St. Louis

We went to St. Louis overnight this week.  The weather was rainy and windy and pretty cold, but we had a blast!  We got a hotel that was within walking distance of the arch and the Cardinal's stadium.

 

Here are the kids on the way there--Kate taking a nap and Mason on the ipad :)

The Arch and Westward Expansion Museum

 

 Such a BEAUTIFUL time of year there.  The colors were amazing.

Mason wasn't sure what to think of the talking wax figures in the museum, but he liked the bear :)

 Mason and David LOVED it at the top!  Kate started crying on the way up and continued the whole time we were up there--I think she had an earache, but possibly she was feeling the same way I did 14 years ago when we came to visit with my family--THIS IS WAY HIGH!  Get me down!

  Walking through the city--I love that everyone has an unobstructed view of that amazing arch all through downtown.

We visited the St. Louis Zoo because it is FREE ADMISSION!  Can you believe that?  Since we didn't have to pay to get in or park, we splurged and bought tickets to ride the train.  All aboard!

 It is a beautiful little zoo that is easy to walk from one place to another--perfect for kids.  We loved their penguin, elephant, and sea lion enclosures especially.

  

"An Elephant!"  he says.

A highlight of the trip--we got dinner from Dewey's Pizza--some of the best pizza I have Ever Had.  The parking lot was PACKED but we only had to wait 5 minutes.  The place was family-friendly so even though our kids got loud at one point or another nobody minded.  We didn't have to wait too long for our pizza, and while you were waiting you could look into the kitchen and see them throw the dough up in the air and spin it on their hands and put all the toppings on--it was pretty cool! They made a mistake on our order (forgot the spinach) and they made us a new pizza and only charged us for our drinks that night!  Talk about good customer service!  We tipped them $20 :)

Family!

I am always SOOO excited to see family.   Last week my parents and brother Derek actually merged on visits to come see us and we had a great time with everyone! 

 Seeing all the fountains and shops at Country Club Plaza, and eating at Jack Stacks BBQ--I would say it is my current favorite BBQ place to eat at in KC.  It was SO good.

 Kate was a little shy at first but quickly warmed up to Grandma and "Opa." :)

 Derek, Mom and Dad, and us.  We visited a few church sites--this is Far West.  We also visited Historic Liberty Jail (and enjoyed Liberty Days--we got some good corndogs and polish sausages mmMmm), and Haun's Mill (which took us quite a while to get there because the roads were not meant for our Civic or Accord and we kept getting lost but we eventually got there--it is beautiful.)

 Mason especially had a good time at Haun's Mill--running through the woods and finding sticks to drag around, etc.

 Cute Kate at Haun's Mill.

 We couldn't pass up visiting Worlds of Fun!  We got there as soon as it opened on Saturday and Derek and Dad were able to get on all the roller coasters without waiting.  Sad story--the first ride Derek went on he lost his phone :( Services later found his phone and we picked it up . . . but it had had a nasty tumble from The Patriot (roller coaster) and was all cracked.

Riding the Grand Carousel,

And the Viking,

 And Tour-de-Taxi

 A special treat--I got to go to the Women's Conference with my mom!  I always miss going to the RS broadcast with her, so I was so happy to get to this time around.  This is a shot of the new KC temple at night--it is so beautiful.

We had such a good time with everyone.  We can't wait to see more family soon in November for Thanksgiving, as well as seeing future visitors to KC!

Halloween . . . are you ready??

Labor Day weekend

 We took the kids to Worlds of Fun--stayed up a little later than normal bedtime but it was fun to be there with all the lights on :) Mason LOVES Worlds of Fun.  He especially has grown fond of the Viking ride, where you ride in a log boat and features a huge drop, kind of like the log ride at Disneyland.  It's a thrill ride 4 (and I chicken out of riding on coasters that are thrill rides of 5) but every time the Viking ride ends he says, "Again!"

Blue Springs Lake

 the kids loved the beach and playing in the water (although it was kind of dirty!) We would like to come back and go camping sometime--it's only 20 minutes away from home so if it didn't turn out well we could always come back early.  We stopped and got ice cream cones from Burger King on the way home.

New trick

Inspired by the Olympics,

Big boy

This is us showing Mason his new bed for the first time.  Mason "helped" :) David set it up, and then David took Mason downstairs to read books while I put the bedding on it.  This is us bringing him in his room . . . 

Happy July!

Happy Fourth of July!

 We had a breakfast with our ward that morning, and watched some local fireworks with some new friends in the ward that evening.  The previous night we watched some city fireworks with one of David's partners from work.

 Happy Kate!

 Talking on the phone with Grandma Yates while we're waiting to Skype

 OOOOH I just LOVE those cheeks!

 Choo-choo!  This is what Mason would opt to play with for 8 hours a day.  You can see his pack and play that he's been sleeping in right behind him.  Which brings me to:

PHASE THE FIRST: BIG BOY BED

 

 He likes it and just hangs out on his bed occasionally.

Being a big boy--shaving like dad!  He got into the shaving cream.