The St. Louis Zoo

We had heard a lot about the St. Louis Zoo. Everyone makes a big deal about how it's free, but I think we spent more money going to this zoo then we have at any other zoo we've been to. Everything "extra" you want to do cost money and the food was ridiculously expensive. Between parking, drinks, lunch and the train ride we spent about $100. Not exactly what we were expecting with the hype of it being free. Despite the unexpected expense we had a great time. The kids were also little troopers because there was a lot of walking and they didn't complain once.

Boo Boo's

All three of the kids got boo boo's from falling on their bikes. Audrey got hers a few days earlier and today Jacob and Ethan fell within 30 minutes of each other.

No More Training Wheels for Ethan

This was by far the easiest transition from training wheels to no training wheels. Ethan's training wheels started to break a few months ago and I told him to try and ride his bike without using them. I knew he wasn't ready to take them off and I wasn't ready for them to come off. So, with the confidence of the training wheels still being attached he figured out how to ride without using them. Its taken him a couple of months to build up his confidence to take them off and today he was finally ready!

With Training Wheels

(notice that they aren't touching the ground)

Without Training Wheels

(look at that smile on his face)

AWANA Ceremony

Another year of AWANA has come to an end. The kids had so much fun going again this year and did such a great job learning their scripture verses. Audrey and Ethan were Cubbies and Jacob was a Spark. I volunteered in Audrey's class this year and I plan on volunteering again next year. Ethan is very excited because he will be a Spark just like Jacob in the fall and Audrey has one more year as a Cubbie.

Even though they weren't in the same class, Audrey and Ethan were on stage together to sing the Cubbie Song and recite a scripture verse!

The Sparks were on stage after the Cubbies. Jacob was so cute doing the hand motions to the song they sang. I wish I had my video camera to capture it.

Also, check out all the stuff on Jacob's vest. He has finished his Spark book and Extra Credit book two years in a row. I really need to count up how many scripture verses that is. It will blow your mind away. He also finished his Extra Credit book two weeks early this year! We are very proud of him.

His teacher was Mr. Chris Lanier. Jacob loved having him for a teacher and Chris always commented on how well Jacob was doing.

Mother's Day

Today was the last day of my mom's visit. It was really nice that she was with us on Mother's Day. I realized when she was here that it's been at least 12 years since I've been with her on Mother's Day. Oh, how those little things are lost when you live so far from home. We had a nice relaxing day together. Doug made us an early dinner, then I had to take her to the airport. We were very sad to see her go, but look forward to when we get to see her again in July. 

Baseball

This picture was taken at their practice on Wednesday night. It was a much nicer day then their games on Saturday. My mom, Audrey and I almost froze Saturday morning. It was in the 60's and the wind was blowing pretty hard and the sun was often behind the clouds which meant the wind chill was much colder than 60. The tips of my fingers were actually numb when we got in the car.

This is Jacob's first year playing baseball and he is doing really well for having never played before.

Doug is coaching Ethan's team. This picture was actually taken at their Sunday night game and it was a much nicer day as you can see from the lack of cold weather attire.

I love this picture!! Doesn't it make you giggle?

Lincoln's Tomb

This statue of Lincoln was the first thing we saw when we entered the tomb and it was done by the same artist as Lincoln's Monument in Washington DC.

Lincoln's nose has been kept polished by thousands of people who have rubbed it when they come to see his tomb. When I stepped back to look at his face, I was surprised to see how sad he looked. It was one of those moments that took my breath away.

Lincoln Home Tour

After we visited the Illinois State Capitol we headed over to Lincoln's home. It was facinating touring his home and seeing the last place he lived before he became our 16th president. We learned so much about Lincoln on the tour, and the movie we watched at the Visitor Center was outstanding.  

Springfield, Illinois State Capitol

One more state capitol checked off our list! I think this makes the 10th we've toured and the 12th we've seen. The tour of this capitol was a bit different because the legislature was in session and there were a lot of school tours. Our tour was with fifty 4th graders, which actually went quite well.

Below is a picture of the House of Representatives. We weren't able to see the Senate on the tour because they were in session. However, after the tour we went back to sit in on the debate over a bill and got to see it voted on. It was very interesting and it was definitely the highlight of our visit to the capitol.

I thought it was very interesting seeing the governors office after the scandal and impeachment of Rod Blagojevich. They didn't say much about the scandal, except that he has to pay to have his picture put on the wall with the portriats of the other governors. They are trying to pass a law so that any governor who has been impeached cannot have their picture on the wall, so there is a possibility that his will never be hung. Also, Patrick Quinn is the new governor of Illinois and was sworn in on January 29, 2009. 

Ulysses S. Grant's Home

My mom loves history, so we thought we would treat her to a little bit of American history during her visit. We went to Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site in St. Louis, Missouri. The visit ended up being a treat for Doug and I as much as my mom. We learned that he met his wife Julia Dent at this house. Ulysses later purchased the home from her father and they lived there off and on during the 1850's. The information we learned about his life before his presidency was very interesting and really brought to life who he was.