Pennsylvania

We couldn't let summer pass by without our annual trip to visit Auntie Ellen and Uncle Joe...and Patches too!  We always love just hanging out!!!  We took a trip to Amish country and lots of tasty things to eat.

We took a day to visit the waterpark and even got to ride on a few rides too!  Auntie Ellen just loves that LAZY RIVER! 

 

 

Todd and I took a night to visit the winery...just the two of us...thanks Auntie Ellen!  It's our FAVE!  We celebrated T's birthday and caught up...just what we needed.

Happy Birthday, Todd

Happy Birthday to the best husband and dad we know!!!  Celebrating in PA this year with Auntie Ellen and Uncle Joe!

VBS: Make Fun Factory

VBS always surprises me...it gets better and better every year!  This summer's theme was all about building God's Kingdom.  Every morning Allie and Ayden strapped on their bandanas to sing, dance, craft and learn.  Ayden just LOVED the songs, as did Allie.  They both knew all the words to many of them by the end of the week...we played them at home and in the car too.  So glad I can volunteer in the summer at VBS!  

 

City Museum

 

 

Our last stop on our trip out west was at the City Museum.  The place was AMAZING!!!  Artisans built this playground for all ages from unique found objects, such as old chimneys, salvaged bridges, construction cranes, miles of tile, and even two abandoned planes and a school bus!  We had so much fun climbing and slide ALL DAY!

 

 

 

I climbed and slid most of the time...however there were a few places I couldn't squeeze through (I was a little claustrophobic inside some of the tree trunks and caves.  We told the kiddos to always stay together.  They would climb and crawl...and end up on a totally different floor in the building.  Allie and I rode the ferris wheel on the roof!  Ayden loved climbing through the tunnels to the airplanes.

I'm sooooo glad we visited this place...it was so much fun and a great way to stay cool for the day too! 

Gateway Arch

A must see in St. Louis!!!  We were so excited to go to the top of the Gateway Arch!  Allie and Ayden both learned about the arch and watched a couple videos about the pods that travel up to the top.  We had a visit the tallest landmark in the US.

 

 

 

I didn't realize just how BIG it really was.  Holy moly!!  The 4 minute pod we rod to the top was not scary at all!  Ayden LOVED it and wanted to ride it back up a second time.  

 

View of St. Louis at the top!

Amazing views at 630feet up and such a fun experience!  Another Jr. Ranger Badge earned too from this National Landmark Site.

St. Louis Zoo

The St. Louse Zoo was an awesome first stop in the Gateway City.  However, the 103 degree weather was a bit harsh.  We didn't let the heat index get us down though!   Some of our favorite animals were the hippos, giraffes and elephants. 

 



 

 

 

We were able to touch stingrays...Ayden thought "they were really cool!"  We saw some silly sea lions in a show too. 

The penguin house was a chilling 40 degrees...which felt fabulous from the heat outside...but then it got a little too cold.  So outside felt nice for a bit.  The penguins were very entertaining...they flipped, leaded and swam.  They were pretty active.

 

The Children's Zoo was a fun time.  There were shows to watch, animals to touch and a fun farm playground with real animals inside!  The kids would have liked to stay there longer.  We were also able to brush the goats...Ayden especially enjoyed this.

 

 

The train was super cute and cooled us off a bit.  We made sure to ride it a couple times throughout the zoo.

 

Land of Lincoln

After a night in Chicago, we stopped in Springfield, IL on the way to St. Louis to see the house Abe Lincoln lived in before his presidency.  Before we left for our trip, we checked out many books about Honest Abe from the library  Allie actually finished earning a Girl Scout patch during our visit too!  We learned all about what he is remembered for and the important things he accomplished as our 16th president.  Both Allie and Ayden were excited for the visit...and to get out of the car.

 

We dressed in our red, white and blue...and these little park rangers earned a junior ranger badge too!

 

 

 

 

Allie opening Abe's front door!

Living Room

Abe's Bed

The kitchen

 

Lincoln Logs and stove pipe hats!

 

Next we ventured over to Lincoln's tomb.  Wow!!  What a historical sight...the resting place of Abraham Lincoln, his wife Mary and three of their four sons.   We made sure to rub Abe's gold nose for good luck (before and after our trip inside the tomb).

 

I'm so glad my kids had the opportunity to learn about and see a little bit of our American history.