New Furniture

When we got home from the Ozarks Travis had a seat in his favorite chair. It's a green rocker recliner. That is his spot in the living room. Buddy has a matching chair on their other side of the living room. I get the couch in between the two guys! :)

When Travis sat down and started to rock we heard this big Crunch, thump, Boom! His beloved chair broke! It was a sad, sad, night. The chair is tilted to the left now and no longer rocks. :(

But there is good news amongst this sadness! We went yesterday afternoon to Galesburg and the Quad Cities in order to shop for new chairs! After going to 6 different stores, price comparing, comfort comparing, and deciding what we wanted we are now the proud owners of 2 new identical leather rocker recliners! Oh la la!

One snag....the recliners we purchased are not in stock! They were supposed to get a new shipment on July 3rd but they haven't arrived yet! I am going to call every day until they come in! We are very excited and are now talking about a new couch too! YEAH! I love new furniture!

The old furniture will not be just thrown to the curb....we are going to move it to the basement in the hopes of one day being able to somehow finish the basement off and have a 2nd living room down there.

Travis plans to try to fix the chair that broke on a cold, windy snow day this winter! :)

Here's our new chair!

Ozark Vacation

Well we are back and I'm finally ready to write about our trip. We went on Friday the 4th of July to Lake of the Ozarks with my family. My mom and dad, my brother Justin, a family friend Jane, and Travis and I all stayed in one condo. While some of my parents friends stayed in another condo. We were only there for 4 days but WOW we definitely piled a lot into 4 days!

On Friday when we got there we somehow managed to snag a table and chairs by the pool. It was packed since it was the 4th of July. We spent the afternoon/evening by the pool. When it was time for dinner we left all of our stuff by the pool in order to save a spot for fireworks later and had a traditional 4th of July dinner, hamburgers, baked beans, suddenly salad, potato chips. My brother Justin usually works nights and had 2hours of sleep in about 36 hours cause he had to work before we left. He fell asleep after dinner and we couldn't rouse him for fireworks. After a nap, my dad joined us down by the pool. Jane is a HUGE 4th of July fan to say the least! She required us to listen to patriotic music, which I think our neighbors hated, but I kinda liked, and she was decked out in patriotic garb. We were able to see fireworks from 2-3 different areas of the lake just by sitting by the pool! It was cool enough for fireworks that we needed sweatshirts. Odd for the 4th of July!

On Saturday Travis and I woke up and went to "the strip" which has a bunch of tourist traps! Lots of Tee-shirt shops, candy stores, bumper cars/ski ball, and junk stores. We went in hopes of finding pez....we found none :(

The rest of the day was spent by the pool. Dad woke up early and got all 11 of us a huge table by 7AM so we could all have somewhere to sit/lounge. At 12 the complex hired a "one man band" to come and play oldies around the pool. It was fun for my folks, and I too, liked the music but Travis and Justin's only reply was a roll of the eyes, and an attempt to put an Ipod on...however, "Awesome Bob" was so loud the guys couldn't hear their own Ipods. Around 5 my family left for Peckers Bar and Grill. There is a huge woody woodpecker out in front of the restaurant and they have dueling pianos. We were told to be there by 6 for a table...we got there at 5:30 and then found out that the dueling pianos didn't start until 7:30 :( We had dinner and waited, and waited, and waited...finally the guys got tired of waiting and took a vehicle home. Mom, Jane and I stayed and listened for a while. It was a lot of fun! When we got back to the condo Justin and Travis had acquired fishing licenses and were fishing off the dock. Travis caught a Perch using minnows, and had 2 other bites. Justin wasn't as lucky...no bites, no catches!

Sunday and Monday were much of the same. We rented a huge pontoon boat and spent the whole day on the lake. We would cruise around looking at houses that were multi million dollar homes and drooling. Then when it would get too hot, we would pull over, and all jump in. There were rafts and life jackets to float on. After a significant time in the water dad would load us all in the boat again and we would cruise to another cove. It was a lot of fun. There wasn't a current pulling you around like there is on the river, and you could see about 3 feet under the water, again, not something you could find on the river. On Sunday we went to this place called Frankie and Louie's, it's a gas station/bar/restaurant right on the water. It's named after the Budweiser frogs Frankie and Louie. We stayed there for some time. Justin and Jane won a "washer" game. Travis and I bought some fruit ice smoothies, and my mom and dad sat and watched it all unfold. Mom did buy a cover up for her swimsuit. It was a pretty neat place. We went out around 10AM and didn't come home until 5PM! LONG DAY! I made the fatal mistake of only putting sun screen on my shoulders 1 time that day OUCH! Other than that both Travis and I did a great job adding sun screen and didn't get burnt at all. After dinner we were able to take an evening cruise. We were not allowed to take the boat out at night due to a running light being burnt out, but we stayed out until last light of day. The after dinner cruise was beautiful, but I of course forgot my camera! I made sure we would be doing the same thing the next day so I could bring it then.

Monday proved to be much of the same thing. Boating all day, dinner at the condo, and then a last cruise on the boat until dark. On Monday I spent a lot of time in the shade of the canopy due to plenty of sun the day before. It was quite hot so we did spend a lot of time in many coves cooling off. Tuesday Morning Dad, Travis and I headed home because Dad and Travis had to get back to work. We left everyone else enjoying the sun and the pool! They will return on Saturday afternoon.

We had a great time and are thankful for everyone who could go and helped make the trip possible! I love hanging out with my family, and I love traveling, so combing the two made me over the moon excited and happy. It was nice to have some quality time with everyone as we are all hard workers who often don't take enough time to relax! I hope to take another trip soon with everyone!

Squeaky Clean

I have been told many times to check the pockets of clothing going into the washer. I have ruined many clothes by putting pens into the dryer....mostly Travis' and yet I still do not check pockets.
Today I was doing laundry to get ready for our trip tomorrow to the Ozarks and I threw in my jean shorts from yesterday.

Meanwhile, I needed to add some songs to my ipod for the trip. So I attempted to do so, but couldn't find my ipod. I knew I brought it back from my mom's yesterday...where could it be... OH NO! I think it's in my jean shorts pockets, so I flew down stairs to look... After going threw an entire load of laundry to find the jean shorts I was thrilled when it wasn't in there. I must have left it in the car, at mom's or in a pile somewhere.

Travis found the ipod a few hours later...... at the BOTTOM of the washing machine, squeaky clean, but no longer workable!

I knew I was in trouble and it would be a long time before we would purchase another Ipod for Misty....I was told I was being demoted from Laundry Duty :) :) :) Drats :) :):)
Then after feeling really crummy for about 10-15 minutes my wonderful, loving and brilliant husband informed me we would be stopping at target on our way to the Quad Cities this evening for a new Ipod for me!!!! :) :) :) How thoughtful!

So now I'm up at 12:38AM downloading songs that were already on my old ipod onto my new ipod....it is going to be an early morning come 5:15! However, at least I have an Ipod to lull me to sleep on the car ride to the Ozarks!
I hope everyone has a Safe and Happy 4th of July!

The Burns'

I got to spend a relaxing day with one of my dearest friends Krista Burns today. We enjoyed hanging out and watching/listening to Landon's antics! He's such a little character! I love him to pieces! Once Landon was taking a nap, little Delaney woke up and I got to feed her. She is too precious! I enjoyed hanging out with Krista and the kids and catching up. I'm looking forward to getting together next week. Isn't summer GREAT!!??!?!?!
P.S....Thanks for lunch Krista!

Buddy

Ok...one more post about Saturday!

Kay just sent me this picture of Buddy. This is before he ate all the potatoes. He's such a cute little dog....Travis says he's an OLD dog.

Old, young, little, big, we love Buddy just the way he is! :)

Still enjoying

We are just getting back from a cookout at my mom's house. We met there with the whole family to discuss last minute details for our upcoming Ozark vacation. I am getting quite excited we have never been on a full fledged family trip with Travis. The last time we went all together was "pre-Travis" when we went to Hawaii. I hope he has a good time and wants to go on another "Vancil" family vacation.

All day long I've been enjoying the memories and pictures from yesterday. It truly was just too fun. I know Travis especially enjoyed the day. He feels very close to his family and I know it is hard sometimes for him to be 40 minutes away. It was good to see him so happy and content with everyone in the yard.

Besides the Buddy incident I think my favorite picture from yesterday was when Tyler was so mad! I don't remember what made him so made and start to cry but anyone who deals with children or has their own can relate to this photo:

He is such a little character and SOOOO funny! I think he's going to be the comedian of the family. Maybe that's why I think this photo is so funny. He is usually full of funny faces and gestures and to see him like this makes me try to figure out what's going on in his head....

a) I want you to get this camera out of my FAAAACCCEE!

b) Mommy help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

c) Why does everyone get to eat but me?????

Anyone have a better guess?

Stecher Family Gathering

Today we had a fun family afternoon! We had Travis' side of the family down for a cookout. It was fun to have all the family together and the little ones running around. It was too windy for a fire in the fire pit, bummer, but we had good food, and good company anyway. Tyler is almost 1, he'll be 1 on the 7th of July, Caleb is going on 3 and Annica just turned 5. This was a special get together as the Chervenka's are moving very soon to Des Moines Iowa and get-togethers like this will take a little more planning and advance notice in the future.

All in all, Buddy did quite well, he left the little ones alone until it was time to eat. We didn't dare leave him inside when we were all outside eating due to his food binging problems....see previous post!
When Heather, Kirk and the kids were getting ready to head home we noticed Buddy was no where to be found...
Travis found him inside, he had snuck in when the door was opened. When Travis found him he was on the floor pulling on the aluminum foil that was on the table housing the grilled potatoes. Buddy was grr, grr, grring and pulling potatoes down upon his head.....We could hear Travis yelling from the back patio! Buddy was swiftly kicked out the back door and the back door slammed! Uh-Oh, here we go again!

It was a wonderful day and one that I know Travis and I will remember, and cherish for a long time to come!

Buddy

Travis and I have a 13 year old cocker spaniel named Buddy. Travis inherited Buddy when he married me :)
Buddy is quite a quirky little dog to say the least! He is often getting into things he shouldn't and giving both Travis and I a run for our money!
One day he seems to be on his death bed and the next he is like a new puppy. Buddy is on a restricted diet. He is no longer allowed any table food. He, however, has a huge sugar addiction....much like me! On Friday he got a bag of marshmallows off the dining room table that was going to be used for S'mores at a cookout later that night. He ate 15 or so mashmallows....leaving the plastic bag behind! After a phone call to the vet I was assured they would come out one end or the other....they came out both! GROSS! The next day, Saturday, Buddy had a "marshmallow hangover" he definitally came down from his sugar high! He is now

back to his restricted diet!

Give it a try!

After viewing my sister-in-law's page, I decided to try this out! It seems relatively easy and maybe a fun way to journal our lives! I don't know how often or long I will keep the page up. It should be relatively easy this summer, but once school starts, watch out...might not be so easy.
Who knows, maybe I'll get bored or uninterested after a week or two, but we'll give it a try...who knows maybe this will transport me into the "new-age" of technology! :)