St. Louis Road Trip

 

Last weekend, we hit the road for a family excursion to St. Louis.  My youngest cousin, Ashley, was getting married.  We decided to get away from the snow and cold and enjoy some family time.  We left Thursday right after school and drove through the night (through 2 states with tornado warnings...a bit terrifying).  After a good nights sleep, we woke up and hit the City Museum.  If you are ever in St. Louis, this is a MUST.  It is a 600,000 square foot museum, with 4 floors in total, plus an outdoor and rooftop area.  There are countless caves, over 50 indoor slides, a full circus....I could go on and on.  It is a-ma-zing! 

 

Enjoying the warm weather and outdoor exhibits!

 

Checking out the indoor caves. These were amazing!

 

 

Hiking up 5 stories and heading down a massive slide with my fearless boy

(he refused to ride with me and went solo...dare devil).

 

 

Exploring the many levels

...as if this place could not get any cooler...there was also an indoor circus....for real...

Ready for the Circus!

happy spectators

Mackenzie even went on stage to volunteer!

 

 

 

 

After the Museum, we headed over to my Cousin Lauren's house for pizza.  This was one of my favorite parts of the weekend, b/c it has been a long time since I have seen my cousins.  We all have kids of our own now, so it was fun to see our kids run around and play like we used to.  They got along perfectly, and loved playing together.

Ella (Angelique's daughter), Caleb, and Jack (Lauren's daughter)

Hanging with my cousin Angelique (and Baby Parker due in 4 days!) and Lauren!

The next day more family members met for a quick brunch before the wedding and some more play time.  From there, we all got fancied up for Ashley's wedding.  It was a military wedding, the first I've ever been to, and so special.  It's still hard to wrap my head around the fact that my baby cousin is old enough to get married!

 

 

Gettin' spiffy...

 

All dressed up and off to the wedding. Lookin' good!

Waiting for the ceremony to begin!

The beautiful bride(Ashley) and groom (Ben)!

Loved the salute!

And after the ceremony, we rocked out on the dance floor.  I have to say the little boys had the best moves of the night! It was priceless to watch.  There was lots of eating, dancing, and photo booth picture taking. So fun!

 

My gang...

 

attempting to get a good pic of all the cousin's kids...

Success!

BFF's, Jack and Caleb

Beautiful girl's, Aunt Em and Kenzie

total sweetness

 

Cousins...but not all of us!  3 are missing! 

Goofin around with Kristy!

Bride and Groom Dance!

Dancing!!

LOVE this one!  Best buddies holding hands and the groomsmen dance!

Dancing with Daddy

 

Caleb with Jack (Lauren's son) and Aaron (Dorothy's son).  These boys were dripping in sweat from dancing their hearts out!

 

 Dance Par-tay!  I know a few cuties who are not shy on the dance floor!

 

 

Momma's Girl

 

 

Caleb and Malcomb (Katie's youngest son)

Photo booth FUN!

 

 

Father of the Bride (Bruce), Dad, and Uncle George

Hanging with the beautiful bride!

Cousin's and 2nd cousin's picture (missing family: Melissa and her 5 kids, and Bryan and 1 daughter). 15 kids and one on it's way. Love this big family!

 

The next morning, we woke up, packed and met about 20+ family members for breakfast at the hotel.  We fueled up on a big buffet and then hit the road.  This time, there were no tornado warning, but smooth sailing all the way home.

Kenzie and Samantha and Everett (2 of Katie's kids)

It was the best weekend, and I will treasure our time there and memories we made.  I wish we were closer b/c we always have so much fun together. Can't wait 'til the next time!

Surprising the King

My husband is a self-proclaimed King of Surprises.  So, what better way to ring in his birthday this year than with a surprise party for HIM!!  A whole day/night without kids.  A dinner downtown.  A night at the Casino. Oh, and about 14 friends patiently awaiting to surprise him.

 

 

 

I learned that trying to "plan" something for Mr. Fly-by -the seat of- your- pants, is not as easy as it may appear.  Who would've known that there would be a concert downtown creating massive traffic, or that the restaurant was literally feet away from the concert venue, or that even booking reservations weeks ahead didn't matter b/c they were running over an hour behind?!  Regardless, it all worked out, and a good night was had by all...especially the birthday boy.  He even went home the  BIG winner...his last hand at black jack won him $400!

Happy Bday, Jer!  Love you!

 

Tubin!

We were tired of cabin fever and hit the road one Saturday morning for a day of fun. This Winter has been brutal, and with the frigid temps, we have not been able to enjoy the snow as much as we have in the past.  On a warm 30 degree day (seriously, that's warm compared to the negative temps we've been experiencing) we joined my parents church for a day of tubing.  This is something that we have talked about doing, but were waiting until Caleb was a bit older. We had the best time!  The kid's had no fear and LOVED everything about the experience:  riding up the hill on a snow escalator, riding down the trails at super speeds, and refueling at the snack bar.  We only took a few rides together as a family, because the kids loved flying down by themselves without the added weight slowing them down.  This is definitely something we will make a tradition.  Maybe next year we will try getting them up on ski's! 

 

 

 

Snow Days

We have had quite the Winter.  We have gotten a good deal of snow, and our fair share of below freezing temperatures.  Jeremy got a chance to break out his new Christmas shovel.  He is among the few who enjoy bundling up and shoveling.  I captured the picture above when I was putting laundry away one snowy day.  It is the quintessential snow picture!  As annoying as the snow can get, I do love it!

We enjoyed a rarity this Winter too....snow rollers.  I never knew they existed until this Winter.  We were lucky enough to have a backyard full of them, so of course, I had to get a picture of my kid's holding one.  Who knows, it could be another 38 years before we see them again!

 

So cool! 

 We have also gotten some days off school due to Winter weather. So far, we have used 4 calamity days!  The majority of them have been for dangerously low temperatures....like -35 degree weather, with wind chill. Yikes!

Total whiteout!

The kid's enjoyed a sibling sleepover in Kenzie's room two nights in a row.  I had breakfast waiting outside the door that morning and they stayed in until after 9 a.m....which means, Mommy got to sleep in!  Win-Win!

 

But don't worry, school teacher Mom came up with some at-home activities to keep them occupied.  No learning was lost here!

 

We also enjoyed some family sledding on the big hill down the street.

 

Weeeeee!

Okay Winter, we have had our fun with you, can you please bring back Spring?