Wes gone again

Wes got a phone call on November 15 that his brother needed him to come to Iowa to record music. Apparently, Wes is the best slide guitarist that his brother can find. He left a few hours later. He needed to leave immediately so they could practice the songs. It is good thing I have become patient with Wes' last minute spontaneity. :) They recorded 5 songs at a studio in Omaha, NE on November 19. Their next studio time is December 10 (I will let you do the math on how far that is away).

At this time in our lives we cannot afford for him to travel back and forth from Iowa so he stayed there for Thanksgiving. Also, the girls and I stayed in Columbia for Thanksgiving since it would be too expensive for us to go to Iowa. Our suburban is too expensive. We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family the Sunday before Thanksgiving at my parents house. For Thanksgiving day my parents invited us to join them at Golden Corral. We had never gone to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving. It was actually only the third time in 9 years that I had even eaten there. I was amazed at how many people were there. Their parking lot was full so we had to park in a lot across the field. We waited for 30 minutes in a line that went out the door and two rows back in the parking lot. Crazy.

I will probably not see Wes until around Christmas. Rebekah told me last night she missed Wes really, really, really, really, really, really, really a lot. She said she wanted a daddy hug and kiss. Break my heart. This summer our dog Rosie (Weimaraner) stayed with Wes but this time she has stayed with us. Almost two weeks later Rosie is still looking for Wes. Anna misses Wes but understands why he needs to be gone. She also has had a hard time with Wes depression over the last few years. She wants him to be happy.

I pray and hope that Wes and Scott (friend in Columbia) can find a drummer and bassist for their band. It is fun for Wes to play with his brother but Wes needs his own band. They need people who are committed to playing. I hope Wes and Scott can find venues in our area. It would be very nice if he could get paid to do what he loves. It is fun for Wes to play with his brother but it is not good long term. Iowa is not a good place for Wes long term.

Wes and summer playing

This summer Wes spent 9 weeks in Iowa minus one week we went on vacation together. He spent the time in Iowa and Nebraska playing guitar and singing with his brother's band. We went up to Iowa for fourth of July and the girls and I went back home on the 5th. Mid-August the girls and I met him in St Joe so we could go down to Ridgedale for a vacation. He briefly returned to Columbia after our vacation to help a friend with their air conditioner. Then he left again until the beginning of September. He had a great time playing music. He returned to Columbia because he missed us and being in Iowa comes with a price.

The girls and I missed him lots. All Wes wants to do is play music so I was okay with him being gone. It was hard to have him gone. At the same time it was easy because Wes has been miserable for so long. He has been trying to create his own band in Columbia but cannot seem to find a drummer. They do not want a drummer who can just keep a beat but they want someone who can do artistic drum techniques. Wes can play the drums really well but he does not want to play them. He would rather play the guitar. It was nice for him to play with his brother's band but it is not his band.

It's been 8 months since I blogged.

It has been 8 months (almost 9 months) since I blogged. Our lives have been super busy. Back to March Anna got cast in the Wizard of Oz play that performed in MU's Jesse Hall. She was a flower.


Cast picture.


Classic Anna!

We spend a lot of time at Bass Pro. Between their great kid activities and the fact that Wes fishes a lot. I could spend an entire post on Wes' fishing pics LOL! For now here are some pics of Bass Pro in March.





In April we dyed eggs at Scott's house with Grace and Shelley.

Grace, Anna & Rebekah


Scott, Anna, Rebekah, and Shelley.


All of the eggs they dyed.

The next day we had a plastic Easter egg hunt with Grace and Kylie.