Whirlwind Tour, Part IV: St. Louis

Don't worry, this is the last stop of the tour, and the barrage of photos is near an end. Only thirty-some-odd more to go... ha ha... ha...

Long before we knew what an exciting month we'd have in October, my mom and I planned a late-October trip to see my nephew Aiden, who lives in Illinois. I know that a lot of families make long road trips all the time just for the heck of it, but I'm not going to lie: I was a bit freaked out about the idea of driving all that way with a three-year-old and Sarah, the One Who Doesn't Like to Ride in the Car. So I pinned a bunch of road trip ideas, convinced Mom to bring her collection of children's book and cassette combos, and then proceeded to pack enough snacks and coloring books and diapers to last us through a few weeks stranded in the desert. And we had a great time, in spite of my overenthusiastic planning.

The best, best, best part of the trip happened on the Tuesday night before we left early Wednesday morning: the case in P's trial settled. So he wasted no time in abandoning his colleagues and taking off with us on our adventure - and Mom and I agreed that we probably wouldn't have survived the trip without him. Providence, my friends, Providence.

And the next best part was spending time with Aiden, who is in first grade now and growing up to be a fine young man - and yet who also had a terrific time playing with a certain three-year-old who absolutely adores him. We loved the added bonus of time with my cousin Yahna and her husband and two beautiful daughters (Sarah was beside herself with girls to play with - and girl toys, to boot!), as well as the chance to see some of St. Louis.

All in all, the trip was a great success. And the kids didn't even seem to mind all the driving (although I assure you, we were all grateful to get home Monday night).

Here are the pictures. Feel free to duck out if you don't have a few hours to spare... :)

And we're off! Gram was a BIG help in the back with the kids...

We divided the long leg of the trip with a visit to Orr Family Farm in OKC.

Sarah was not too excited about any of it.

But Luke Ate. It. Up.

The Jumping Pillow was probably the best part.
You've got to get one of these things. Seriously.

All that work to plan and pack car activities, and what does Sarah spend an hour doing?
Playing peek-a-boo with a neck pillow.

Aiden was happy to show us around his classroom when we picked him up from school.
Luke was beside himself. Oh, you could tell? Is it that obvious?

Sarah found an ideal playmate in sweet Mattie.
Look at them, placidly sipping pretend soup as they watch the boys
(who are most likely using plastic putters as weapons).

Oh, I was wrong. They were playing "Superman Hero and Superman Villain."
It's an actual game. That Aiden made up.
Guess who always wanted to be the bad guy?

We spent our first full day at the St. Louis Zoo, which was really awesome.
(And you know what a zoo expert I am.)

"ROAR!"
"rahr!"

Couldn't get them to all smile together,
so we got them to all trumpet together in front of the elephants.

This was the underwater tunnel where you can watch the seals and otters swim.
Look at my amazement! It really was that cool.
(Although Sarah might beg to differ; she wasn't too trusting of that plexiglass.)

It's cruel of me to post this photo, but I can't help it.
Sarah LOVED this stroller. I mean, really loved it. (Santa, are you listening?)
She played with it any chance she got - but on this particular evening,
after very little sleep and very much excitement, she had reached an End.
So she fiercely pushed this stroller around for several minutes,
stopping to scream every time something got in her way.
It was rather amusing to watch, I confess, but
I finally took her to bed, and she promptly (and gratefully, I think) conked out.
Sweet, ferocious girl.

Storytime with Gram, a precious time for all.

On the second full day, we visited The Magic House. Oh my.
You must go. Really. Right now. I'll wait.
Really.

Check out the factoid on this sign.

Oh, the comments I could make here...
I think I'll leave you to your imagination.

Yahna's family was so hospitable; it was an absolute joy to stay with them!

But after all that, we were tuckered out (figuratively speaking, of course!).
So glad to get home...

And now on to November!