not to us

Memorial Day Weekend 2012, what a fun trip for us! :)

At the last minute, I realized I really wanted to get away with you all. Sometimes the hum-drum of daily life tempts me to forget how very much I'm blessed, and there's nothing like a few days completely out of our routine to remind me exactly how much I love our family. :) I found a few great deals online and decided to pack us up and head for St. Louis. We filled out days from sun up to sun down, and I think we all had a pretty great time. I wanted to document it, since you guys probably won't remember much of it.

We started our trip with a visit to The Magic House, St. Louis' Children's Museum. They had a special Magic Tree House exhibit, complete with costumes and complete scenes from some of Jack and Annie's adventures. They also had several other exhibits that caught your attention: re-creations of the Oval Office, a courtroom, and the Senate, a construction site, complete with CAT machines (a little bit of Lafayette in St. Louis), a cool science area with a shadow wall, and a huge beanstalk that you kiddos could climb instead of the stairs. :) We even had a nice picnic lunch out on the patio.

The next day we visited the Gateway Arch in downtown St. Louis, and it was fun to see your reactions to being so high up in the air. We had lunch at Union Station and enjoyed a little show from the guys and girl at The Fudgery. 

Finally, on Monday, we visited the St. Louis Zoo. We spent the whole day (from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.) at the zoo, and we *still* didn't get a chance to see everything. We'll be sure to visit the zoo again.

All in all, we had a really fun trip, and I can't describe how much I enjoyed my time with you all. I love you very much, and I look forward to all of our future family trips. :)

Happy Summer, Family!

More on the Journey to 1000...

14. last minute trips

15. last minute deals

16. a husband who doesn't mind to drive

17. kids who travel in style with just books as companions ;)

18. kids who sleep well even in the same room as Mommy and Daddy

19. McDonald's with display cases full of retro Happy Meal toys

20. the chance to share a glimpse of my childhood with my children

21. the joy and amusement on my husband's face

22. happy children climbing up and down a giant beanstalk

23. an incredibly astute little girl who can replicate our home's floorplan

24. a little boy who looks at home in a hard hat

25. reading adventures brought to life

26. picnic lunches

27. hotel pools

28. national monuments and new experiences

29. music and the joy it creates

30. fudge...and the joy it creates

31. God's creation, including fascinating animals and the chance to observe those creations

32. watching my daughter and my son dream about their futures: a construction worker? a veterinarian? a mechanic? the President?

33. safe travels

34. comfort food

35. a little boy who still falls asleep in my arms sometimes

36. time away as a family...to rest, to reconnect, to remember to enjoy these days.

Thank you, God.