Without an 8-5 office job, I've gained quite a bit of freedom with my time and how to spend it. Almost as soon as I had my last day of work scheduled, I planned a week-long trip to St. Louis to see my family, relax, and spend time with the girls taking in many kid-friendly excursions. I guess that 2 out of 3 isn't bad because relax, I did not. We started our trip with Papa's 50th birthday party and ended with a going away party for me, Aaron, and the girls. Aaron flew to town for the last couple of days we were there which was wonderful! He had only been gone about 3 weeks, but it seemed like an eternity!
If you have about 20 minutes, feel free to proceed and see what we experienced this past week. Digital photos are great but at the same time can really complicate matters. I somehow managed to take about 280 photos on this trip, and as you can tell, I had a hard time choosing which ones to post so I ended up with an outrageous number.
Papa's 50th birthday party
My grandma agreed to watch Emmersen for a morning so I could take Avery to the Magic House. I hadn't been since I was a kid and wow, has that place expanded! I was exhausted by the time we left. Avery, of course, loved it!
My dad joined us for a morning at the Butterfly House. It was so incredibly hot outside, but nothing could prepare us for the humidity inside the tropics of the House. Within about 30 seconds of stepping inside, we had all begun to sweat including Emme. However, the lush greenery and beautiful butterflies quickly captivated us. Avery was a little hesitant of all the butterflies hovering around so close but she soon began searching for them and getting up close.
One evening we had dinner with my dad's side of the family. It was the first time they had met Emmersen and the first for us to meet Mr. Alex. Kayla and Avery played together so well most of the evening that we had a hard time getting them to stop long enough to grab a shot of all the kids together.
You can't head to St. Louis for an extended stay and not take in the Zoo. If we could have dropped the temp about 20 degrees, this day would have been perfect. My cousin, JP, was able to sneak out of work for the day and join us which was fun, but also very helpful! We wandered as much of the Zoo as we could in a couple hours time before we had to throw in the towel for lunch and naps. For some reason, Avery was fixated on seeing a hippopotamus, and that's exactly what she did- face to face!
Finally, a few minutes of down time!
Yay! Daddy's here!
Each time we cross into or out of St. Louis, Avery screams, "Arch!" So what better way to satisfy that curiosity than to take her in it. We saved this excursion for later in the week when Aaron could join us. Emmersen lucked out again and got to stay behind at Nana's for some one-on-one attention. It worked out well because the lines were ridiculous and I don't think Em would have lasted. As we had expected after waiting in lines for more than 2 hours, once we reached the top Avery was disenchanted and ready to go back down after about 3 minutes. Not me. I was born and raised in St. Louis and have been to the top of the Arch several times, but I still am amazed every time I stand at the bottom and look up or at the top and look out.
A family shot right before Aaron and I headed out for a date night.
This is my attempt at setting the timer on the camera and then running and jumping in the picture. This was our last day in St. Louis. We got to see most of my side of the family for our going away party.
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