Better late than never!

Jeremy took last Saturday off. This, as many of you know, is very rare, and we wanted to make sure that we made the most of our day. We got up early, and ran out to Clever to see if any headway was made on the house. The siding AND the drywall were up...but we were still without brick. Jeremy and I are taking bets that the brick may not be done when we move in (5 weeks, people, that's it!) We had some shopping to do and so, under a dark and cloudy sky, we pulled in to the Supercenter in Republic. Just as we were parking, they announced the first tornado warning of the day over the radio for Christian County (mostly Ozark and Nixa). Here's why.

I obviously did not take these pictures. But this was the view of the storm from different locations in Ozark. The tornado didn't touch down in the city limits, but did do some slight damage to a field east of town. There were also reports of a tornado on the ground near Bolivar, which is North of us, and it was said that they might cancel Firefall.

Thankfully, the weather cleared and they deemed it safe enough, although rather muddy, to continue with the events. This was the first year that we had decided to do one of the big shows. Typically, we just buy some small stuff and let Tanner have fun with that. But he wanted to see some real fireworks this year, and since he gets pretty much whatever he wants...

Tanner had a great time, I wasn't completely impressed. It was very crowded and VERY muddy. But even so we will probably go back next year.

The day of the fourth we had a barbecue with one of my friends from work and her family, and Sara and Barron, who were staying with us for a few days. It was the perfect day. Tanner and Jill's son Bryan hit it off and are now the best of buddies. Jill and I are planning our first sleepover with the two. After that we drove out to the waffle house parking lot at Kearny and 65 and settled in for James River Assembly's "I love America" Celebration. They do an all day event in the Springfield underground, and you can see the show clearly from the highway. I didn't take a camera since I didn't know what to expect. I am totally regretting that decision. It was by far the best fireworks show I have ever seen and lasted almost a full hour. Really, it was stunning. Next year, there will be pictures for sure!

Even though I had a short work week, I was desperately needing the weekend to recuperate. Tanner and I have done nothing but play today. It's been lovely. I thought that if I didn't sit down and update you all on what's been going on that I might get lynched. Better late than never. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday, and thanks for checking in on ours. Lots of love to you all.