A Midweek Break

Sometimes you just need a day off, especially in the middle of a chaotic work week when it's 90 degrees and there's not a cloud in the sky. For us, that day was Wednesday. Thankfully, my husband's youngest sister and her husband have been in town visiting this week which provided us the perfect excuse to take a hump day break.

Our guests arrived Monday evening, and our first item on the agenda was a trip to Shakespeare's for the best pizza in town. Seriously, it's the bomb. The next morning, I was off to a busy day at the office while Jake took Monica and Jacob on a sightseeing tour of Columbia. That evening, we ate BBQ on the back deck and watched the tot bathe herself in corn on the cob juice and Sweet Baby Rays. Never a dull moment with her around!

Wednesday morning, after Jake forced poor Monica to try biscuits & gravy for the first time (which only confirmed the fact that she didn't like them), we were off to Lake of the Ozarks to do some shopping, play a little put put, and have lunch by the water. Let's face it, I'll call anything a "vacation" if it means I get to eat some tasty food.

After a trip to Ross and Target, we determined it was entirely too hot for the outlet mall, so we made our way to Toad Cove to have lunch overlooking the lake. Jacob and Monica reminded us just how lucky we are to have a large body of water so close to us. My family and I took full advantage of the lake when I was a kid and I definitely had my share of day drinking at Party Cove in my early 20's, but now that we're married and have a child of our own we don't go nearly as often as we should. Jake and I both grew up around water, him wake boarding in the falls of Idaho and myself floating down Missouri's rivers. It's safe to say we both have a love for water, which is something I hope we pass down to the tot.

After lunch, we headed to Sugar Creek for a round of mini golf. The dashboard in Jake's truck read 96 degrees, so we were relieved to find the entire course shaded. We opted for the Water Wheel course thinking it would somehow be cooler (it wasn't), and even the tot got in on the action. Jacob ended up beating us all, but his win was bittersweet since everyone got a hole in one except for him! I came in dead last, of course, but we all had a good time, even with the heat.

Since we were all hot, sweaty messes, we decided to call it a day and head back home. We ended our night watching Taylor rub spaghetti all over her face and then chilled downstairs after the tot was in bed. This morning, we said goodbye and vowed to see each other in Idaho after Christmas. We're so happy that Taylor was finally able to meet her Aunt Mo and Uncle Jacob and that we were able to spend some much-needed time with them as well. A midweek break is exactly what we needed.