The Kassel Family Project Life 365

It’s a lion from “The Lion King”!  Or maybe it’s actually Laura as a lion with googly eyes…

It was a great day at the Lake of the Ozarks with the Van Hove family!  While the rest of the adults slept, the kids and I were up by 7 am.  We sat around outside and enjoyed the great morning.

Of course, I had the difficult task of keeping Laura out of the lake until Andy woke up.  He was up late with the rest of the adults and I wanted to avoid waking him to get swimsuits out of the bedroom.  Once he was up, all bets were off!  It might have taken five whole minutes for Laura to change into her swimsuit, get on her life vest, and jump off that diving board.

On the other hand, John was very hesitant to get in the water, but we had an “ace in the hole” this time – the Big Sister.  After observing Laura for a bit, John finally braved the lake and got in.  He was hesitant to let go of the ladder at first, but it did not take long before he was thoroughly enjoying himself!  He still will not jump off the dock or diving board, but I think that will be a go for next time!

We spent the day enjoying great friends, drinks, food, and the lake.  It was beautiful weather and just a fun Sunday.

We left for home about 6:30 and both kids were asleep within minutes.  It was a quiet ride home, which turned out to be a blessing.  Neither Laura or John woke up well and both cried during their showers.  We put them to bed about 8:10 and, despite crying for a bit longer, they both drifted off to sleep quickly.

Thanks to the Van Hove family for hosting us again!  We had a great time and the kids loved it!

We are off to the Lake of the Ozarks to spend tonight and tomorrow with the Van Hoves.  Looking forward to some fun!

John had an impromptu sleepover tonight with Jaxon, our neighbor.  It started out that we were just going to watch a movie and ended with Jaxon spending the night.

Another skit night, another sleepover…  Well, at least the evening started out that way…  Upon Andy and I arriving at camp, Laura came running up to us to give us hugs.  Of course, I had to take a picture because this is what an afternoon of swimming at camp does to her hair.  Perhaps I should really encourage her to use her hair brush after swimming.

When Laura came running up to us, she seemed off.  She wasn’t her usual fun camp self.  I chalked it up to being just a bit tired and we let it go at that.

The skits this week were pretty funny, and John was very proud because his group skit got a lot of laughter.

After skit night was over, we got the kids’ sleepover things out of the truck.  As we were walking around camp, Laura said that she did not want to spend the night.  After much back and forth, we finally returned Laura’s things to the truck and took her home with us.  John wanted to stay at camp.  He was not going to miss a sleepover.  As it turns out, Laura was more tired than we originally thought and she needs the rest.  She made the right decision even though it changed Andy’s and my plans.  No night out for us.  Oh well.  On the flip side, I am very proud of John for staying without Big Sister.

Due to the late evening yesterday, our plans for Andy’s birthday changed.  The kids were simply too tired.  When we told them that we were going to skip the Boone County Fair, we didn’t get an argument and that is really saying something.  Instead, we had a tasty steak dinner and relaxed.  It was not our original plans, but it worked.  Happy Birthday Andy!

 

The days and years may pass, but when you see “those friends,” time has not gone by.  We spent an amazing evening with Mark and Jessica Hendrickson and their two kids, Roger and Lauren.  Mark is one of Andy’s oldest college friends and was the Best Man in our wedding.  To feed Mark’s craving, we went to Shakespeare’s Pizza for dinner.  He was amazed to find out that Columbia now has three locations.  We were joined by another couple and laughed a lot over pizza and drinks.

We spent the rest of the evening hanging out by the pool at the Stoney Creek Inn.  What was supposed to be just an hour quickly turned into three hours of fun.  The adults chatted while the kids had a great time playing with the water cannons and chasing each other around.  Lauren and Laura are fast friends and made plans to begin using Skype to stay in touch.  I think two girls have begun a friendship made to last.  Just like their dads…

I was so great to see them even if it was just for an evening.  They are definitely “those friends.”  It doesn’t matter how much time has gone by because when you see them again, absolutely nothing has changed.  Thanks for a great evening Hendricksons!  We love and miss you all lots!