Missouri Visit

After our time in Chicago, the last stop on our long Midwest vacation was a visit to Missouri. We stopped at Great-Grandma Walquist's house first. We loved that Cody and Jaden were old enough to interact with Great-Grandma on this visit (our last time seeing her was over 2 years ago). Even though her body is getting older, Great-Grandma is still mentally sharp and as witty as ever, so it was fun to witness her connecting with our little boys as they built some of their Legos.

We then went out to dinner with Great-Grandma, Uncle Ross, Aunt Jill, and my cousin Macy. The boys took an instant liking to Macy, especially when she showed them how to make snakes out of their straw wrappers.

What did I tell ya... instant buddies! :)

Back at Grandma's house, Jaden and Cody explored the basement and tried out Great-Grandma's old horse swing. I have great memories on this swing from when I was young too!

We stayed overnight at Ross and Jill's farm. Ross and Jill were excellent hosts and took a lot of time out to just play and talk with our boys. The next morning, Cody taught Aunt Jill how to play Hoot Owl Hoot.

After breakfast, we got a tour of Ross and Jill's farm. We met one guinea, a few roosters, and LOTS of chickens.

Aunt Jill even let the boys hold the new baby chicks that had hatched less than two weeks before our arrival. Jaden and Cody were so proud to hold the chicks all by themselves!

Aunt Jill was so patient when the boys asked to hold one small chick after another and another. These poor traumatized chicks only had so far they could run... :)

Uncle Ross then led Jaden and Cody over to the chicken coop where the boys got to collect any new eggs that had been laid.

Definitely the biggest highlight of the day was getting an opportunity to drive Uncle Ross' tractor! Uncle Ross truly did allow the boys to steer wherever they wanted to go. Whichever boy wasn't driving the tractor enjoyed watching the guinea that would run after the tractor, eating all the bugs that the tractor stirred up. Here is Cody's ride:

Jaden pretty much steered his tractor in a continuous circle when it was his turn! Both boys beamed like crazy as they drove the tractor. What a treat!

During the afternoon, Macy came over for a visit, so the boys taught her the game Hoot Owl Hoot as well.

Before dinner, we tried to visit a local nature center that Ross and Jill's family had frequently visited when their kids were younger. Unfortunately, we discovered after we already arrived that the center wasn't open that day. Instead, we just enjoyed the outdoor nature trails that even included some fun manipulatives along the way. 

The boys eagerly played on this xylophone and danced along as Daddy made up some lyrics on the spot.

At this station, we got to build towers with "nature blocks." What a great idea!

Cody and Jaden found this small door in the tree stump very intriguing.... and even moreso when a mysterious hand popped out of the door! :)

By the end of the trail, we were all getting pretty hot and sweaty (no cool temps in Missouri for us that day!), so we didn't spend a lot of time looking at all the plants and flowers. They seemed quite pretty, though!

Our time with the Missouri Walquists was very short-- just a day and a half, but we had a wonderful time!

We are so thankful for Great-Grandma's current stable health and most of all, for her heart that dearly loves her Savior Jesus. It was a joy to be with Great-Grandma too!