What Do You Do When You Aren't On Tour?

Sorry this post is a week late but we are on a break from tour.  So it is actually perfect timing to gather photographic evidence and answer the question:  "What do you do when you aren't on tour?"

Every couple months we swing back around to Saint Louis.  It could be for a couple days or a month. Regardless of the length of stay we always unload every single thing from our car.  It NEEDS a cleaning folks.

The kids help with this massive undertaking which is nice.

The second thing we do is go through the giant pile a mail that has accumulated over the past couple months and hope that nothing bad is waiting for us in there.

The third thing on our list is grocery shopping.  My preparedness varies but the basic plan is to buy as many fruits and vegetables as I can, then I cook my little heart out for as long as the break allows!!! 

  My father-in-law graciously lets me overtake his kitchen and cook crazy things, like meals with no meat...but no mushrooms, that is where he draws the line.  

 Lest you think to highly of me, there is always at least one stressful, disaster of a meal and by the end of the break I am ready to go back on tour and not be responsible for every meal for a while.

On this break in particular we had two weeks of beautiful fall to enjoy...

We did a school unit on LEAVES!

We visited the Saint Louis Zoo and met their newest addition Kali the polar bear.

We also attended a house show that Kevin was NOT playing...Maddie pointed out that this is weird and unusual.

I was able to get a bit crafty and  finish the kids' Halloween costumes.  Kevin is a brown bat.

Maddie is Rosalina with her pal Luma (Mario Galaxy characters).  I finished them in time to wear to the Magic House, a really cool children's museum in STL.

We try to make it to church and if we do, we often stop at Imo's Pizza on the way home.  It's a Saint Louis tradition.

The kids really love lounging around at grandpa's wearing their robes and pajamas for as long as possible.

Playing many, many, video games is also high on the To Do List.

This break, and most breaks for the rest of this year Kevin is consulting...so it is not much of a "break" for him, just a different job.  He is also working on some new music with Fallon and playing as many video games as he can.

Don't be fooled, underneath these professional looking clothes are a pair of red swimming trunks and a Families t-shirt.

Breaks from tour are busy, really busy.  We have to fit in a lot of life maintenance; doctor and dentist appointments, bank trips, oil changes, cleaning, work, unpacking, repacking. Despite all the "chores"we really enjoy the change of pace, sleeping in the same place each night, the opportunities for each of us to be creative and also spending time with family.