to the arch! again

The next day (Monday June24th), we went to the St. Louis Arch.  Last year, Ewan did not get to go.  He had said no, so we didn't get him a ticket.  Then, he was sad that he couldn't go up.  So, this year, we went back with the plan that everyone who could/wanted to, would go to the top, because we were not planning on coming back to go up the arch again for a long time.

Found an outdoor parking area to park in after coming close to scraping the roof of our van on the underground parking garage ceiling.

First stop, snacks! I like those hard candy sticks-50 cents each-a good price for a sugar fix.  Andy bought tickets for himself and the 5 older kids.  Kinley and I stayed on the ground.

Looking out the top of the arch.

Kella loved looking at the water, and riding in the elevator.  She kept telling people "elevator!" and "to the top!".  So excited.

Ewan, also excited to go.  He had been talking about it for a while.

 

 

 

In the elevator.  Not sure how Liam felt about the ride up and down.

 

 

A late lunch was earned for the weary travelers,

 

Then, back to Grammy's for some fun with the cousins,

Cale's dream realized-more vacation fun

We like to watch food shows at our house.  We especially like Man V. Food.  The boys especially like watching the food challenges to see if Adam will win out over food.  On one of the episodes, they featured Ted Drewes Frozen Custard.  They make a concrete custard and serve it to you upside down to prove how thick it is, like concrete.  Cale was sold.  We had to go.  How great for us that it was only 10 minutes from Grant's Farm?  We made it our lunch stop, dessert first.

Cale, so happy to be at a place he saw on tv.

Look!  The custard is thick!  (It didn't stay thick for long in the heat of the afternoon.) Cale got a cherry flavor that was really good.

Everyone loved it!  Marcus got a buttercream, I think.  Also, good.

Liam got vanilla.  Delicious. (I had to sample all of them.)

Ewan got cherry as well.

The grown-ups got orange juice slushies.  They were terrific.  After dessert, we did a drive through to Arbys for actual lunch, Then, we went back to Grammy Pammy's for some cool off time in the pools.  The one time I chose not to pack their swimsuits....but the kids were okay with just wearing play clothes.

 

 

first va-cay stop, Grant's Farm

We decided to go to Grant's Farm while we were at Grammy Pammy's house.  Neither Andy or I had ever been and I was curious to see what it was like.  It was hot.  It was humid.  It involved some line standing with the children.  It's not a bad deal, though.  It was $12 to park and get into the farm, and that's all we would have spent if we didn't go to the gift shop to sugar up before we left (since we had sweat all our energy out).  We could have spend more, but we did not bring cash for in park snacks or the merry-go-round.  I did find some change so all the kids could feed the llamas.  I'm thinking we're not going to make a return trip, unless we want to go back when the little ones are old enough to remember.  But, it was a nice family outing that I think the kids enjoyed.

In the long, winding line to ride the tram.  6 kids, 3 adults, 2 strollers.

Kinley and Daddy!  3 weeks old and she's been to 3 states already.  What a traveler.  She eventually fell asleep (or the heat made her tired, hard to say).

Grammy and Kella.  We convinced Grammy to come with us.  Surprisingly, after standing in lines at Grant's Farm, she did not want to come with us the next day to stand in line for the arch.  But, we appreciated her help in wrangling the children.

Finally made it to the tram!

Looking tired and ready for a ride.

The smartest animals on the farm were these elk.  They had the sense to be in the water.  I'm pretty sure the temp that day was a balmy 90 degrees with a "feel-like" temp of close to 100. 

Kella got confined to the stroller after a while.  She was not a fan of that idea.

In line for the tram to get back to the front and out of the park.  We were ready to go!

(The next stop that day had the boys, especially Cale, very excited.)

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!

back to Illinois...and then on to St. Louis

After a few days at home, it was time to pack up the van and head back to Illinois to pick up Marcus and Cale.  Then, we drove to Uncle Eric and Aunt Bitsy's house in Godfrey, Illinois-the perfect stepping off point for going into St. Louis.  Wednesday night, we just hung out and let the cousins get to play around each other.  We had some pacifyer drama-Kella was in heaven-but overall the kids had fun playing together and I know Maddie and Abbie were excited that they had company.

Thursday morning, we drove into the city to go to the Museum of Science and Industry.  Garmin took us on an interesting route that totally avoided the interstates.  Grammy Pammy was with to help manage 8 kids 8 and under. 

The boys really liked this conveyor belt, which was the first thing they saw when we came through the doors.

Lots of things to touch and move

some type of touch pad

glass elevators are always fun.  and our group took up the entire thing

a dinosaur dig with lots of small pieces of debris for Kella to eat

more dinosaurs

kids can't resist looking into a hole-this one is looking down onto the interstate

I think we walked the entire museum and then it was time to walk all the way back to our cars to get our food for a picnic lunch.  Then, back to the house to rest up for the next day.  We were tired, the kids were tired.  Ready for a rest.

the classic "cousins eating" photo that I'm famous for

the traditionl "young cousins in the bathtub" that I'm sure many families have

And then to bed to rest up for tomorrow's trip to the Arch.