Middle of America . . . On Route to Utah

 From St. Louis, we drove the Highway all the way to Colorado, with one stop in Kansas. (You kind-of have to stop in Kansas, because, well, where else is there?) This time around, I found a lovely little zoo to enjoy in the morning before we drove on to CO.

Bronze statues = photo opportunities (This is a hold-over from China for the kids . . . it's one of the only times they willingly ask for photos. It's weird, but I'll take it.)

 I don't even remember anymore (and I'm too lazy to look it up) where in Kansas we stopped for the night, but it was a pretty fun little zoo.

 And the Korean food we had the night before was pretty delicious. All in all, a good stop for Kansas!

Still, it was lovely to arrive in Colorado and see family for the first time in a while. We all enjoyed getting a little extra time with the Jenkins before setting off for Utah together two days later.

This Museum!!

Okay, when it comes right down to it, the REAL reason the kids love St. Louis so much is because of this place . . . The City Museum.

It is, without a doubt, one of their favorite places in the entire world to visit (and these kids have been to a few places across the world). It is just that good.

It's gritty and edgy and creative and crazy and just a bit dangerous and always a little nerve-wracking for parents, but DANG is it cool.

The kids can, and do, spend the entire day there and have to be dragged out at closing time.

There are mazes and jungle gyms, giant slides and human skate parks, halls of mirrors and daily circus shows (put on by other kids who have been doing circus camp all week long). When the kids tire of the physical activities, there's always the art studio.

You can always find Lutece there for a huge chunk of the day.

We would NEVER plan a trip to St. Louis without going to the City Museum.

No wonder they call it the "happiest place on Earth." Wait . . . that IS the City Museum, isn't it?

Our Favorite Vacation City: St. Louis

St. Louis has long been one of our favorite cities for a not-too-far-from-home vacation. The kids continue to ask to visit.

Since it lies in the most direct path between Lexington and our final destination of Utah, it was a no-brainer decision to visit in 2015.

This time, in addition to the traditional sites, we also added a couple of new ones (just to mix things up and keep it exciting!). The previous photos are from the Old Courthouse, which is actually part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial run by the National Park Service (the Arch is also part of it). The well-known Dred Scott Decision was made here.

After exploring the Old Courthouse, we headed for the Arch.

It's always so much bigger than I remember!

We don't always go up to the top of the Arch, but it had been a couple of years since the last time we did it (and the lines were short :), so we decided to take the teeny tiny . . . like, reeeeeaaaaaallllly small . . . cars to the top.

Lutece and I took a selfie to pass the time and distract me from any claustrophobia I may have been feeling.

It's all good in St. Louis.

Independence Week

As usual, the kids get overly excited about the Fourth of July, as they do every holiday. Seriously, their expectations for every holiday are so high that the actual holiday can never live up to their hype. Also, where do they get this from? Is it my fault? Do I overdo every holiday? Sigh.

Fourth of July 2015 was extra fun though, because Grandma Terry flew in from LA the very day of the holiday (remember, Stayc was in China during this time?). For breakfast, I came down to Lutece's very own homemade patriotic pancakes.

The kids and I took a walk at the Arboretum in the morning to expend some energy and get outdoors while we waited for Grandma's flight.

Then we made a patriotic cake . . .

It looks good, but if I remember correctly, it was just ok tasting :). When Grandma got in, we had dinner, ate the cake, and then set off the fireworks from the package in the first picture. They always seem to get more of a kick out of cheap fireworks they can set off themselves rather than the big shows they just have to watch.

While Grandma was in town, we drove down to Berea and did a little shopping in the arts and crafts shops.

We took some girly pictures on the butterfly bench, and I'm trying to figure out where Phoenix was for all of this . . . Hmmm.

Last, but certainly not least, we did the hike at Anglin Falls that the kids absolutely love. It was fun to have Grandma here with us for a week (and a serious relief for me!)

To Build a Drip Castle

The kids love the sand as much as (if not more than) the ocean. A concept which is completely lost on their father (Is he even really their father? One has to ask.)

 They could make drip castles for hours.

 Could?! They DID.

 While they worked, Stayc sat inside the condominium, working.

My work was, however, to be sure, the more difficult. I had to look up from my reading under the beach umbrella every now and then to document the kids' childhood. Someone has to do it.

Castillo San Marcos . . . We're Back!

The kids really wanted to visit Castillo San Marcos while we were in St. Augustine (I don't think we went during the summer of 2014 because we had just visited it during Spring Break), so we headed there on our last full day in Florida.

As usual, Phoenix just wanted to walk around and do his own thing . . .

. . . while Lutece felt compelled to complete the Junior Ranger program and earn her third (?) badge for el Castillo.

She's such a driven little nutter.

So while Lutece spends her time studying plaques and writing answers down, Phoenix lounges on ancient relics that he shouldn't even be touching. (Sorry for my complicity!)

But they both want their picture taken as if they are in prison. Looks more like I'M the one in prison.

Until next year, Castillo San Marcos!

Weird Florida Outings

As I mentioned in a previous post, Lutece was in charge of our activities whilst in Florida. She does a rockin' good job of it, even with the basic parameters I have set for her (i.e., only ONE expensive outing per year). This year, Lutece decided that our "expensive" outing would be the Alligator Farm.

I have eschewed this seeming tourist trap in the past, but Lutece read the reviews (which were good), and really wanted to go. It was, after all, her decision to make.

So we went, and we found that it was, in fact, quite fun, and if not *completely* worth the money, at least it entertained us for half a day and now we can say we've been there. 

It was nicely kept, very clean, and there were TONS of alligators and birds. Holy Hannah!

We especially enjoyed the Animal Talks the zookeepers gave throughout the day, which were highly informative and interesting. I would be happy with this one excursion to the Alligator Farm, but the kids have already decided that they want to go back in a couple of years when they are both old enough to do the zip line adventure over the alligator enclosures. Sounds like fun! :|

Another quirky outing that Lutece planned for us one afternoon was to the Mission Nombre de Dios, one of the first Catholic missions built in North America.

The grounds were serene and bordered the Intracoastal, which lended itself to lovely views . . . and sparked some good ideas. The kayakers we saw on the intracoastal made me want to try that out next year.

Was it a good outing? Huh? I don't know?

YES IT WAS!