Family Picnic!

Yesterday was a family picnic at Gracie's school.  It was at Van Horn Woods and it was such a beautiful day.  They had bouncy houses for the kids to play in. We barely had time to set down our picnic basket and blanket before Gracie took off.

We managed to play only a few minutes before we decided to sit and eat lunch. 

Gracie was pretty excited about her new shade.  She got lots of compliments on them.

And because we left Presley's sunglasses at home, he had to settle for pink ones instead.  It didn't matter to him though.

After lunch, it was back to the bouncy houses.  It was for all the kids in Gracie's preschool program.  Each class has their own color and they told them to wear their shirts. 

Then we hit the slide.  It was a constant line of kids as you can see.  Evie tried going up and did well but then fell towards the top and all the kids started just climbing over her so she started crying. Gracie had to climb back up again and help her to make sure she came down the slide.  She loves bouncy houses but not when they are this crowded.

It didn't bother Gracie though.  She went down like a million times.

She also spent a lot of time in the obstacle course.

The little ones prefered the park instead.  It was still crowded but they could handle it better.

One thing they liked too was walking on the wall.

And hanging from rope.

We played tag too.  Although the little ones don't quite get it, they come up and tag you and say "you're it."  Then they run to someone else and say it again.

This little boy joined in on the game.

We didn't know his name but the kids had fun with him. 

But then trying to go, these two just couldn't let the rope go.

It was a fun picnic aside from a few meltdowns but it did wear everyone out and naps were had by all!

Wolverine and Iron Man to the Rescue!

The other day, Gracie got to go see a movie that she has been talking about forever....The Avengers!  She is in love with all the Marvel superheroes thanks in part to Daddy.  He couldn't wait to take her to see it at the movie theater.  She wanted to dress the part too.  She chose her favorite...Wolverine!  Yes, she wore this to the movies.  My little Iron Man wanted to go too but we weren't sure how he would do with 3-D glasses on.  When it comes to the cheap show, we'll be sure to take him.  After Daddy and Wolverine left, he cried forever.  Iron Man can be a little bit of an emotional guy I guess.  At least my brave Wolverine still loves her princesses....

Family Dinner

It was a good dinner last night.  My cousin Andy's wife, Ashley had flown in for business to Chicago and we got to meet up with her. We headed to one of the best restaurants ever....The Cheesecake Factory!  Yum!  It's always great to catch up with family.  Especially family that you haven't seen in forever and I think the last time I saw Ashely may have been her wedding back in 2005!  My cousin Andy is enlisted in the Navy so they live in San Diego.  With 3 kids, making it to California is not the easiest.  But one day Ashley....we will be out to visit!  Good seeing you! 

St. Louis

This weekend the husband and I took off for a weekend away and to celebrate Chuck's friend Tim's wedding.  We arrived in downtown St. Louis on Saturday morning and we went to see the arch.

Underneath the arch, there is a musuem and movies and all sorts of things to do while you wait until your time to go up in the arch.

Going up in the arch is unlike any other than I am used to.  You ride in this small pod that seats 5 people.  The doors are clear and it shifts and you can see the inside of the arch as you move up and over to get to the top. But when we got to the top, this is what you can see...

The Mississippi River,

The Martin Luther King Bridge,

The top is basically this and  It's not very wide.  It arches and the windows are little.  I would be scared to be up in this thing if it was windy or stormy out.  It is pretty little and contained.

We also got a good view of downtown St. Louis, including Busch Stadium.

This is how small the windows are at the top.  And you have to lean over the side to see out them.  It is kind of scary and feels as if you will tip the arch over.

Here we are at the top getting ready to ride the pod for the ride down.

This is a model of what it actually looks like.  You ride up to the top in this.  They send 8 of them at a time.

Here is the view from outside.  It was so hot there.  About 90 degrees!

Good thing the outdoor wedding ceremony was short and sweet.  We headed to the reception to paarty with Ryan and Jodie.

And Lisa and Tebbe.

Here is us girls getting ready to celebrate a night of no kids!

Chuck and some of his friends.

One of our first nights out together in a LONG time.

Chuck;s friend Tim, the groom, gave Chuck a pair of the white shoes from National Lampoons.  He also got a shirt that says "Wally World."  Of course, knowing my husband he put those bad boys on....

and hit the dance floor with them.  Up above his friend Erik and Ryan couldn't contain thier excitement about the shoes.  But Tim was so excited that his gift was well received.

Part of his clothes came off as normal.

And soon he was rolling on the floor trying to do some dance moves.  I think of he tries this again, he may break a hip!

It was good to see all of his friends. We don't get to see them much as some live far away like us and most have kids too.

They are fun and crazy guys.

The night ended something like this.

Carnival!

We went to a carnival tonight at the mall.  The kids were so excited.  They all rode rides like the card, motorcycles, merry-go-round, big slide, balloons, and Gracie and I even went on the kiddie dragon roller coaster.  It was fun and no one was there.  Probably because it's only Wednesday but it feels like it should be Friday night.  Check out our fun.  We headed to Sonny's after for some ice cream.  2 little ones fell asleep on the way home which is good because last night's bedtime was awful.