I know... I know. My last name is Simpson and I'm from Springfield. I'll go ahead and give you a minute to laugh...
Anyway, we had a great time visiting my family. It was a much more relaxing trip than last time! Here we go...
We always celebrate the summer birthdays- me, Madison and Ella- with a dinner. My mom made the biggest chocolate cake I have ever seen! Seriously, 8 people ate on it at 3 meals and I'm not sure we finished it! I didn't take a picture of it, but it was delicious!
My dad retired (suddenly) from Missouri State University this year. When my mom retired a couple of years ago, Tamra, Dad and I were able to throw her a surprise party that really surprised her! My dad didn't get that however. He got this digital photo frame with pictures of his retirement parties. (Notice the lovely cross-stitch piece on the wall behind him. I made that in jr. high!)
Don't feel too bad for him. We really surprised him on his 60th birthday!
My parents kept the girls a couple of nights and they had sooo much fun. They went swimming, watched Disney channel, played and played and played! They also took them to the Butterfly Palace in Branson for their birthdays! Madison got to go through twice because Ella was too scared to go in. Worked out well for Madison!
Steve and I really enjoyed staying up with Tamra and Jason (without little girls walking in trying to come up with ways to stay up with us!) Tamra and I watched So You Think You Can Dance, Days of our Lives, Jon and Kate Plus 8, etc., while Steve and Jason played X-Box until all hours of the night. We also dyed each other's hair. Did we do a good job?
We also worked on Tamra's blog. If she gets it up and running, I'll put a link to the side of mine! No pressure Tam!
On Sunday, we went to church. We usually have to be at Creekside on Sundays, so this doesn't happen very often. This quilt names the founding members of the South National Church of Christ in 1931. My great-grandparents were founding members and the girls are standing under their names.
We went to lunch after church. We wanted our waiter to get a picture of all of us. Mom gave him her camera first and got a great picture. I gave him my camera and got this...
Meet Jennifer, the waitress who dropped a fork and was picking it up while our waiter took the picture! :) Also, notice Ella on the end!
After lunch my mom took me shopping for my birthday. I'm like the homeless person you give food to instead of money because you want to make sure they use that money for food. She won't give me money anymore because she doesn't think I will spend it on myself. (She's right- the girls look so much better in their clothes!) Anyway, it was tax-free weekend, so I cleaned up!! She kept saying, "You haven't met your budget yet. You can get something else!" I have no idea what my budget was, but I had fun! Thanks Mom and Dad!
On Monday, Dad took Tamra and me to lunch. This has become a tradition for us. We get some time alone with Dad and he gets to enjoy a good meal at a girlie restaurant! :)
Ella was in rare form while we were there. She only got about 6 hours of sleep the night before we left and she refused to sleep in the car. She also missed her nap several days, so she was really tired. She spent a great deal of time looking like this...
We had a great time and look forward to seeing you all soon!
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