to the Arch!

I'm back with the rest of our trip photos.  Last Friday, we drove into St. Louis again, this time to go see the arch.  The boys were excited to go and get a chance to ride to the top.

We parked our car super close to the river.  Of course, I had to get a picture of the boys next to the Mississippi.  (Ewan is there, too.  He is hiding behind Liam.)

And, then I tried for a photo by the arch.  Ewan is dancing to some music that was playing.  He has the moves!  Maddie and Abbie are in this picture, too.  And, yes, then we did climb the stairs.  With all the kids and 2 strollers.

I even got a picture of us! (and Liam, and Kella)

"Marcus, touch the arch!"

Standing in line was rough.  It was hot and sunny.  But, the line actually moved at a steady pace and in no time we were setting off the security detector alarms with things we didn't take out of our pockets or sunglasses I forgot to take off my head.

Look up!

Andy went to get tickets for the ride to the top of the Arch and we went and took the kids for a snack break.

The two "little" cousins

Marcus and Cale said they wanted to go up the Arch.  Ewan said "no", so we didn't get him a ticket.  Then he changed his mind, but by then, the purchase was made.  So Aunt Bitsy and I stayed on the ground with Ewan, Liam, Kella, Maddie, Abbie and Jacob.  While Andy took Marcus and Cale.  We spent our time playing in the musuem area.  (too many "don't touch" signs)  Then we went to the sovenier stores where we got a couple stuffed animals-eagle for Ewan, cardinal for Kella, food for Liam (who was falling apart), keychains for the older boys and a magnet for our fridge.  Maddie and Abbie scored some stuffed animals as well-Abbie was super excited about her prairie dog.  After our snacking, we took the kids outside to play under the trees.  It was actually pretty comfortable.  The hardest part was just waiting for the rest of our group knowing that the kids, especially the littlest ones, were getting more hungry and tired by the minute.

Marcus and Cale got to see some while waiting to go up the Arch.

on a scale

in the pod-going up!

at the top!  They thought is was cool.  They could see the ball park and lots of the river.  They found our car and Cale saw me running around in circles (it made it easier for him to see me). 

Then, it was back down, to the cars and then back to the cousins' house for a super late lunch.  After that, we just hung out the rest of the evening.  The next day, we left and drove back to Decatur.  I left everyone there and drove back home that afternoon (had to work-boo, and I brought our dog back, and tons of our stuff).  The rest of the family came back on Sunday, transported by Grammy Linda.  They were ready to be home, especially Marcus and Cale, who had been gone for about a week and a half.  We've been taking it very easy since then, slipping back into our everyday summer groove. 

We loved visiting St. Louis.  We'll be back, I'm sure!