Spy Kids....from an Eckler Kid's Eye.

Yesterday my mom and I took 15 kids (my kids and daycare kids) to Bonkers. This is an indoor jungle gym. After that we braved McDonald's, and then let's just say I was ready to crash when I got home. When I arrived home, I forgot that the air conditioner guy was going to be at our house working on our ground source heat and air conditioning pump for the 2nd time this summer. I sent the boys up to Preston's room and shut the door and told them that they needed to play until he left. Corby came downstairs and had asked if he could please use my camera to take a couple of pictures of them playing upstairs. Reluctantly I let him, but made sure he was aware that THIS IS NOT A TOY! I was that whipped that I really just wanted 5 minutes of peace and quiet to sit and regroup before I needed to do the necessary daily things at our house...3-4 loads of laundry a day, clean the house, and get ready for our lake trip this weekend. Well I was pretty humored when Corby brought me back the camera to show me what images he had captured. They are really into the Spy Kids movie and I guess this is what they were playing. So enjoy these pictures, they have not been edited because this is exactly what Corby took.

Mother Nature Hits Again.

Once again the wrath of mother nature is hitting us hard in Northeast Missouri. Just when we thought that we got the Mighty Mississippi under control, the Mark Twain Lake near us is at an all time record high. We have had so much torrential rain and storms these past few weeks that it has been unbelievable. In order to take some pressure off of the lake, the Corp of Engineers started releasing water from the dam, causing massive flooding of farm land, homes, and closure of roads. As of this morning, they were letting water out at a rate of 38000 cubic feet per second (284000+ gallons per second). This has been a gradual increase since last week when they were letting out at a rate of 12000 cfs. This number will increase tomorrow, as north of us received 3+ inches of rain this afternoon.

Tonight we went to see along with all the other onlookers, history in the making. They have closed the lake to any recreational boating. It was defiantly a sight to see.

It was amazing to see how fast this water was rushing out and the sound that it was making.

People were just standing looking in complete amazement.

All of this land is now flooded.

This is only the beginning of releasing the water. One of the Corp of Engineers tonight said that it is raising 3 tenths of a ft. an hour.

This lake has never been so high.

Happy Birthday Ralls County.

Waiting for the parade to begin.

The little sheriffs.

Preston showing just how hot he felt after being in the parade and sitting in the sun for 2 hours.


This past Saturday we took part in my hometown Sesquicentennial. It was a very special day and we had the honor of being in the parade. We were blessed in that for once this summer it did not rain! It was a very hot and steamy day! My dad was in charge of the parade and really didn't have a count as to how many entries were in the parade, but it did however last and hour and fifteen minutes! When you grow up in a small community as we did, you laugh because we said there were probably more people in the parade than watching it! It was a huge success!

Later that night Helen Cornelius (a Ralls County native that made it big in Nashville as a country super star) took the stage for a free concert. Her main hit that I recalled was "The Rose". Also giving a performance was Leroy Van Dyke. My parents were shocked that I didn't know any of his songs. I think I might have been 1 when he was a hit! We also laughed because I think the average age at the concert was 80! No lie!!!

It was a great day and a huge success and glad we could be a part of it. I have put together a slide show of the day. Click below.

Happy 150th Birthday Ralls County

Take Me Out to the Ballgame~Game 2.

We weren't sure if we were going to see our second St. Louis Cardinal game of the year last night, because of the downpour of rain we experienced. This has been the craziest summer for weather. We have seen more rain in the past few weeks than we probably see all year! I know just last night we received 3.5 inches and that is not including what happened over night and this morning. They are still calling for storms tomorrow and Sunday. Anyway, right when we took our seats, it began to finally ease up. The game went on, only for the Cardinals to lose the entire series to the Milwaukee Brewers in the 9th inning! I can't believe we stuck it out for the entire game and returned home in a horrible storm at 1:15am! Heath bet the boys that they couldn't stay awake the entire ride home. He promised them a monetary compensation (really he just didn't want to carry them all up to their beds asleep). If you knew our boys, they will pretty much do anything for $! You bet they stayed up the entire ride home and Heath lost his bet and has to pay up.

We had time to waste before the game and decided to stop at Fitz's Brewing Company to have an early supper so we didn't have to spend a fortune on the ballpark concessions. This was a really fun place for kids and they got to watch the root beer right before their eyes be bottled.

Corby getting a taste of their fresh made root beer.

Conner decided he would much rather have pink lemonade. You can't explain to a 3 year old that the reason we went to this place was to experience their root beer.

Cheers from Preston.

Watching the root beer being bottled right before their eyes. They thought it was a pretty neat process.

Outside the restaurant. I'm really not for sure what kind of face Conner was trying to make. Like I've said, it's hard to get all of them to participate for a group photo.

Sitting in our seats before the game. We were a little damp as we had to walk a distance in the rain.

We were pretty much up in the nosebleed section, but couldn't have asked for a better view of the stadium. The seats were directly at the top right behind home base.

With our tickets we did have a free coupon for a free hot dog and soda, which was a big perk to the boys. Of course we had to get it right when we got to our seats.

Sunset (or clouds) over the Arch.

Corby enjoying his free hot dog and rooting for his home team!

OK...getting a little restless towards the end, but it was just an overall fun night at the ballpark, even though are Cardinals stunk it up once again.

My Handsome Boys.

Here are the professional pictures that I was telling you about that I was going to have taken. For those of you around here, these were taken by Dr. Evans wife, Kim. She does fabulous work with children and family photos. We hadn't been to here since Conner had turned 1. I was afraid of how they were going to turn out, because Conner had been at the pool that day and had fallen asleep on the way there and woke up in a strange place. Luckily they all did wonderful! Mind you that it was almost 100 degrees and high humidity and I was promising Dairy Queen for the ride home. Yes, I went by myself since Heath lucked out and had a meeting!

This is so precious. If you know Mr. Quin at all, you know that it wasn't hard to crack a smile. She has a turkey caller that gets their attention, but didn't need to use it once with him. These were for his year pictures.

Just posing and taking it all in. We did have a few out takes where he was eating the grass.

Heath said that he didn't think it would be wise to dress them up like this when they were 16. I have to agree, but to have all my boys posing normal for once with great smiles is such joy to me as a mother!

Love that look on Quin's face. Looks like he was saying "OK lady, you have taken a million photos, aren't we done yet?"

This is the natural one. I can't believe we caught all 4 of them at the same time to look down! Ahhh. what a relief!

Finally, the last one taken of the night. I just love this one with Quin crawling away. He had had enough! The boys ripped off the clothes and then wanted to head straight to DQ for their treat. Mind you once again that it was 9:30 when we had finished up and 3 hours of torture for the boys (oh and me). She is very creative and patience of a saint. Thank God, Heath didn't go with me! Now the process for me to think about which ones I want to order!

Not much going on here this week. Tomorrow night we are taking the oldest 3 back to the St. Louis Cardinals game (camera will be taken this time!). Our great baby-sitter Jacki is having Quin spend the night at her house. We thank her for that, since it looks like the forecast is calling for rain! Not what I want to be stuck at with a baby in tote. This weekend we are getting ready to celebrate my hometown area's sesquicentennial. The kids are dressing up and we will participate in the parade. The first week of August I am taking off for vacation. We are headed to Lake of the Ozarks for a mini family getaway for some school shopping, water park and family fun. Heath will be taking the oldest 2 to the Missouri State Fair for a couple of days while I head to Iowa to my sister's with the wee ones for some R & R. (Do you think I will honestly get it?) Well hope everyone is having a great week! Will have lots of posts in the upcoming weeks.

Boy's Getaway.

(Oops..this picture got out of place, but I promised Sydney I would put her picture on the computer! I was showing her my 14 years of piano lessons...I forgot how rusty I was! Thanks to Uncle Matt for giving a little concert!)

Corby and Preston left on Wednesday and spent the last two days at my sister's house in Iowa. Heath and I went tonight to pick them up. Let's just say, I think they were Spoiled rotten! The first night I called them, they were too busy to talk, because they had their first experience playing the Nintendo Wii. The boys had never played one before and I had heard about them through my sister and brother who have one, but never really knew what they were. Oh my gosh....how fun was it to watch them play it! They couldn't wait to tell me this is one of their wants on their Christmas list! They were also spoiled by going to the pool, taking a boat ride, driving-yes driving a way runner, and Aunt Quinn even took them to the $ store today to pick out something! They told me on the phone that Aunt Quinn and Uncle Matt Rock! Oh, and Corby was even more spoiled when Aunt Quinn made him 2 batches of brownies that he indulged in! (Be sure to check out the Ruhl family blog when Quinn updates, because she will have pictures posted of the boat ride).

Here is Corby bowling to the Wii. It is amazing how interactive this system is!

Preston taking his turn at baseball. He got very upset when Corby threw him a fast or curve ball.

Heath taking his turn on baseball. He broke a sweat on the boxing!

Miss Delaney is getting so big! I had the opportunity to give her a bath! She is so precious!

Talk about multi-talented! Showing off her sucking ability of her thumb and toes! Another Ruhl girl who sucks her thumb!

Just sitting back taking it easy on Uncle Heath.

Miss Chloe is soooo full of herself! She talks a mile a minute. I had to have Quinn interpret some of it, because I didn't know all of the "Chloe talk"!

Quinn says she is way into dresses and had to show me her closet full of them! Oh and she knew who gave here each dress! She also found some lipstick when I was there, that she made herself beautiful with. I missed that shot!

Quin was into everything! Aunt Quinn will have to soon baby proof her house once again when Delaney becomes mobile!

Thanks to both Aunt Quinn and Uncle Matt for showing the boys such a great time!

1st Birthday Party.

Quin had a great 1st birthday party, even though it was a very busy weekend and several families couldn't make it due to being on vacation. :( It was the most perfect night weather wise! We couldn't have asked for a more pleasant Missouri night! That's very rare for the month of July!

Showing off his 1st birthday shirt and bib! It didn't take long to make this white shirt look dirty!

Loving his cake!

Going for the plunge!

Well to see more of the party, click below on the 1st birthday slideshow!

1st Birthday Party

Visit to Belt Family.

On Saturday night, Heath had an auction to go to in Macon, so we stopped by and visited the Belt family. (Our niece and nephew and their two kids, Andi & TJ.). The kids had fun playing together and the boys especially had fun playing with Travis.

TJ full of smiles. (Sorry Jessi, I guess I didn't realize, he did have something on his face!)

Miss Andi was so excited to play with the boys. Of course the boys weren't use to playing with girl toys!

Jessi and TJ. Thanks Jessi for letting us hang out!

The Birthday Shoot...and Birthday Present...

Tonight was the perfect night for me to take Quin out in our back field and take some photos of him on his 1st birthday in his new birthday present, a Radio Flyer Wagon. Our little baby has now become our little boy. I experimented with this in photoshop, and some I thought turned out really well! Happy 1st Birthday Quin!

{ Happy 1st Birthday Quin!}

Happy 1st Birthday to our Quinners! He will be officially 1 year old at 7:35am! I've put together a slide show looking back at his 1st year of life. We have been so blessed with the most perfect baby ever! He has been like this since day one. There is not a day that doesn't go by that he doesn't light up a room with his smile! He knows no stranger and can put a smile on anyone's face! We love you Quin and Happy 1st Birthday!

Quin's 1st Birthday~ A Tribute to His 1st Year Of Life

Six Flags.

On Sunday, my friend Mary and I took our older two kids to Six Flags. This was a first for all of them. I remember as a kid loving this amusement park and I will say I still loved it! From Heath's Arch experience, you can bet that his love for roller coasters is much the same as tight places! I absolutely love roller coasters and relived my younger days and raised my arms and yelled like I was 13 again! They still give the same thrills as I got as a child.

Here's the gang as we waited for the park to open. We arrived right when it opened at 10:30 and made our way through the park, and even got to ride some of the rides two and three times!

Preston helping Lila get her seat belt on for the swinging swings.

Thunder River water rides...one of the boys' favorites! As you can tell Corby got pretty soaked on it!

Mary and Lila enjoying Thunder River! Luckily it was a hot day in the mid 90's so we weren't upset getting a little wet to cool us off!

Corby standing under one of the sprinklers to cool him off.

Another favorite...The Tidal Wave! They defiantly rode this one twice and even stood on the bridge to take part in the tidal wave to get the more wet after the ride.

Soaked to the bone!

I didn't think the boys' would be brave enough to take on the Screaming Eagle Roller Coaster...but I was wrong! They loved it!

National Tom Sawyer Days...The Frog Jump.

We had big plans this year to go catch our frog out in the back of our pond for our first frog jumping contest held at the National Tom Sawyer Days in Hannibal. Well of course if you know us...nothing ever goes as planned. On Saturday we all got dressed for the woods to take off to catch the best ever frog. Heath hooked up the trailer to the lawnmower and put a rack in it that we could sit on the back. We took off to the pond and guess what...no frogs to be found. So we headed back up to the house on the lawnmower. Corby decided he would walk the path back and Quin sat on Heath's lap. Conner, Preston, and I were on the back sitting on the trailer when it then gave way and flipped upside down on top of us. We were then left laying with our feet flying in the air and looking ahead to only see Heath still driving back to the house not having a clue that he had just dumped us. When we finally got to feet, Conner ended up having a gash in his head and I had a huge knot on my ankle. Let's just say the frog quest was not a successful one. We opted to rent a frog from the Boy Scouts for $2. A much better option by all.

Preston was the only one that decided he wanted to jump a frog.

We signed Conner up, but once he realized he had to hold it, he decided he didn't want any part of it. Here is Preston picking out a frog from the huge bucket.

We met up with the Youngblood Family. They were more successful on their frog quest. We will have to take some pointers from them next year.

Miss Carly, not afraid of anything.

Quin was all about the frogs.

Heath tormenting Quin by sticking it right in his face.

Preston waiting patiently in line. We ended up borrowing one of Dawn and Steve's frogs thinking we would have better luck than the boy scout frogs that had been jumped 200x before our turn.

Preston doing anything he could to get his frog to jump. They take the measurments from 3 jumps. Let's just say, I think his frog only jumped maybe 1-2ft!...if that! Oh Well...it's the experience that counts. Oh and the $10 memorable T-Shirt to mark it!

Afterwards, we let the kids take part in the Carnival and all the food.

Gotta love that Cotton Candy!

Conner enjoying one of the rides.

We enjoyed our first frog jumping experience. We have lots to remember from it! Hopefully we have better luck next time!

Day 2 & Happy 4th of July!

We decided to go back and try to go up in the Arch one more time. This time it was a success...well sort of! If any of you know Heath at all, you will know that he doesn't like fine close knit places! Well if you have never experienced the St. Louis Arch, you need to know that you are completely confined to an egg shaped elevator (if you call it that), that only holds 5 people. Heath told me that he was going to go up in the Arch with us...although I hadn't expected him to, because like I said he can't handle tight enclosed spaces. The doors opened to let us on, we all get seated, and then as soon as the doors begin to shut...he jumps ship with Quin in hands! I then have Conner and Preston crying not knowing why their father just jumped out clearing the doors in his way for them to shut in a matter of seconds! I was super mom and got them all calmed down and we enjoyed our 4 minute venture to the top and then experienced the top of the Arch for a matter of 5 minutes! I don't remember it being that small of space when we reached the top! The boys have now had their Arch experience and I don't think we will encounter it again anytime soon.

This was taken prior to the trip to the top!

All the boys decked out in the 4th of July gear and Conner holding on to his Fred Bird he purchased the night before at the game.

This is the view of Busch Stadium as seen from the top of the Arch.

Preston once he got settled enjoyed the visit to the top.

Boys taken at the top of the Arch.

I then couldn't pass up a photo shoot at the lake near by the Arch.

Quin on his 1st 4th of July!

We then headed to O'fallon to our friend Matt and Jeannie's house. My sister, Matt, and the girls were staying with them so we got to visit with them also. O'fallon was having a town festival that had several free kid events that the boys took part in.

Conner getting ready to wipe out at the end of the slide.

Waiting in line for one of the rides.

All the kids enjoyed jumping on the trampoline at Matt & Jeannie's.

All the girls' on the 4th.

Gotta have that watermelon on the 4th!

Corby enjoying his watermelon.

Claire, Sydney, and Ava (Sydney in the middle) enjoying the 4th.

And finally we watched a wonderful fireworks display right off of their deck. We had the best view!

Day 1~ Trip to St. Louis.

Last Thursday we took a day trip to St. Louis. We had it planned that we would take the Busch Stadium Tour, go up in the Arch, and then attend the game that night. Well 2 out of the 3 activities occurred. After attending the tour at Busch Stadium, we hiked to the St. Louis Arch as it was about to downpour, only to be told they weren't selling anymore tickets to go up due to maintenance....not what you want to hear! So we hiked to find a taxi to go back to our hotel before the game began. I would highly advise anyone who is a St. Louis Cardinal Fan to take the tour! We got to go where most people don't!!! They showed us the Cardinal Club, where the rich and famous get to attend, the press box, and even let us sit in the dugout! While we were there Yadier Molina (The Cardinals catcher) was having batting practice.

Conner supporting his Cardinal gear.

Conner loved the tour and learned a lot of knowledge about his favorite team!

Family picture in the dugout!

Heath and the boys feeling pretty important.

This was taken from the radio and tv press box. While we were in there we got a shot of someone getting engaged right on home plate! AHHH...isn't that love!

The boys got to sit in the exact seats that Mike Shannon, the voice of the Cardinals sits and broadcasts.

The downfall of the night was when I got to the game and realized that I (Miss Anal Organized!) forgot my camera back at the hotel! So no shots of the game were taken. I did try to beg Heath to grab a taxi to go back and get it and he didn't budge! Luckily in a few weeks we will attend another game, so lots of shots will be able to be taken at a later date! Until then Go Cardinals! BEAT THOSE CUBBIES!!!! (Oh on another down point...the Cardinal lost to the Mets 11-1! It was a horrible game and it rained on and off all night!

Firework Fun.

While Maggie and Kohler were still staying with my parents last week, we decided that we needed to shoot off some fireworks. I think this was the highlight of their stay! Heath and my dad put on a little show for us. It's amazing how fast you can blow up $32, but it was well worth the light up's in their faces! Conner was the only one that really didn't enjoy the show!

Watching the colorful smoke bombs. They got a little creative at the end and were mixing them together.

Sparklers were a hit!

All of the kids enjoying the fireworks. (direct supervision was given!)

This looks closer to her face than it really was! (No I didn't want to give Sheri a heart attack while her kids were under my supervision!)

I think the "City Cousins" enjoyed the country cousins' fun!

Quin's First Cut.

Last week we took Quin to get his first haircut. He was getting a little "fuzzy" on the sides and thought it needed to be shapened up just a little before the big birthday. He was pretty much content as always and had a comb to entertain him. (She advised us that it was disinfected). He looks like such a little boy now and is ready for his big birthday!

Pre-Cut.

Sitting content as always.

Trimming up the back.

All smiles.

Our hair dresser Amy with the final cut.

The Birthday Invitation.

Well I have procrastinated long enough! If I didn't wait until the last minute, I would have save a couple of bucks not having it rush delivered! OK, the 1st birthday invites are completed...check that one off the to do list! These will be put in the mail today! The cake is ordered. I just told the lady what I wanted and she said she would do something fun??? She does a really good job! Last night we took Baby Quin (I don't know how long this will be able to stick with him), with all the other boys to get his 1st haircut! OK, he really didn't need one that bad, but had some hair that was just getting a little fuzzy over the ears! He is totally a little boy now! Hopefully those will get posted tonight. Tomorrow starts our frenzy of a weekend! Here is our list of "To Do's" for the upcoming weekend:

• Thursday~ St. Louis (Arch, Busch Stadium Tour, and St. Louis Cardinal Game, spending the night in downtown St. Louis since game is a night game)
• Friday~ Spending day doing some 4th thing in the St. Louis Area then heading back to watch fireworks with Grandy, Grandma, Maggie, & Kohler.
• Saturday~ Attend the National Tom Sawyer Days, which the boys will participate in the Frog Jumping Contest (Frogs still to be caught...or we will have to rent one for $1 from the local boy scouts!)
• Sunday~ My friend Mary and I taking our older 2 kids to Six Flags!

Wheww weee.....that just wears me out thinking about it, but we are looking forward to the entire weekend! So as you can see my camera better be prepared!