Sorry that this post is so late - I've been having trouble loading pictures again and even though all the pictures I want to post are not here, I've decided to give up and go with it the way it is!
We recently went to a wedding in Illinois and decided to stay in St. Louis, Missouri. We asked Jon, Becca, James and Adam to meet us there for a few days. Jon could only come for the weekend but Becca and the boys stayed for a couple extra days and we did some fun things.
Here's the rundown:
Friday, June 26, 2009
Dan's last day of school then off to airport where our plane was delayed about one hour.
10:00 PM - We finally arrived at the hotel to find Jon, Becca, James and Adam waiting for us (they couldn't check in because the reservation was in our name).
Saturday, June 27, 2009
We separated into two groups so that we could get some shopping done. While Fred, Jon, Becca, James and Adam went to purchase a new (double) stroller, Dan and I went grocery shopping.
Then it was off to the wedding for Fred, Dan and I. We had a 2 1/2 hour drive and the outside temperature was 100 degrees. I was not about to complain, after the cool rainy days of home, the sun felt absolutely wonderful. The wedding was beautiful and it was wonderful to visit with close friends that we hadn't seen in quite awhile.
After the wedding we got back into the van and headed back to St. Louis arriving around 11:00 PM.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
We attended church in the Florissant Ward. They were very friendly and James had no trouble going into and staying in the nursery. We returned to the hotel where I had set a meal going in Jon and Becca's crockpot. I cooked up some rice and we sat down to a yummy meal of fiesta chicken (thanks Becky O ! - fyi - the recipe works great in the crockpot). After eating I think most of us took naps. When we were going stir crazy we took a walk around the parking lot. Jon left about 6:oo PM to head back home (near Kansas City) because he needed to be at work on Monday morning. That evening we ate ice cream for dinner and hung out reading books and watching some old tv shows.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Time for the ZOO. The St. Louis Zoo is a really big zoo. It's free to enter but you have to pay $11 to park. It was really crowded and because we were on a time schedule with the boys naps, etc. we were limited to what we could see. We chose to follow the River's Edge path where we could see a rhino, cheetahs, and elephants, among other animals. We also went into the insectarium which included a butterfly house. That was really neat - butterflies flying all around although James freaked out when one flew right near his face!
After leaving the zoo we headed out for lunch at Fitz's Brewery (root beer). The bottling room wasn't running while we were there but the food and root beer were good.
Then it was back to the hotel for naptime. After naps we ate dinner in the hotel lobby. Then Dan and I took James to the pool for a swim where Becca joined us after feeding Adam. James was a little afraid at first (when he went in on Saturday he had a little scare because he didn't realize how deep it was) but when he realized that I wouldn't let go of him, he was fine. He enjoyed sending huge spashes of water at Dan's face!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
After much discussion the night before, we decided on going to Grant's Park. It is owned by the Busch family (of Anhueser Busch) and used to be the homestead of Ulysses S. Grant.
Again, the park is free but it cost $11 to park. This is another place where animals are (do you recognize a theme here?). After a long wait to get on the tram that takes you through the wildlife viewing area and into the portion of the park where you can walk around we finally got on the tram and were able to see deer, long horn cattle, sheep, ducks, geese, and other wildlife before getting off the tram. Fred bought a bottle of milk so James could feed the baby goats. He was fine as long as he could feed them through the fence so they couldn't jump on him. We were able to see monkeys, more elephants, kangaroos, and two bald eagles. Then it was back on the tram and home to the hotel again.
Dan and I babysat while Fred and Becca went to the St. Louis temple. That is the temple district that Jon and Becca are in but because it's a 4 hour ride (5 with stops to feed Adam) they don't get to go very often. They had driven up in the afternoon on Friday and Jon was able to attend a session while Becca stayed with the boys.
After the temple it was time to head out to meet Jon halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City so that Becca and the boys could go home. We met at Culver's for Butterburgers and frozen custard. After eating, we left to head back to St. Louis while Jon, Becca, James and Adam headed back to Kansas City.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Our flight was scheduled to leave at St. Louis so we decided we had plenty of time to visit the Gateway Arch - the tallest National Monument. WOW! What an experience. I won't even try to go into all of the details but we rode a tram inside the arch up to the top at 630 ft!.(that's the term they use but I think it's more like a cross between a ferris wheel and an elevator!). You step into this orb with seats for 5 people and it clicks and clacks its way up to the top (from below ground to 630 feet in the air in 4 minutes!). We spent about 30 minutes at the top, then 3 minutes later we were underground again.
After visiting the top of the arch, we took a one-hour riverboat cruise on the Mississippi River. We learned a lot about the history of the St. Louis area while having the wind blow through our hair.
After the cruise it was time to head to the airport where we learned we had a one hour delay that turned into a three hour delay. We finally arrived back home at 2:30 AM, slept for awhile and then packed for our next trip (to be detailed in a future blog entry!)
1. air travel
2. free breakfast in the hotel
3. watching children sleep
We recently went to a wedding in Illinois and decided to stay in St. Louis, Missouri. We asked Jon, Becca, James and Adam to meet us there for a few days. Jon could only come for the weekend but Becca and the boys stayed for a couple extra days and we did some fun things.
Here's the rundown:
Friday, June 26, 2009
Dan's last day of school then off to airport where our plane was delayed about one hour.
10:00 PM - We finally arrived at the hotel to find Jon, Becca, James and Adam waiting for us (they couldn't check in because the reservation was in our name).
Saturday, June 27, 2009
We separated into two groups so that we could get some shopping done. While Fred, Jon, Becca, James and Adam went to purchase a new (double) stroller, Dan and I went grocery shopping.
Then it was off to the wedding for Fred, Dan and I. We had a 2 1/2 hour drive and the outside temperature was 100 degrees. I was not about to complain, after the cool rainy days of home, the sun felt absolutely wonderful. The wedding was beautiful and it was wonderful to visit with close friends that we hadn't seen in quite awhile.
After the wedding we got back into the van and headed back to St. Louis arriving around 11:00 PM.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
We attended church in the Florissant Ward. They were very friendly and James had no trouble going into and staying in the nursery. We returned to the hotel where I had set a meal going in Jon and Becca's crockpot. I cooked up some rice and we sat down to a yummy meal of fiesta chicken (thanks Becky O ! - fyi - the recipe works great in the crockpot). After eating I think most of us took naps. When we were going stir crazy we took a walk around the parking lot. Jon left about 6:oo PM to head back home (near Kansas City) because he needed to be at work on Monday morning. That evening we ate ice cream for dinner and hung out reading books and watching some old tv shows.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Time for the ZOO. The St. Louis Zoo is a really big zoo. It's free to enter but you have to pay $11 to park. It was really crowded and because we were on a time schedule with the boys naps, etc. we were limited to what we could see. We chose to follow the River's Edge path where we could see a rhino, cheetahs, and elephants, among other animals. We also went into the insectarium which included a butterfly house. That was really neat - butterflies flying all around although James freaked out when one flew right near his face!
After leaving the zoo we headed out for lunch at Fitz's Brewery (root beer). The bottling room wasn't running while we were there but the food and root beer were good.
Then it was back to the hotel for naptime. After naps we ate dinner in the hotel lobby. Then Dan and I took James to the pool for a swim where Becca joined us after feeding Adam. James was a little afraid at first (when he went in on Saturday he had a little scare because he didn't realize how deep it was) but when he realized that I wouldn't let go of him, he was fine. He enjoyed sending huge spashes of water at Dan's face!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
After much discussion the night before, we decided on going to Grant's Park. It is owned by the Busch family (of Anhueser Busch) and used to be the homestead of Ulysses S. Grant.
Again, the park is free but it cost $11 to park. This is another place where animals are (do you recognize a theme here?). After a long wait to get on the tram that takes you through the wildlife viewing area and into the portion of the park where you can walk around we finally got on the tram and were able to see deer, long horn cattle, sheep, ducks, geese, and other wildlife before getting off the tram. Fred bought a bottle of milk so James could feed the baby goats. He was fine as long as he could feed them through the fence so they couldn't jump on him. We were able to see monkeys, more elephants, kangaroos, and two bald eagles. Then it was back on the tram and home to the hotel again.
Dan and I babysat while Fred and Becca went to the St. Louis temple. That is the temple district that Jon and Becca are in but because it's a 4 hour ride (5 with stops to feed Adam) they don't get to go very often. They had driven up in the afternoon on Friday and Jon was able to attend a session while Becca stayed with the boys.
After the temple it was time to head out to meet Jon halfway between St. Louis and Kansas City so that Becca and the boys could go home. We met at Culver's for Butterburgers and frozen custard. After eating, we left to head back to St. Louis while Jon, Becca, James and Adam headed back to Kansas City.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Our flight was scheduled to leave at St. Louis so we decided we had plenty of time to visit the Gateway Arch - the tallest National Monument. WOW! What an experience. I won't even try to go into all of the details but we rode a tram inside the arch up to the top at 630 ft!.(that's the term they use but I think it's more like a cross between a ferris wheel and an elevator!). You step into this orb with seats for 5 people and it clicks and clacks its way up to the top (from below ground to 630 feet in the air in 4 minutes!). We spent about 30 minutes at the top, then 3 minutes later we were underground again.
After visiting the top of the arch, we took a one-hour riverboat cruise on the Mississippi River. We learned a lot about the history of the St. Louis area while having the wind blow through our hair.
After the cruise it was time to head to the airport where we learned we had a one hour delay that turned into a three hour delay. We finally arrived back home at 2:30 AM, slept for awhile and then packed for our next trip (to be detailed in a future blog entry!)
1. air travel
2. free breakfast in the hotel
3. watching children sleep
4 comments:
wow..I'm tired just reading all of that!!glad you had a good time and that you got home safely!!
Welcome back...
fun trip!
We had fun! Thanks for inviting us to meet you there. I can't believe how much Adam has grown in a month.
Looks like you had a great time! What nice grandparents you are! : )
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