We went to St. Louis this weekend, because Mark had some extra vacation days and we wanted to try some of the 'free' stuff there. Mark and I had never been to
Grant's Farm, so we went there first. Nathan loved riding the train, but he wasn't crazy about the Halloween decorations. This is the first year he's noticed them. We kept telling him they were only pretend and the giant spiders wouldn't really get him.
The next day we went to the
Magic House. It was really neat. Nathan loved the 3 story slide the most. He also loved 'fishing.' There was a little pond that the kids could fish with a magnet and fishing poles, and then they could drop the fish back in in another spot in the house, and watch it come back to the pond in the 'river' with a current under some glass tile on the floor. It was really neat. Becca liked playing house and the water table.
Yesterday, we hit the
zoo. We thought that it would be much more fun on a Monday when there was almost no people there. Nathan and Mark aren't really fond of zoos, but Becca loves looking at all the animals. She kept saying to the giraffes, "hi buddy." Nathan enjoyed a slide that went through the river otters' area. He could see the otters swimming around him. He also loved the hippo exhibit. We were really amazed at how close some of the animals came to us. The chimps and orangutans came right up to the glass. At one point, Becca opened her mouth really big, and the chimp imitated her. The hippos swam up to the glass as well, and Nathan loved to watch them swimming around. The
giraffe came so close we could touch it, and the penguins were fun to watch, but we were afraid that they would jump into our stroller (it actually has happened, though not while we were there).
Our hotel's pool was outdoor, so on our down time, we headed to this giant outlet mall,
St. Louis Mills. One of the stores had a bouncy room, so Mark and I took turns shopping while the kids went crazy going down the slides and climbing around. They had a blast!! There was also a playground with 'rocketship' to climb on, which was right up Nathan's alley. We bought a new stove/oven for our kitchen at the Sears Outlet and Mark loved walking around Cabela's.
Nathan loved being in St. Louis, but Becca didn't really. I think she's got an ear infection, but it's hard to tell. She had a lot of trouble sleeping and got overly tired. She refused to sit in a high chair, and would only eat meals on Mark's lap. She also protested the stoller frequently. She kept asking to go home (I think she was going through Elmo withdrawl). Hopefully she acts better today, but I might take her to the dr. just in case.
I would've loved to have pictures of all this, but my new camera didn't come in til we got back.
Special prayers for Mark's new baby cousin Jacob. Hopefully he continues to improve and can come home from the hospital this week. Congrats Brett and Beth!
