Last Thursday morning we packed down the car and took off on a week long road trip through Missouri and Illinois! Our first stop is always Chick Fil A in Joplin. These two were pumped for a vacay!
We made it to Uncle Mark and Aunt Hazel's around 6. The kiddos love to play at Mark and Hazel's. The horse is a novelty :-)
Cousin Ryan set up the marble tower and they played for hours. Hazel pulled out her original Barbie and Ken for Ava but I think the two of us enjoyed playing with them more. Ha!
They are always such wonderful hosts and we enjoy our visit with them so much!
We headed for downtown St. Louis Friday morning. The kids wanted to ride up the gateway arch. Jeff and I went up 13 years ago and knew they would love it! The area is under construction right now so we found a parking garage downtown.
Strolling the city on the way to the Arch
It's a four minute ride up in an elevator pod that travels diagonally. The kids were so excited!
Ava was hilarious! She gets so nervous before long elevator rides and roller coasters.
Taking in the views of the Mississippi River and the city!
Two kids in the Arch in 2003
13 years later!
We had lunch in the city before taking off for the St. Louis Children's Museum.
Ready to explore!
Climbing to the top floor... This museum was just incredible. There were so many rooms and stations that it was impossible to fit everything into one day. It was huge! And very interactive. The kids had so much fun exploring.
The Oval Office...
Construction site
Creative Station...
We left the Magic House and made the 2.5 hour drive to Grandpa Marvin's house in Kenney, Illinois. We stopped to pick up dinner in Springfield on the way. It was a pretty drive...Lots and lots of farmland!
When we pulled onto Grandpa's road, Jeff let a very excited Keegan drive ;-)
After dinner we played a little ping pong then spent the evening playing outside. The kids had a blast checking out the farm equipment, climbing trees and catching fireflies! It was so nice to spend some time with Grandpa.
He treated the kids to cookies and ice cream :-)
The kids have been really into catching lightning bugs since we had a few show up in our backyard this year. Grandpa's backyard was a sea of fireflies at dusk! They had so much fun! This was one of their favorite nights of the trip.
Success!
We had great night light in our hotel room that night :-)
It was such a beautiful Illinois evening! My view from the back swing said it all.
Saturday morning we enjoyed family, food and games at the Jensen family reunion!
It was so great to spend the day with family and meet new cousin Harper!
We left Kenney that evening and made the 2 and a half hour drive north to Chicago to spend a few days! More on those adventures soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment