STL Botanical Garden

We loaded up the ole minivan and drove to the Botanical Gardens Saturday morning. Jessie packed an impromptu lunch so we could eat while we were there. It was such a beautiful day and a beautiful place. There was so much room to run. It didn't feel busy even though the parking lot was full. 

The kids area was a lot of fun. It was a little tough for Mr. Man because it was more for 2 year olds and above but the kids had fun.

 Miss M and Jack walked across this balance beam. I was surprised. There was nothing to hold onto other than the net on the side. It was a long way down but neither of them seemed bothered by this. I am not really surprised Jack did it without hesitation. But sometimes Miss M can wimp out.

 The flower had a bell inside of it for Mr. Man to ring.

 Jack and Drew being buddies.

Sheep statues for the kids to play on. Most families took a picture with the sheep and moved on. Our kids couldn't get enough of the sheep. We picnicked with the sheep b/c we couldn't get the kids to leave.

Group shot. Jessie was taking the picture and Mr. Man and I were having a snack so we missed the photo opportunity. Maybe I can Photoshop us all in for our Christmas card.

And when we arrived back home from our trip Uncle Nick and family were waiting for us in the driveway. They were spending the weekend in STL and stopped by to say 'hi' before they went on to meet their other family.

July 4th in STL

Mr. Man started running a fever on Monday before the 4th of July. We had plans to go to STL to hang out with Uncle Craig and family.  With the onset of the fever our plans were on hold until Thursday when we planned on leaving.  His fever was fairly mild but he was crabby and hated life.  Thursday morning I called the doctor's office got him a 9am appt. We took Miss M to summer camp and ran Mr. Man to the doctor to find out that he had another ear infection. We got his Rx filled, loaded up the car, picked up Miss M and drove to STL. 

A few days after the fever broke a rash broke out. The doctor said it would happen - thankfully - or I would have freaked out more. I think the heat of being outside made the rash a little more prominent. He survived and doesn't have a rash today. 

Jack is a busy man. He goes all out from the time his feet hit the floor in the morning. This was a rare moment where he sat still long enough to get a non-action picture.

This is how he looks majority of the time. On the move. The neighborhood Craig and Jessie live in have a 4th of July party which includes a potluck and a bounce house or two and a slushy machine. Their neighborhood also has (not literally) hundreds of kids under the age of 6. Miss M latched onto a little girl named Olivia and she just wanted to follow her around and do everything she did. The next day she kept asking when she was going to see her friend Olivia. Olivia was really sweet to Miss M and played with her. 

Miss M and Jack rode around the neighborhood in Jack's truck. We need to work on Miss M's steering. She was driving me crazy with her inability to steer without running into things. 

When Miss M woke up I told her if she took a nap that we would let her stay up and watch the fireworks. She was curious about them and she was obsessed with the fact that it was our country's birthday. After I got Mr. Man to bed I bathed Miss M and then we sat out on the deck while the block party wrapped up and watched all the fireworks. The view was amazing. We probably saw 3 or 4 town fireworks displays. Miss M enjoyed them and didn't seem scared of the noise. 

She didn't go to bed until after 10pm the night of the 4th but yet managed to wake up around 6:30am.  I was less than impressed but what can you do. I didn't want her to wake up the rest of the house so we went to Panera and had breakfast in our pajamas together.

Mr. Man post bath

Mr. Man loves nothing more than playing in the sink after his bath. I don't know why he doesn't just sit in the bath longer and play but apparently the bath isn't as exciting as dumping water from the faucet all over himself. 

Lunches with Miss M

Miss M and I had a lunch picnic on the porch.  I made her peanut butter and jelly sandwiches shaped with a cupcake cookie cutter. She thinks it's great. She eats it all. I don't even care that we waste part of the bread. I feel a win when she actually eats. 

 Just relaxing.

 The next day I was hungry, she was hungry, and we had nothing to eat so I ordered JJ's. I get her a day old loaf of bread and she destroys it. She digs out the fluffy bread and makes such a mess.  I should probably vacuum more.

After she dug out all the fluffy bread from the day old loaf she wanted to paint. She really wanted to do an experiment. There aren't many craft projects she starts that don't turn into a huge mess. I don't even care anymore. It keeps her entertained without my assistance.  On this particular day she insisted on getting all her paints out, two of her drinking cups, and then pouring all her paints into one cup and then transferring them back and forth. The clean up was much easier than I anticipated but seriously sometimes I wonder if she might be a chemist b/c she loves to mix things and do experiments.