Last week we stayed two nights in St. Louis with my grandma, Aunt June, cousin Emma, and of course my kiddos! It was so much fun! I love St. Louis! There is so much fun stuff to do there for families and the best part is that it's free! We went to Grant's Farm which is a small zoo. I went about 16 years ago as a kid.
We started our trip by driving about 4 hours and stopped at a Catholic shrine called Our Lady of the Snows in Illinois. There were trails and a really nice children's park. Owen went to bed the night before at almost midnight so he was somewhat of a nightmare on the way there. He was in a bad mood and wanted everyone to know about it! We had a talk and a quick call to Santa Claus and he shaped up for the most part. He is going through a phase of whiny attitude and I am hoping it passes quickly so I can get my sweet (for the most part) boy back. Ella was good other than a few high pitched screams in the car. We had to use our third row seating to fit everyone and so Ella got to ride facing forward for the first time. She thought she was pretty cool! She was a little disappointed when we got back and she turned backwards again. Only 4 more months Elle Belle :)
We finally made it to St. Louis! We went downtown and found this huge fountain that people are allowed to swim in. We waded a little but it grossed me out a little bit! There was a youth group playing music and giving away free snow cones. We sent Owen up to get one for himself and one for Ella. He came back with a blue flavored one and then one with just ice for Ella, no flavoring. I took it back down there to the people to get Ella some color on it and they laughed and said Owen asked for "vanilla" for his sister. Too cute. We got a pizza and then went back to our hotel room for some swim time!
 |
| Ella and Owen with "Ruffy" and "George...Can't sleep with out them! |
 |
| Cartoons and snacking before lights out |
The next group of pics are from Grant's Farm. It is a small zoo that is free in St. Louis. It is just the perfect size for little ones. Anheuser Busch owns Grant's Farm and it's where the Budweiser Clydesdale Horses are. You ride a train/tram into the park and then you walk around from there. All adults get two free beer inside...Dustin would have loved it ;) I am not much of a beer drinker but I tasted one kind.
 |
| So excited to see the animals! |
 |
| Owen and Emmy |
 |
| Ella's first merry go round ride |
We stopped at a bird show that had just started. Owen volunteered to go on stage and they picked him! He got in front of the crowd (about 80 people) and looked completely shocked. The guy on microphone walked over to him and said "Hey buddy, Do me a favor...just breathe!" It was so cute...Owen was a trooper even when they let a rat crawl all over him. They even stuck it underneath his Yankees hat. I was totally a cheesy mom freaking out in the stands that my boy got picked. I'm sure this is the first of many times I will be in the stands trying not to embarrass my little boy. :)
 |
| These giant turtles have been at Grants farm since 1954. This means that my kiddos got to pet the same turtle that I pet when I was there at age 12! |
 |
| Aunt June and Elle Belle |
 |
| Camel rides! |
 |
| My Aunt June, Grandma, and I enjoying our free beer |
 |
| Right after this picture was taken Ella chucked her sippy cup into the Elephant cage. Had to fish it out with a stick! |
 |
| I'm pretty sure the sprinkler was Owen and Ella's favorite part!! |
 |
She was soaked but it was 90 degrees so I was fine with it :)
|
I think the next pictures were Ella's favorite. She is such a little mommy at home. She takes care of her baby dolls all day. She feeds them bottles, changes their diapers, pushes them in her stroller, and lays them down for naps. So when she saw that we were going to feed baby goats with actual baby bottles (bobbies or so she calls them), she was so excited! She fed them and patted their little heads! Made me want to cry! Owen enjoyed it too but decided that the goats were a little too aggressive and ended up wanting to feed them on the other side of the fence.
 |
| She was not a fan of the sand on her hands |
 |
| Love these babies! Finally a picture where they are both looking! |
After this we went back to the hotel for our last night of swimming. We were excited that there was a hot tub but it felt like bath water instead of HOT....So we made it our own personal swimming pool. The kids loved that it wasn't as shocking cold as the actual pool.
It was a great trip and I am so happy we went! Love making these memories with my two little birds!
