Salin picnic at the Zoo

This weekend we went to Indy for Salin Bank's employee picnic.  They paid for everyone to go to the zoo, catered a lunch and gave us tickets for rides!  The kids were very excited and it was a beautiful day.  We got there on the early side so some of the animals were more active.  The tigers were out pacing when we saw them.  Must have been feeding time.  :)  We also got there early enough for tickets to the dolphin show.  It was the first time the kids had seen it and they loved it.  They also couldn't wait for the train ride.  Which we did twice.  And Erin wanted to go on the Carousel, so we fit that in as well.  Then we headed to the sharks -- which you can pet!  Alex could have stayed there for an hour.  But we kept moving and we ended our day with a visit to the butterfly gardens.

Oh, and Erin recently discovered pigtails.  So she wears them occasionally now!

First Day of School!

Adam had his first day of kindergarten this week ---- and did great!  I was worried when he started to cry and ran back to me when the bus came.  But Alex held his hand and led Adam on the bus, and he was fine after that!  Adam was grinning ear-to-ear when he got off the bus the first day, so I knew he'd had fun.  Alex was looking forward to school and getting to see friends again.  Erin was excited for the first day too.  But that's because her first gymnastic class happened to start that day. She's never had any sort of lessons of this sort, so I wasn't sure how she would do.  However, Erin doesn't lack self-confidence.  She quietly listened to her teachers instructions and then pipped up," Oh!  I know how to do that!"  Needless to say, I'm taking my video camera for next week's lesson!  I hope it's as entertaining as the first one!

First Day of School

Erin in her leotard

getting home from school - 2nd day

getting on the bus

Camping at McCormick's Creek

The weekend before school started, we packed up and headed down near Bloomington to camp with Andy's cousin.  We always look forward to a camping trip with the Cripes!  Our kids are all about the same ages and Neil has a knack for picking good campsites.  We spent 3 nights at McCormick Creek State Park.  We did lots of hiking, kids rode bikes around the campground, and spend part of a day at the olympic-sized pool.  Needless to say, we loved it there!  Although if you ask Adam, his favorite part is sleeping in the tent. :)
McCormick Creek has lots of limestone rocks, creeks, rivers, waterfall and even a cave!  But the kids found a hiking trail that led to a bend in a creek that had lots and lots of rocks on the shore.  So we spent alot of time there throwing rocks into the water and moving bigger rocks to make a path for people to cross the bubbling creek.  We had beautiful weather too!  We can't wait to go back, even for a day trip.

Cailin - Alex- Adam - Cameron - Erin

The girls -

Kids at the old stone quarry

throwing rocks

building a path across the creek

exit of the cave

enjoying the campsite

waterfall

throwing rocks again

finished path!

pool! kiddie pool too!

St. Louis

We took a mini vacation with some friends and drove to St. Louis.  Our first stop was at the Arch.  There was lots of construction at the park, so you couldn't really get to the river very well or play outside much.  But the kids really enjoyed going up to the top of the arch and looking out the windows.  After the arch, we checked into our hotel and headed back downtown for a Cardinals game.  The kids did ok for about 2 innings and then Adam and Erin got really bored and wanted to leave.  So I didnt get to watch much of the game.  I spent most of the time playing I Spy, taking them to get drinks/snacks or to the bathroom.  And on top of it, the food place double charged me for something and refused to give me a refund. So needless to say, the Cardinals game was NOT my favorite part of the trip.  Oh yes, and we stayed for all 9 innings.

Day 2 we spent at the St. Louis zoo.  It was a nice zoo (and free!) but a very hot day.  So we stayed until we were hot and hungry and then headed back to the hotel.  Then we just hung out in our rooms (which were attached!) - the kids played and watched Netflix while the adults played cards.  (Probably my favorite part of the trip!  Everyone was happy and relaxed!)

Day 3 we checked out of our hotel and headed downtown again to the City Museum.  It's an old factory building that they've gutted and made into a huge maze/playground.  There are no maps in this place....you just explore!  There's 3 story slides, tunnels that lead to the next floor up, mazes that pop you out on another end of the building and ropes to swing on.  And that's just a few of the things inside.  There's a whole outdoor area too!  However, this activity didn't last real long.  It was very, very crowded that day.  My kids are cautious of new things anyway, so having tons of people pushing and bumping them made them (or Adam) freak out.  And us moms were slightly concerned with keeping track of everyone, considering you never knew where a maze or tunnel led or if an adult could even follow through the tiny opening!  So we only lasted a couple hours at the museum.  Maybe we will try it again when the kids are older and on a day/season not so busy.

The one thing they did like at the museum - -  the train!