Jindra Family Blog: Big Cedar/Kansas City Trip

Last month we packed up and headed back to the great Midwest! Sofie and Jackson flew like champs again, even though Brian and I had to split up on our flights and hold them in our laps this time (we got spoiled on our last trip with the carseats!). We spent 9 days at Big Cedar Lodge on Table Rock Lake with my family. We shared a 2-bedroom unit with my sister's family and my parents had their own unit a few doors down from us. With 6 kids - including 3 babies - and 4 adults in one unit, it's amazing we all survived! Haha, really it was fun to all be together. We had a great time swimming, tubing, shopping, walking, fishing, and eating. It was pretty hot and I just wasn't ready to get Sofie and Jackson in the pool yet, so they skipped most of the outdoor stuff unless it was morning or evening and they could be in their stroller. Unfortunately, my sister was sick with strep throat for a few days and wasn't feeling well at all. My poor mom got hit hard with the same illness when we got to Kansas City the following week. Luckily, the babies all stayed healthy!

After our stay at Big Cedar, Brian headed to Hawaii for work and I went back to Kansas City to stay at my sister's house until Brian returned from Hawaii and could fly back to Florida with us. Traveling through Missouri on our way back from the lake to KC, we got caught in a terrible storm (we had not checked the weather that morning and were totally unaware of the nasty weather we were heading straight towards). My parents and I stopped in Clinton, MO to eat lunch at a Wendy's and feed the babies their bottles. We had been there for about an hour and were getting ready to head back out to the car when I came out of the bathroom and heard someone in line talking on the phone, discussing trees down and going in a basement. They sky had turned black and the winds and rain were really picking up. About the time we got the babies in their carseats and moved them away from the windows, the tornado sirens started going off. We got back to the bathrooms where we stayed for about 10-15 minutes. Everyone there had to go in the bathrooms or the hallway right outside the bathrooms. When we were told it was safe to come out, the brunt of the storm had passed. A power line outside was down, a big tree across the street was down, and windows were shattered at the Taco Bell across the street. It was so scary with 2 little babies! Driving out of town, there were mangled construction signs, storm chasers, and a roof had even blown off a barn. I guess we can say that Sofie and Jackson survived their first tornado, and they had no idea!

Our stay in Kansas City went by too quickly. We squeezed a lot in, but I still didn't get to see everyone I had hoped to see. It is just so much harder to make the rounds with 2 little babies in tow. I was able to attend baseball games for 3 of my nephews (even with a heat index of 105!) and hit some of my favorite KC restaurants - Jack Stack BBQ (my #1 favorite!), Cactus Grill, J. Alexander's, Salty Iguana, Coach's, & Ingredient. We also went to a "Sip and See" in my old neighborhood for the babies, hosted by the Werner's. Thank you, Bill & Kathy!

I was also able to spend 3 afternoons with my good friend, Amber. She is such an incredible woman and is staying so strong for her 2 precious kiddos after losing her husband - our friend, John - while searching a burning home in May. Please continue to keep Amber, Brecken, Emma, John's family, and Amber's family in your thoughts and prayers as they continue to deal with the loss of John.

When we returned home, I had over 500 pictures on my camera! Whew! Here are just a few from our trip: