Better Late than Never Update....

Once again I have done a poor job of doing updates, but this time I have an excuse (at least a new one!).  My very faithful computer had a meltdown.  I was able to send it to my brother David and he recovered all my data (thank God).  I was using Mark's laptop in the meantime, but I was trying to avoid littering his hard drive with the multitude of pictures that I produce, so I just avoided downloading them until I bought a new laptop.  Here's the quick update:

We've been fortunate to have lots of visitors these past few weeks!  My friends Marla and Joanna came first, along with Marla's two sons, Tony and Damien.  We did some good chillin' out and visiting, and Mark also took Tony and Damien out to catch fish one afternoon.  This is Tony with the fish, Damien had had enough of the hot outdoor weather and didn't come back out for photos.  Mark taught Tony how to clean fish, and this was his first opportunity to eat fish he had caught.  They were delicious!

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Our next visitors were Sara, Ryan and Emery.  We all went to Meramec Caverns, which isn't too far from the house, and a great place to go on a hot summer day.  This area is surrounded by caves.

That night we had round Two of home caught fish for dinner.  Mark and Ryan caught these in a very short time and provided us with another wonderful meal!

We practically live out on the porch when it isn't too hot, and here is Emery enjoying her breakfast in the fresh air.

A later trip to the Magic House in St. Louis provided the opportunity for this picture that I just couldn't pass up!  The Magic House is a Children's Museum and Emery had a great time exploring the place. 

This is a giant bubble maker.  Look closely and you can see Sara working hard blowing the bubble, while Emery seems fascinated with what her Daddy is doing, oblivious to the bubble!

And another gorgeous sunset.  We knew they would be great to watch from the porch, but I don't think we had a clue how spectacular they would actually be.  I keep snapping photos, and each one is different from the day before.  We do try to make it a point to be paying attention as the sun goes down in the sky each evening.  Way better than TV!!