Fun on the 4th at the Gray's

Our family of four.

Sophie, Carley, Katie and Savannah (in front)

Hailey and Abbie

baby Madeline and I

Our family had a nice 4th of July this year.   I had thought that I might end up working that day but then I didn't have to which was nice.  Matt was off too so we ran a few errands, grilled out for lunch, and had a nice day.  We were able to see Paw-paw and Nana for a little while too.  That evening, we headed over to our friends, the Gray's for their annual 4th of July cookout.  The weather was so wonderful this year with high temps only in the low 80's.  The Gray's hosted our Sunday school class and the kids all had a great time playing outside, running through sprinklers, playing in their play house and riding around in the motorized cars.  Matt and I were able to visit with friends and eat a lot of good food.  I was able to hold baby Maddie for a long time because she fell asleep.  One of the guys  in our class shot off a lot of fireworks in the backyard before the big fireworks show.  Then, our family started heading towards home but stopped to watch the end of the Brentwood fireworks show.  This year, Matt had a bad cold so he wasn't feeling the best but he made it.  

Hanging out at Goofballs

Sophie's ready to bowl!

Abbie's ready to bowl too!

The girls loved riding the bumper cars!

Here's Abbie in her pretty white dress with Daddy after church one day.

One day last week, I took the girls to Goofballs so that we could use a Groupon deal that I had bought.  The girls had a great time playing the laser game, playing on the playground, doing the mini bowling, riding the bumper cars and playing some video games.  It was a fun thing to do while it's hot outside!

Fun with Cousins

Look how big Monroe is getting!

Monroe, Sophie, Abbie and Morgan

Abbie is excited about going to Encore camp for her first day!

We've been staying busy this summer.  Last week, we had VBS at our church each night and it totally wore us out.  Matt and I led a group of 3rd graders including Sophie.  The kids had a wonderful time at VBS this year learning about Moses and the Red Sea this year.  We've also been going to the pool in our neighborhood a few times each week and trying to get together with some friends this summer.  Last week, Aunt Martha and Uncle Matt came down for a little bit and the girls were able to play with Morgan and Monroe.  We all enjoyed it!  Monroe has grown so much!  Morgan loved playing doctor with the girls.

This week, the girls are attending a camp at their school where they get to take fun classes that they've picked like painting, American Girl, Rainbow Loom, etc.  I'm sure they will bring home lots of cool stuff at the end of the week.  =)

Funny Story on Abbie

A couple of weeks ago, the girls and I were shopping at the grocery store.  We were on the baking aisle picking up a couple of things when we passed by the birthday stuff.  Abbie stopped to look at all of the candles, icing, decorations, etc and then, said, "Mom, next year, when Sophie turns 10 we are going to have to buy her candles somewhere else."  I said, "Why?"  She said, "because they don't have a candle that says '10'."  I laughed and told her that if you want a candle to say '10', you have to buy a '1' and a '0'.  It was so cute though!  The girls know that I like to buy the number candle of the birthday year that they are celebrating so that I can look back later and remember for sure how old they were.

The girls enjoy helping me bake sometimes!

The Arch and Grant's Farm

The girls and I riding up to the top of the arch!

Logan, Sophie, Abbie, Ethan and Katelyn

our family at the top!

Smiley Abbie!

Before coming home, we visited Grant's Farm.

Sophie at the arch.

Sophie, Abbie and Daddy riding the tram at Grant's Farm.

Look at that elephant as he stretches up to reach the ball!

Abbie gives Grant's Farm a thumbs up!

On Sunday morning, we went with Nana and Paw-paw to a local church and then, they headed on home.  We enjoyed trying a local Italian restaurant even though it was kind of hard to find.  Then, we went back to the hotel and got ready to visit the arch.  We met our friends the Stegall's (who go to our church) and went to the arch with them.  The girls also earned their junior ranger badges in the museum before we went up into the arch.  That afternoon, the kids swam for a little bit at our hotel.  Later that evening, we met up with the Stegall's again downtown where the kids enjoyed playing the fountains.  Poor Abbie cut the bottom of her foot on something in one of the fountains so that put a damper on her experience.  Sophie and the Stegall kids got soaked in the fountains and had a blast.  Later, we got some frozen custard and found a place where the Cardinals game was on a big screen T.V.
On Memorial Day, we headed to Grant's Farm before coming home.  It was the hottest day of the weekend!  We enjoyed seeing a couple of neat animal shows.  There was an elephant show and one with birds, snakes and other small animals.  We also enjoyed seeing the Clydesdale horses while we were there.  We thought it might rain on us but the rain held off until our ride home.  We learned a little bit more about President Ulysses S. Grant and his family while we were there because it was one of their former homes.   All in all, we had a wonderful time in St. Louis!

St. Louis Zoo

The girls petting a goat at the petting zoo.

Look at our little family!

We loved seeing the chimpanzees and gorillas at the zoo.

A sea lion doing a trick.

The youngest sea lion didn't realize there was glass and he kept trying to swim up and catch people's hats.

It was a great day to enjoy the St. Louis Zoo on Saturday before Memorial Day!  The zoo is free but you have to pay for the extras like shows and carousel rides.  The girls enjoyed visiting the petting zoo, seeing lots of different kinds of animals including gorillas and chimpanzees, lions, giraffes, sea lions, and a whole bunch of other animals.  Nana and Paw-paw were able to come with us.  We all went to a sea lion show in the afternoon.   The zoo didn't become crowded until we were almost ready to go.  We came back to our hotel and the girls enjoyed swimming.  Our family enjoyed staying at the Drury Hotel while we were in St. Louis.  They had a full breakfast every morning and a light dinner each night.  

St. Louis City Musuem

On our first day in St. Louis, we visited the City Museum located in an old shoe factory warehouse in the downtown area.

Abbie tries out stepping stones on the roof of the 11 story building.

 Some really creative people have created playgrounds from architectural features and art from old buildings around St. Louis.

You can climb up numerous stairs.  Here we are climbing up as high as we can get on the roof top.

Here is a view from the top of the Ferris Wheel on the roof top.

Sadly, Big Boy burgers are not sold inside the museum.

The have old tram cars on the courtyard playground.

You can climb all over the old airplanes in this playground.

Abbie mastered the rope swing in the Skate-less park by watching some older boys playing.

A view of the Mississippi River and the Gateway Arch from Illinois.

Abbie asked about why there is a giant hair band in St. Louis.

We visited Ted Drewes for yummy treats.

We walked from our hotel to the City Museum.  There were several school groups there, but we still had a blast.  We only lost track of Abbie one time for a few minutes.  All the places to explore made the museum a little bewildering.  After dinner, we visited Illinois for a quick family picture on the riverfront, then we visited Ted Drewes frozen custard shop.  We were definitely worn out after the days activities.