written the objectives 

and his teacher had marked his grade.

The writing at the bottom is mine.  I'm a little obsessive and go through all the papers they pull out of their backpacks everyday, recycle what doesn't need to be kept, hang what is special.  I also keep an archival quality marker in the drawer where we sort everything.  That way I can write little tidbits like this so that when we sort them at the end of the year (which I still haven't done - yikes!), I remember why we wanted to keep them and it's fun to remember the stories behind them.  Like I said, I'm obsessive.

I also worked a little on the bookshelves in the playroom and found this picture from a few years ago.  

How funny is that??

I'm thinking it so should have been our Christmas card that year.

And I'm wondering what ever happened to my nice flat abs.  Ha!

Sunday morning when I got to the First Look room I found a package wrapped up nicely with my name on it.  I opened it and found this....

And this was all that was written inside the card.

Someone was so incredibly thoughtful!  Thank you whoever you are!!  You made my day.

We had a great time eating at a new Mexican place (new to me, anyway) with friends after church, and then capped off the weekend with a trip to the local shaved ice/frozen custard/frozen yogurt place to meet up with some more friends.  It was National Ice Cream Day, so I even got my cone for $1.  Had such a good time chatting, laughing, watching the kids play, and enjoying the cooler evening.  So thankful for our friends and for the time to spend with them.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Our first stop in Colorado was going to be Colorado Springs, seeing Pike's Peak or Garden of the Gods or both.  However, they were all closed due to the horrible wildfires that had been tormenting that area of Colorado.

So we went north, instead, and explored Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Pizza for lunch in Estes Park.

I thought the wall was so cool, with all the names etched into it.

There were lots of signs saying not to write on the wall.

So we didn't.

Our first scenic stop after entering Rocky Mountain National Park.

At the same stop, just different area.

I don't think I could have asked for a better backdrop.

Once you get so far up into the Rockies, the landscape changes to a tundra.

If I remember right, just a few inches below the surface, the ground stays permanently frozen.

It's very fragile, so they ask that you walk only on the rocks.

That's why it looks like Elliott is trying to keep his balance.

He's hopping from rock to rock.

Doing a little climbing.  We are definitely no expert hikers or climbers, but we do enjoy it as a family (usually).  But it was a lot different at 11,000 feet than our usual Missouri elevation.  It didn't take long for us to get winded and boys to get cranky.  And Brian to get sleepy - apparently a consistent side effect of higher elevations for him.

At the top of the climb.  You can't really tell, but they were on top of a cool rock formation.

Beautiful colors on the rocks up there.

We even got to play in the snow.

On our way back down Trail Ridge Road.

Right when we reached the top, it started to rain.

Excited because they needed rain so badly.

Disappointed cause you couldn't see as well.

But this scene made up for that.  So pretty!

Up next:  Breckenridge

Go West

We took a family trip a couple of weeks ago.

This was our destination

Colorado.

To visit friends and to be tourists.

I went to Colorado with my parents and sisters many years ago.  Apparently when I was about 10.  I remember a lot of it - which surprised me since they said I was only 10.  So now I'm realizing that Elliott is probably going to remember a lot of what happens in his life from this point on.  Better make it count, huh?

One of the things I remembered was how flat Kansas was.

I thought it was pretty when I was younger and still do.

Love the storm cloud above.  Right before this scene, we had stopped in Salina and our trusty phones told us it was 110 degrees outside.  Our bodies told us it felt like that, too, with warm gusty winds to top it off.

It cooled down a little bit in the evening, but it was still windier than any place I ever remember.  It was the same story in this part of western Kansas on the way back.  Brian even remarked that he admired anyone who lived there, because it seems so isolated to begin with and then wind is blowing hard in your face all the time.  Very true.

We stopped and stayed the night about 30 minutes east of the Colorado border.  Apparently the time had changed to mountain time, but our phones didn't register that (and neither did our alarm clock in the room).  So we were down in the lobby (some of us sporting awesome vacation attire for our feet) ready for breakfast at 6:30, wondering why we were the only ones there and no food.  Elliott was starving and did not hesitate to find out where the food was.  He came back with an annoyed look and voice saying that the front desk guy said that it's only 5:30.  Oops.

And we made it into Colorado.

So far, it still looked much like western Kansas.

We stopped at this gas station and found this huge huge bear to pose with. 

I love this picture because in the background you can see Elliott laughing about this flushing toilet candy that he found.  (that we did not purchase)  At this stop we also found frisbees in the shape of a pile of cow manure.  (also not a purchase for the Weilers)

Very interesting place, I tell you.

Saw trains like this much of the way along I-70.

This one was my favorite, because it was so colorful.

Up next:  Rocky Mountain National Park

Race for the Cure St. Louis

Did my first Race for the Cure with these ladies a few weeks ago.

It was very humbling, to me, as a survivor, to see this....

a sea of people all walking for the same purpose - to raise money for breast cancer research.

I'm forever grateful to them.

For giving up a Saturday morning to help those of us who have been on the receiving end of "You have breast cancer".

I don't know all the details about how much money goes where.

I think they said 75% of what was raised here in St. Louis stays here in St. Louis.

I'm certain, though, that if it were not for organizations and events like this, that the breast cancer research would not be as advanced as it is.

Which would have left us with a much different outlook last May when we first heard those words.

So, THANK YOU to any of you who have ever been a part of this or any other event like it!

The bubble bus. 

 Never seen anything like it. 

 It was supposed to mark the halfway point.  

I think their GPS was off, cause we were almost to the finish line by this point.

Either way, we were happy to see it cause it was starting to get pretty warm by this time.

Loved the view leading up to the finish line.

We saw lots of tutu-wearing guys supporting their girls (wives, moms, sisters, daughters, etc.)

Lots of love here.

This guy definitely gets best supporting male in my book.

I don't know if he was there for a certain person or just supportive in general, but he definitely took it to a new level!

There was a special "survivor" finish area marked by this banner.  I'm glad Larenda's mom was there with me cause I don't know that I would have seen it.

She had told me that last year some of the Rams cheerleaders were there to greet them and that they were able to take pictures with them.

We all kind of thought that the Rams football players would have been a better choice, and look what was waiting for us in the survivors' area.....

Yep, someone else must have thought that was a good idea too.

Unfortunately, we watch college football at our house and I have no idea who these guys are.

But they were so nice and fun to take a picture with!

I can't quite put my finger on the emotion that I have about this shirt.

For some reason I feel that I will never part with it.

It's almost as if I earned it, like it's a prize.  An accomplishment.

But it's difficult to earn something that you really had no choice in trying to earn.

To me, it's just something that God gave us to deal with, to teach us, to bless us, to bring us closer to him.  So I really don't feel that I've "done" anything.

Except that it was a long hard journey.

And with a lot of help I was allowed to survive it.

Maybe it's like a reward or a diploma.

Maybe this shirt just symbolizes the end of that part of the journey for me and the beginning of the next part.

Or maybe it's none of that mush and it just reminds me of a fun day with these ladies.

Regardless, I'm happy to have it.

P.S.  If you ever have an urge to take a tour on the MetroLink.......we're your gals!!

music fest

Every year we say we are going to go to the Music Festival that they have on Wednesday nights at the Botanical Gardens.

You know how that goes.

We end up not going.

But this year, we found ourselves on a Wednesday night without kids and decided to go.

We didn't even care what kind of music was playing.

Just wanted a fun atmosphere.

This is the only time you're allowed to picnic in the Gardens, and let me tell you that there are serious picnickers there!

We brought some fruit, cheese, crackers and sausage, along with our Georgia blanket and Georgia chairs.

I'm pretty sure we were the only ones with either a Georgia blanket or Georgia chairs.

And I'm positive that we were the only ones there with both.

And I'm pretty sure most everyone else had a spread of food about 5 times what we had.......and on tables.  

We were amateurs and fine with it.

We thought it wouldn't be crowded - wrong!

We knew we were in trouble when we saw people walking from the overflow parking a couple of blocks from the Gardens.

But we actually found a great spot on the street and Brian managed to find us a great spot on the lawn for the concert.

We enjoyed the music, the atmosphere, people watching, everything.

We will definitely go back.

only took 5 years

People are always referring to Ted Drewes around here.  And they are usually astonished when we say that we've never been.  With good reason - really, who lives in St. Louis for 5 years without stepping foot anywhere near Ted Drewes?  Apparently, we do.

But when my parents were here a few weeks ago we remedied that.

Well, three of us remedied it while the fourth was at work.

Sorry B.

My dad remarked that he had never been, so we decided it was our time.

We were already at the zoo, so it wasn't much further.

Any drive that ends with frozen custard cannot be considered a far drive, right?

It did not disappoint.

The boys did not want to stick with the traditional concrete, and chose sundaes in baseball cap cups instead.

I about came unglued when Ethan requested a Yankees cup instead of a Cardinals cup.

In fact, I really questioned for a few seconds if they would even serve Ted Drewes in any kind of baseball-related container besides one that sported a red cardinal perched on a bat.

And I'm pretty sure embarrassment was written all over my face.

But the girl did not bat an eye and handed him his Yankees sundae.

Maybe they're tolerant as long as you don't ask for anything blue with a red and white C on it.

Anyway, I think he did it just to get under Brian's skin.  He likes to do that.

After we finished the deliciousness, Ethan wanted to see if he knew any of the famous people who had been there.

I think he only knew 2 or 3.

It was fun to look and see who all was on the list.

I thought it would have been fun if they listed what everyone ate, too.

I do not think we will let another 5 years pass before we visit again.

Yummmm!

strawberry bruschetta

Last night I felt really good about the dinner that I provided for my family.

BBQ Pork Chops

Corn on the Cob

Roasted Summer Veggies

and

Strawberry Bruschetta

Mmmmmmmm........I was most excited about the bruschetta, although the Roasted Summer Veggies surprised me and I had two helpings of those.  They're veggies - that's allowed, right?

Now lunch today was a different story.

I've had the house to myself since about 10:00 this morning.

Ahhhhhhhh......yesssssssss.

Pure silence.

No one to tell me they are bored every 10 minutes.

However, that also meant there was no one to look at me like I was crazy

when I filled my lunch plate with.....wait for it.....

5 pieces of bread with leftover strawberry bruschetta

a handful of cheese cubes

a cosmic brownie (don't tell Elliott about that one)

and Dr. Pepper to drink

So I feel REALLY good about dinner last night.

Lunch today.....not so much.

But that's okay.

As soon as Brian gets home he is going to take me out to a nice

healthy dinner before the kiddos get home

(he just doesn't know it yet).

Anyway, back to the bruschetta.....

Yum. Yum. Yum.

This recipe came from a Southern Living issue featuring all kinds of strawberry recipes
(of which we tried almost all of during strawberry season in May).
I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes, but at the time I had just experienced awesome traditional
bruschetta at a friend's house and thought that if this turned out half as
yummy as hers, then it was worth getting past the tomatoes.

Turns out that I really couldn't taste the tomatoes in this at all.
I can tell they are there, but the flavors blend so well, that it doesn't taste
tomato-y (is that a word?  didn't think so).
But it does taste delicious.
You can even ask my husband,
who coincidentally also has an aversion to tomatoes.

So here's the recipe so you can try it for yourself
(or make it over to my fridge within the next few hours before we finish it off)

Strawberry Bruschetta

(original recipe source found here at Southern Living)

1 1/2 cups diced fresh strawberries

1 nectarine, diced

1 cup diced grape tomatoes

3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

1 shallot, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 French bread baguette (the thin, skinny type)

1 goat cheese log, softened (optional)

Stir together strawberries, nectarine, tomatoes, basil, shallot, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, pepper and salt.

Slice the baguette into 1/2 inch slices.  Toast them in the oven for a few minutes, spread with goat cheese and top with the strawberry mixture.  Or spread the cheese on and then toast them.  We have also just sliced the bread and put the strawberry mixture right on top, without toasting or any cheese.  Enjoy.