St. Louis Arch via the Metro

I'm backtracking a little with this post, but it's a worthy post...

After being here for two weeks, we decided to go to the Arch. Now, we were all tired and worn out from house hunting and just the hustle and bustle of arriving in a new town, but we (G and I) decided we could handle it! We hopped on the Metro (I do mean hopped on; it was pretty easy to figure out compared to trying to ride the train in Korea). It was about a 20 minute ride, stopping right at the arch. It was a nice day, but we just didn't take into consideration the tiredness of the kiddos! Stay tuned for the rest of the story...

Here we are boarding the metro

Baby J and Mama wearing their cool shades

Isn't this gorgeous?? I should be making money for this shot

G and the kids at the base of the Arch. This is about the time everyone started falling apart, and I do mean pretty much everyone! Jordan and Jannah got really upset because we decided not to go up to the top, due to the wait time. I got mad, because my oldest son would NOT cooperate for anymore pics. Greg, well he was just trying to stay calm...he had to try, since no one else was!

Most of us had regained our composure here...you might notice that Jordan isn't in the picture...he was still not so, um... happy.

baby J lost in the grass...have I mentioned how much we are all enjoying the grass?

After visiting the Arch, we decided to go downtown to eat. Even though everyone was tired, we had to eat supper! So, we found the Old Spaghetti Factory and put our name on the waiting list, and started waiting for 45 minutes to an hour. That's exactly what you should do when you have three tired kids and two worn out adults...don't you agree? So, guess what we did, we found something else to occupy their minds and ours too! We went on a carriage ride, all to the tune of 15 minutes for 45 dollars...we were desperate. No, seriously, it was fun and we all enjoyed it!

This was a view of the arch from the metro station, as we were waiting to go back home...with super sleepy kids, who all fell asleep within minutes of moving. The best part was getting them all off the train and to the car, as they were totally OUT!

Have I ever mentioned that I'm crazy about this man? By the way, Jannah was our photographer here, she'll be happy take your pics for you when you're ready, for a small fee!

Jordan's Big Day

Jordan and Michael (we call them Michael Jordan)

Upon moving here, I was in prayer about a preschool for Jordan. I really hoped to find a christian atmosphere with the option of 2 or 3 days. God's faithfulness has been so real to me recently. He has answered my prayers, again... exactly. Our church, First Baptist O'Fallon, has a super program, called Creation Kids. Jordan goes to preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 930-230. He was excited to go today, and when I picked him up, he told me that he "really liked it!" I was so pleased and thankful all in one. I had worried about him adjusting and being away from me. I started to cry today; starting school, even preschool means my big boy is growing up, which means my time with him will be less! That's hard, but I know that this is what Jordan needs right now. His new buddy, Michael is in his class, so Jordan is really excited about school. Micheal's dad and Greg work together and we have spent some time with their family, they are already tight! Here are Jordan's first day shots!

"Funnest Day Ever"

These were the words from Jannah's mouth about her second day of 1st grade (the first day was all of 2 hours long, so she didn't have time to for much fun). At any rate, I still can't believe she's 6 years old and that she's a first grader; I suppose I will say that as every year passes. Why is it so hard to get a grip on time and accepts that time truly does fly by? Yesterday I was looking back in my scrapbooks, it seems like just yesterday she was a toddler; now she's a big girl who picks her own clothes out, brushes her own hair and makes her own bed! Before I start to cry, I should move on! She was happy as could be on her first day. She has already made a friend, Sophie. They sit next to each other in class, Jannah told me they didn't leave each other, they did everything together. Sophie's mom invited us to the park yesterday; turns out they live in our neighborhood (an answer to prayer) and they are a military family from Georgia! I know God "handpicked" Jannah and Sophie to be friends. Here are the first day shots... of my big girl, who had the funnest day ever.

Daddy's girl

I just love this girl...

O'Fallon at a glance...

Not only have we been unpacking, but we've been having FUN too!

There's a really nice park we visited with the Watts'. The main attraction for the kids was feeding the ducks, too bad it was sooo hot, or else we cold have stayed there all day!

Jamison looks like he's having a stand-off, he was thrilled to see the "duckies"

Obviously these geese/ducks get fed all of the time, they aren't at all afraid to get it right our of your hand, as Jordan found out

Coming from Korea, which did not offer much grass to run and play in, I appreciate more than ever fields of grass and farmland. The beauty of O'Fallon is that there's farmland and 1/2 mile later you're in the "city" where everything is. I love the combination :)

Just rockin' at Cracker Barrel after supper one night

Swinging at the park on Scott AFB, this is one of Jamison's favorite things to do!

Corn, anyone? Cornfields are EVERYWHERE; and it is soo yummy. We all think this is the best corn, I could eat it every day.

Can I just make an observation here? Look at these two pictures. Is it asking too much for everyone to cooperate for the camera at the same time? I've just about decided that I am going to have to accept that it's rare to get everyone to smile simultaneously, and that's hard for me. I love to take pictures, but I find myself getting mad with my subjects (aka, the kiddos) too often, all because I can't get the "perfect" shot. Last night, I read a friend's blog, Michele over at Wonderful World of the Wingertsahns, and she was talking about being stressed out; she saw a bumper sticker that said, TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED. I was encouraged to let this five word phrase be my new outlook, especially about the little things in life that I tend to get stressed out over...for example, getting that perfect shot! I think my husband will appreciate this, as well as my kiddos, and of course God.

4th of July

What fun we had. The day started with doing tye dye shirts, I think that shall become a family tradition! We grilled hot dogs for lunch and spent the day by the pool, it was super hot! For dinner, we all went out to our longtime friends, Troy and Pam's house. After a fine meal, we headed off to see the fireworks; while there we ate homemade ice cream that Mama had made, it was sooo good! Needless to say, we were all very tired after so much fun with family and friends.

Troy and Greg

my love and I

Shara and Pam

Jordan, Grandma and Jannah

Jordan with his sparkler; I remember loving these as a kid!

Jamison and Gamma; he was amazed at every firework he would point and say, "SKY"

Summer Lovin'

This is my attempt at catching up on not blogging for 2 months! Here are some pictures from seeing our family in Georgia!

my sweet boys

Jannah and Grandma

chillin' in the pool with Gamma

Grandma & the kiddos

cousins wearing make-up

Gampa and the J's by the pool

Jannah and Gamma (after getting her ears pierced...yes, she is thrilled to be wearing earrings!)

Jordan, Jamison and Drake (my nephew)

me, Mama and my sister, Lori