Father's Day

Father's Day was just a great day!  It was super hot, full, busy, and fun.  First up was catching the Metro train to the arch.  Our hotel was located right by a Metro stop so instead of driving into downtown and having to find parking we decided it would be easier (and more of an adventure) if we took the Metro.  We purchased tickets to ride the tram to the top.  A new experience for all of us.

Justin and Grandpa taking pictures.

 The tram only held 5 people.  It was a little cozy in there.  The door was glass so you could see the innards of the arch.  Very cool!

 The door to get on the tram was little.

 View of the stadium from the arch.

 Looking straight down out of the window at the top.

 After the arch we went back to the hotel for a little rest (Justin and I napped) then back on the Metro to meet the Krosts, our friends from when we lived in MI.  We had not seen them since we left MI 6 years ago, so it was so special that they drive 2 hours just too see us!!
Caroline and their youngest, Harper, (which we hadn't met) were fast friends!

 The group back together.

 Everyone!

 After an early dinner we took to Metro to the stadium to see the Cubs and Cardinals play.  We weren't all the way on the top row but we were close!  I was glad we were in the shade.

 View from our seats.

 First picture of the day shows up at the bottom!  Zoom in on Caroline's face!  She was already tired of walking.  Little did she know that we had MUCH more walking, 18,000 steps actually, to go.

It was a great day and was fun celebrating the dads in STL!!  Happy Father's Day!

St Louis City Museum

Last weekend we met Grandma and Grandpa in St Louis.  We had a fun-filled weekend planned and we enjoyed every hot, sweaty minute of it!!

First up was the City Museum.  If you go to STL then you have to stop there.  It's a huge, imagination filled, maze-like place.  Everyone had so much fun and was tired at the end of the day.  We got there soon after they opened and were able to do the outside stuff before the sun hit it and it got too hot.

Justin using pulleys to pull up a giant chain.

 There were lots and lots of slides there.  One was 10 floors!!  This one was just 2 or 3.  None of them were fast.

 This slide was super steep!  Happy happy kids though.

 There were tunnels and places to go everywhere!  Most of the time parents couldn't fit and we didn't know where they ended.  You couldn't be a helicopter parent at this place!

 Heading down the slide.

 Having fun on an outdoor slide.

 This was the outside of the building.  We climbed in the airplane and the bus at the very top!!

 More exploring!

 This area was like a skate park.  Lots of running up and sliding down!

 The kids spent at least an hour in this area exploring and climbing around in this area.  You could even explore above those feather like things hanging from the ceiling area.

More from STL to come!

Getting ready

Justin was gone for 2 weeks so the kids and I were busy getting things ready for the movers.  First up was a little painting!  I got this solid wood shelf from my school with the plan to put it in the toy room in our new house.  It needed an upgrade so Will sanded it and did most of the painting!  Caroline repainted her bookshelf all by herself!  These getting-bigger-kiddos sure are nice to have around.

 Then we took a little field trip to Moon Marble company to see how glass marble are hand made.  Very cool stuff!

 Since the fishing wasn't go good when we were camping Justin took them camping at the stocked lake on post.  Eric caught 4 fish!  They had a much better time.

 The finished shelf!  I only did the inside of all the cubbies.  Will did the rest.

 The end of an era.  The homemade toy box is no longer needed.

 This might be the best $30 I have ever spent!  They play for hours in this 10 foot pool.  It has been so hot that even emptying, moving, and refilling it every few days they still enjoy it.

 It was a beautiful evening for fishing.

 Caroline and Claire are bathing suit twinsies!

 And Will was LOVING that we made homemade chocolate pudding!  First time having pudding since everything that comes from the store has dairy in it.  He was a fan!

Camping

Saturday of Memorial day weekend we headed to Clinton lake to go camping.  We had promised the boys we would go camping again before we moved.  It has been super hot lately so I wasn't exactly thrilled about it but the nights were down in the 60's so that would be tolerable.

Will is a S'mores fan to the extreme and was itching to get to the s'mores part of camping.

 Heading out!  The van is full (for a 2 night stay) and we didn't have Caroline as she was with her school Odyssey of the Mind team for their world competition still.

 First up after setting up camp was to fish.  They didn't catch anything but still had fun.

 That evening they played frisbee and some kids from the neighboring camp sites joined in.  Justin was playing frisbee with 8 kids!

 We got a new tent last fall and this was the first time we set it up.  It was awesome!  A 10 person tent has plenty of space for the 5 of us, our luggage, and Miles.

 Justin got his father's day gift a little early.  The hammock was enjoyed by all.

 Justin even took a nap in it Sunday morning.

 Roasting marshmallows.

 Frisbee can turn into a contact sport with my boys.  They had a blast playing.

 While Justin had his hands full helping the boys fish, I was able to finish reading my book.

 Miles even enjoyed cooling off in the water.  The water was not cold.  After record setting May with most days above 90 the water had warmed up nicely.

 Happy campers!

The pictures tell part of the story.  What they don't show is the half dressed neighbor in her string bikini, the drinking neighbors shooting a bb gun, the campers a few sites down playing their spanish music, the cursing from the neighbors behind us.  Or the music still going strong at 3am.  Justin and I decided that we would just go home on Sunday instead of put up with that another night.  So after a morning bike ride we packed it all up and headed home.  We took the kids fishing on post (Eric caught 5 fish!) and had s'mores in our fire pit in our driveway that night.  So all was not lost!

The next week

Tuesday Uncle Kelly and Maddie came for a visit.  They were on their way out west for Maddie's graduation trip.  We were so happy to see them.  We love having company!  The kids weren't done with school yet and I had appointments scheduled.  But they went into KC to see the WW1 museum. Then Wednesday night I got to take them to the first bike race of the season.

 Sweet sweet Lili.

 The Sunday Grandaddy left (and the reason we couldn't take him to the airport) the bigs were confirmed in the church!!  Caroline's best friend's dad is a Methodist trained Chaplain and wanted to have a conformation class.  I was so glad we were able to do this before we moved.

 Will's baseball picture!

 Last day of school fun at a friend's house.  Complete with water balloons, ice cream sundae's, hotdogs, and huge water slide!  Great way to end the year.  That's Eric going down the slide with the long legs!