Warrior Dash 2015

I have always wanted to do some kind of mud run.  A couple years ago Nick did a Mud Run with a group of guys and I tagged along to take pictures.  Man.....did it look fun!!

SOOOO.....I took it upon myself to search for a local mud run near us.  My friend from Tennessee had recommended doing a warrior dash.  I have never heard of them before and so I searched their website and low and behold.....they were going to be in Crawfordsville, IN.   

So I asked my dear hubby if he would like to join me in the mud.  He said "yes" and I quickly signed us up.

Nice and Clean....Ready to hit the mud!!

 Along the 5K route they had staff taking pictures at the 12 obstacles that are within the race.  We stopped to pose for this one but neither of us remember doing this pose at all??

This one we waited till all were cleared then took a running leap over the fire.  Naturally at the last moment someone walked right infront of me and I told nick "I won't be in that picture".  Sure enough I wasn't included....however its one of my favorites.

All done, dirty as ever.....but wow we had a blast and look forward to next year.

Anyone want to join us????

Pure Disgust.....

We came home from St. Louis to find a basement with an inch of water throughout the entire basement.  While we were gone many inches of rain fell.  Our sump pump outside that empties the tiles around our house underground stopped working.  We didn't realize this until after working 5 hours on extracting water that the water was still coming in through the ground/wall base.  Once we got the pump working the water stopped coming in and we finally made progress on removing the water.  My dad, grandpa, dad's hired man, nick, and I worked from 8am-1pm using shop vac's to remove most of the water.  We then called in a company to finish the job.

Never in all my grandfathers life has he seen this much water sitting around.  Here is our front yard!!
It is now been nearly three weeks since our flooded front yard and we officially have a drive way back.  Our yard still isn't completely mowable yet, but we are getting there.

This was about three days after we got home that Nick had to go down into the sump pump area because it was back leaking because of all the pressure of water underground and around the tile.  This was at 11pm at night!!  I was holding a lantern for him to see.

The following are just several pictures from our basement area.  

We had to remove the carpet due to the stainmaster pad that was underneath the carpet.  It has a plastic top which didn't allow the water extraction company to remove the amount they felt was safe for drying purposes without getting mold.  When they removed our carpet they found MOLD!!  (not from this water issue but from when my dear son left a window open and I failed to dry it properly).  So we had them remove the 9ftX14ft piece of molded carpet in hopes we could still order the same carpet.  Sadly it no longer is available.

Baseboards were also removed to help dry it faster.

We are currently under construction here at the waibel household and will be until sometime in August when new flooring will be laid in the basement.  I am currently in the midst of painting.  Stay tuned sometime in august for a finished basement project.

PS: I am counting my blessings it was only an inch of water and ONLY water.....and not sewer like some around here had.

St. Louis, MO

June  9th-12th 

Nick was to preach at St. Louis church on the 12th so we decided to make a long weekend getaway.  We sure did enjoy our time away.  Lots of things to do in St. Louis so we stayed busy.

Several hours of swimming.  When we weren't out and about, you could find everyone in the pool.  sadly the hot tub was broken all weekend.

 One day we went to the City Museum.  We are SOOOO glad we left an entire day for this event.  There is so much to see and so much to do.  My boys were a bit skeptical by the name and even the outside of the building looks run down and awful.  But when we got to the front entrance of the place my boys eyes lite up and they were so excited.  So much climbing around and sliding down, and getting lost:).

 This was a wooden indoor climbing place.  It was a jungle of path ways and openings in which you never knew where you would end up.  Of course we lost the kids a few times, but nothing serious.  We even lost nick once.  He went down a slide and we had no clue where the end of the slide was.

 This was an indoor Skate park....minus the skates of course....so you just ran around these ramps and funnels.  Personally this was my favorite area of the 4 story city museum.

 Ellie liked the ball pit but honestly I'm not a huge fan of these things....ewwwww.

Pretty cool chairs they had here.  You just roll around on them.

 Alright folks....this is the outdoor part that caught my boys attentions pretty quickly. What boy doesn't want to crawl all over and go to great heights to investigate planes up in the sky!!
Even Ellie did this stuff.  She was more brave than I was.  Yes, I did crawl through all that stuff but ONLY once!  The boys all did it several times.

Nick, Elijah and Caden going through the tallest wire tunnel.

Did I mention lots of slides??  This was one of the many.  A note to self and anyone wanting to go here....wear gym short material.  These slides and jean material do NOT mix.

The next day was packed full.  We went to the Gateway Arch.

 We also went up into the arch.  Something I had never done before.  A bit claustrophobic in the tiny little "cell" you ride to the top.  The view from the top was a little "dizzy" feeling for me, but the kids sure loved it.

Inside the Arch!!

We then went to the Anheuser-Busch Brewery for a "free" tour.  It wasn't anything to spectacular, but you do get a "free" beer taste at the end:)  Kids get a "free" soda.

Besides the arch and the brewery we also went to the FREE St. Louis zoo!! Sure had fun here.  Kids enjoyed the animals and got a good amount of walking in:).  (ok, so kids didn't like all the walking, but still they enjoyed the zoo).

 Kids wishing the gorilla would carry them through the park.

It had a small petting zoo for goats only.  Ellie was terrified of them.  

 We got to the park right when it opened at 8am.  From 8-9 am there are a few things that were "free" that normally cost to do.  Like the stingray encounter.  Kids loved this.  Oh and for those who plan to visit the zoo anytime soon....get there at 8am and you can get street parking which is free and then you don't have to pay the 15$ parking fee!!!

 Last but not least we saw something pretty cool at the zoo.  Something I had no idea took place.  You learn something new everyday.  This hippo plunged into the water and proceeded to open his mouth WIDE....and what do you know.....all these fish come swarming into his mouth.  They were cleaning the hippo's teeth!!!  It was amazing to watch.  So many fish swimming around and IN HIS MOUTH!

It was a great trip and we were so glad we got to go UNTIL............
...................stay tuned for what we arrived home to.......

Fair Oaks~ Nick's work picnic

Usually it is Indiana Beach each summer for Nick's work picnic, but this year Tate & Lyle chose to have their picnic at Fair Oaks instead.  It was nice to go here again, but all my kids think Indiana Beach has way more to offer and hope next year they return to Indiana Beach.

We spent ALL day here.  From the time they opened till they closed.  Work provided an "ok" lunch, but then we decided to head to the Farmhouse for dinner after wards.  I sure enjoy that place.  For those who have never gone.....and have heard its expensive....it can be, but if you are up for a burger and fries....GET THE KIDS MEAL!!!  Its half the cost, but literally its bigger than any regular sized hamburger.  Yummm!! Thanks Tate & Lyle for a fun filled day!!

June 9th

 Happy 10th Birthday Caden David!!  You are such a joy to have in our household.  You bring lots of laughter and fun antics to the family dynamics.
 Caden chose to have a "friends slumber party" for his birthday this year.  He invited some of his best friends from church.  Actually its his entire Sunday School class at church.

 Swimming....was missing one of his friends in this picture.

 I made pizza dough for the kids and then let them each make their own personal pan however they liked it.  It was fun to see what each boy wanted to put on their pizza and the quantity of each item!!!

 Time for gifts.  He got some fun gifts.  A model truck to put together, a frisbee type activity, water guns, money, etc.

 Time for cake and ice cream.  He chose a secret agent theme.  I was able to find some plates to go with this theme and then I had to just "wing" it for the cake.  Glad he wasn't to picky on the cake....it certainly wasn't anything special.

Happy Birthday Caden!!  We love you!!