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!

July - Fair and Lake

Our county only has one year of mini-4H, but Mimi's fair has two.  So this summer Alex was old enough to do his first year of mini-4H, but we entered it in Elkhart county.  Alex did his project on bugs and chose spiders.  It was a learning experience for me since Andy put me in charge of helping Alex do his project.  I never did 4H as a kid, so I really had no idea what we were doing!  But we managed and Alex enjoyed getting to see his project displayed at the fair.  (In the picture below, his is the middle paper in just black and white.  It's very hard to see!)
Erin's favorite thing at the fair is the pink tractor.  They have a bunch of battery-operated tractors that the kids can get on and ride through a course. They have to stop and pick up veggies and put them in the wagon behind their tractor.  Then at the end they get a piece of candy, although Erin just wants to ride the pink tractor. :)
Adam likes to see all the farm equipment the dealers have on display.  And he likes a couple of the kiddie rides.  This year we also saw some guys do tricks on pogo sticks.  It was pretty cool actually!

Since we were home, we also stopped at the Lake for a visit.  Stu and Barbara were home so we got to see them for the first time in two years.   Phil and Chelsey also make the trip so it was nice to have everyone together and relax by the lake.  We all enjoyed the water slide and the kids had fun playing with aunts and uncles.  Also, Adam had to show off his new skills.  The week before, he had learned to ride a bike without training wheels, pump on a swing by himself, and chew gum!  Oh yes, he's big stuff now. :)   

Goodbye, Puddy

We said goodbye to Puddy this week.  He hadn't been acting himself this summer and a couple weeks ago we found out he had cancer on his spleen (which is very common for older goldens).  The vet said he only had a month to live.  After watching him suffer through a few episodes of internal bleeding, we knew we had to put him down.  So this week we said our goodbyes, took him to the vet,  and then buried him in our woods, one of his favorite places to be.  The kids are taking it quite well.  They immediately asked when we get to have a puppy!  However, its a bit harder for me and Andy since we had Puddy for over 10 years.  We will probably get a puppy some day, but it will be a while.  Puddy was a good dog and will be hard to replace.  That, and I dont think I can handle a puppy just yet!!

North Judson train ride

We drove up to North Judson for a little train ride.  We met Andy's parents and we all went for a ride on a diesel train.  There was also a little museum of sorts.  They have a large steam engine, but it needs a few million dollars worth of work to get it running again.  They also had some Pullman cars (which were manufactured not far from there) to go inside and check out.  The green building is the switching tower.  Inside were all the levers which when pulled switched the tracks, even switches many miles away.  On our ride, we sat in an open car that was right next to the engine.  The engine wasn't nearly so loud as the whistle.  And boy, was it loud. And boy, were there lots of roads to cross.  Adam pretty much just covered his ears the whole ride.  :)

switching tower

view of train station from switching tower

old steam engine

old steam engine

July 4th at the Lake

We spent the holiday weekend at the lake.  We invited Andy's family to come join us for the day.  It was lots of fun to play with Case, go fishing, and relax around the lake.  Although bug spray was a must unless you wanted the mosquitoes to carry you away!  With all the rain this summer, the mosquitoes are a force you can't ignore.