Dallas/Mansfield Trip 2013

Last Thursday, we flew down to Texas to visit our friends there.  It was Maggie's first plane ride and she did great!! She loved it and watching her smile, and seeing the enthusiasm on her face, was absolutely amazing! She watched the whole take off and landing through her window seat.

On Friday morning, we went swimming at their housing pool.  I finally convinced Maggie to jump in the water to me, too!  I asked her what she wanted me to count to before she jumped, and she told me 100!!  Needless to say, we didn't count to 100, but I bribed her with $5 if she jumped to me.  She did it, and then proceeded to jump 3 more times, for a total of $20.  It was definitely money well spent!

On Sunday, our friends' twin daughters were baptized.  They asked Rob and I to be the godparents for the girls.  It was a beautiful baptism, too.  Both the girls cried of course when the water was poured over their heads!  I forgot to take my camera to the church for the baptism, so pictures for that will have to wait.

We flew out to KC on Monday morning.  Once again, Maggie did really well.  Once we landed, we got in our car and drove to Mansfield, MO.  We met Rob's aunt and uncle and their twins at the cabins we stayed in.

On Tuesday, we went to Laura Ingalls Wilder's Museum and the site of her home.  There were many items in the museum that belonged to Laura, her family, her husband and his family, and their daughter Rose.  After touring the museum, we got to walk through the house Laura and Almanzo had built.  Then, we got to tour the house Rose had built for them.  Maggie was in awe of everything and asked lots of questions about it.  It was great to see how memorable it was for her.  Rob even bought a cookbook at the gift shop that has a lot of the foods they made in the books.  He and Maggie are very excited to start cooking!

After we toured the museum and homes, we went to Baker Creek Pioneer Village.  They had an old time restaurant there that you could eat at, too.  The food we ate was made from all the items they grew in their garden and was delicious!!  Then, we toured the Pioneer Village and got to see what life was like back in the pioneer days.

We had heard about an old soda fountain in a little town not too far from where we were, so we headed over to check it out.  Eva Drug Store in Eva, MO, has the soda fountain and still sells ice cream for 5 cents a scoop!!!  Maggie ate her entire double scoop ice cream cone!  Later, after we went back to the cabins to let the kids rest for a little bit, we went to dinner at the Tastee Freez.  I didn't get a chili dog though!

We left Wednesday morning and were definitely ready to be home.  It was a wonderful trip filled with many unforgettable memories!!

Swimming Lesson Pictures

Maggie completed her lessons last week, a much better swimmer with more confidence.  Rob and I talked about it and are planning to get her in lessons this fall when they start up again.  Hopefully, we can keep the momentum going!

Swimming Lessons

Maggie started swimming lessons yesterday.  We decided to try a new place so that she'll hopefully get more out of it.  She absolutely loves the water, but is so timid to try a lot of things.  Well, go figure, she started off in one class yesterday and her teacher came over to talk to Rob and I after they finished.  She said she'd prefer that Maggie be in a different class because she has the skill level, but is timid in the water.  She didn't want her to get overwhelmed with the kids that were in her original class, so she suggested the other one.  Today, Maggie went with her new class and seemed to do much better.  This girl will be a swimmer yet!!

Maggie's Cardiology Follow-Up Appointment

At Maggie's cardiology appt. last week, we were told the hole in her heart and leak in her ventricle are still there. She has always had the hole in her heart and her cardiologist hasn't ever seemed too concerned with it since 20% of the population has this. Her doctor said she very well could have had the leak in her ventricle the whole time, too, but they just weren't able to see it because of the thickening of her muscle tissue in her heart. Now that her heart tissue is completely back to normal, they can see it. She would like to follow up with Mag again in 3 years. So, we are choosing to look at the positives: nothing is worse, her muscle tissue is completely normal now, and her doctor isn't too concerned since we don't go back for another 3 years. Thank you for all of your prayers!