St. Louis

St. Louis, Here we come!! Two vans full of us. We decided to take a road trip to St. Louis at the end of the kids Spring Break. We invited Grandma, Papa and Uncle Mark to come along. The more the merrier and a merry time we did have.

Busch Stadium, where the St. Louis Cardinals play

Since it wasn't raining and the weather was perfect, our first stop was the St. Louis Zoo. We've been wanting to visit this zoo for a while now. We have heard it was really nice. It is also FREE which is a HUGE plus when you are paying for nine people wherever you go. We had a great time there and spent until dinnertime exploring and viewing all of the animals. Did I say the weather was gorgeous?

For dinner we ate at the Cheesecake Factory. It was yummy, but would have been better if one of the kids didn't get sick as we were sitting waiting for our food. :( That evening we took the kids swimming for a while. I'm sure they would all say that was their favorite part of the whole trip. Funny how kids are.

The SEVEN of them

Zoe

Taking a wee rest

Checking out of the hotel. Mind you, we only went for one night and this is what luggage looks like for nine!

After we checked out of the hotel, we did a bit of shopping at a mall close by. We had a birthday present to buy for daddy at the Apple store, his birthday was that day. We ate lunch at the mall and then headed down to the St. Louis Arch (aka The Jefferson National Monument Memorial).

We left St. Louis around five to head home. Thankfully, we beat the storms and tornados. About an hour and a half after we left, tornados hit St. Louis pretty badly. God was watching over us and we didn't run into any storms on the drive home. We all had a great time and it was fun to do the trip with Grandma, Papa and Uncle Mark.

Dad, Leah, Tristan, Anna, Grandma and Uncle Mark were the only ones brave enough to travel to the top of the Arch.

Daddy and his brown eyed girl

Things We've Created This Break

With the kids off school for Christmas and lots of company, we tried to keep our hands busy. Following are some of the things we've created over the break.

Lethal Peppermint Chocolate Cake

for a very SPECIAL BOY'S SECOND BIRTHDAY on Christmas!

Felt Tic-Tac-Toe game, thanks to my sister, Laura, for the great idea, the help and the motivation to actually get it done.

Lace Snow Flakes (the kids made these)

Knitted hats (again thanks to my sister for the idea and the use of her nifty looms). We now have our own looms and I'm sure there will be plenty of hats going around.

Cason just finished his today and he is so proud.

And last, but not least...

***MEMORIES***

Holiday in Lower Michigan

We were so excited when we heard that our friend from high school, Sherwood and his wife Areli were going to be in Michigan from Guatemala the same time as us. It has been a couple years since we have last seen them. (They came to visit us in England.) We made plans to get together with them. On Friday July 2, we drove over to Kalamazoo where Sherwood was working for the week. We made it out of my mom's with only three kids...Andrew, Anna and Zoe. We enjoyed a nice dinner at an Irish Pub with Sherwood and Areli. It was so nice to chat and catch up.

After dinner we went back to their hotel so Andrew and Anna could swim a bit.

Andrew took this photo of Sherwood, Areli and Steve and me.

I can't get enough of this picture. They are both so proud. I love it when we mix it up a bit and take different sets of kids with us to do something special.

This is the best photo I have from the Fourth of July. We had a cookout at my mom's some of my Aunt, Uncles, cousins and their kids came. This is the second cousins playing together.

My Aunt Anne called to see if she could take the kids for a ride in her convertible. Three of them were thrilled to join her. I bet this was a highlight of our vacation for them. This is the first time they rode in a convertible and they LOVED it. Thank you, Aunt Anne.

Da UP!

From Wisconsin, we headed up to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan making our way over to Mackinaw City for a few nights. A few hours into the trip we stopped to get subs for lunch and then found this nice roadside park right along Lake Michigan to have lunch at. The kids were once again in the lake. This time they were trying to catch minos.





On the way to Mackinac where we both grew up, we stopped at my dads so the kids could see his little cabin. They loved the openness of the country and called his cabin a Lincoln Log house.

Getting ready to cross the Mackinac Bridge.

In the middle of the Mackinac Bridge about 100 feet from the water.

At the laser light show in Mackinaw City.

Heading to Fort Michilimackinac

The kids with a guard after the musket demonstration.

Nathanael wanted a picture with him too. He was so proud.

Papa and the kids climbing the fort wall.

Our colonial family (notice our little dog).

The family with the Bridge in the background.

Enjoying the biggest ice cream cones the kids have ever had!

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse

Once again, playing in the water. This time it was in Lake Huron. Lake Huron is on the right side of the Bridge and Lake Michigan is on the left.

Papa and a happy little Zoe

Couldn't resist this cute one of Anna.