St. Louis Zoo

Day two of our Missouri vacation began at the St. Louis Zoo.  This is one of the best zoos that we have ever been to (and it was free).  There were many outstanding animal exhibits, but I am going to post pictures of some of our favorites. The one that left the biggest impression on me was the polar bear.  We have seen polar bears at other zoos, but the one here was relaxing up next to the glass and we were able to get really really close to him.  What a magnificent animal!

The kids enjoyed watching the hippos.  Most of the animals were in nice, large habitats- that's always nice to see.

 The penguins were also a hit.

The St. Louis Zoo had several animals that we had never seen before.  Brian really liked the Takins.  He thought they were cool when he first saw them, and then their coolness was solidified when he realized that they could climb.

We spent about five hours at the zoo, and enjoyed our time there.

Spring Break in Missouri

Last year Brian and I decided that we would like to visit all 50 states with our kids before they grow up.  This is a goal that we would like to see happen- doesn't mean that it will, but we would like to try for it.  The minimum criteria that must be met in order for a state to count is that we have to have a sit-down meal in it.  Eating in the car does not count nor does simply driving through a state.  A meal is the minimum.  We had already covered a lot of the southern and mid-Atlantic states prior to this trip, so we headed toward the middle of the country for Spring Break.  We ended up adding three new states (Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas) during this trip- that brings our family total up to 19.

 Day one was our longest driving day.  According to Mapquest, the drive from our house to St. Louis was suppose to take a little over 12 hours.  We thought that that was do-able in a day.  However, we did not count on getting backed up in stop-and-go traffic SEVEN times between home and Nashville.  It took about twelve hours just to get to Nashville.  We ended up driving for seventeen hours straight to make it to our hotel in St. Louis.  It was one of the longest days ever.  The silver lining of all of this traffic was that we ended up going through Atlanta later than anticipated and managed to meet up with Cassie and James for lunch.

We also stopped at Steak and Shake in Illinois for a late supper so that we could count that state.

 The Gateway Arch was certainly a sight for sore eyes after a long day of driving.  We checked into our hotel around 1 a.m. and went straight to bed.  We were exhausted.

Easter

 We had a wonderful time celebrating Easter with our family this year.  On Saturday, the kids dyed eggs and got their baskets ready.  They woke up early on Sunday morning to check out their Easter Bunny loot, and then we got ready to go to Sunday School and Church. It had been raining during the night, but it slacked off enough for us to get our picture by the cross after the service. We ate lunch at Granny Buie's house but were not able to hunt eggs there due to the weather.  It was a great day of celebration.

SAM Shortline Railroad

Olivia's WINGS class recently explored southwest Georgia by taking a ride on the SAM Shortline Railroad.  Their trip began in Cordele and traveled to Leslie and Americus before returning to Cordele.  Olivia was excited to have her Papa (who worked on these types of trains for for many years) go with her.  Included in the price of the trip was lunch on the train (hotdogs) and a souvenir train cap for the kids.

In Leslie, the students visited the Georgia Rural Telephone Museum, which is home to one of the largest collections of antique telephones and telephone memorabilia in the world.

In Americus, the students visited the Habitat for Humanity Global Village and learned about the houses that this organization builds around the world.  They even got to visit replicas of the different types of shelters from different countries.  The kids were given "passports" and were able to get stamped at each "country".  From the way my dad described it, this place sounds very interesting.

 When my dad and Olivia got back home, they were both worn out.  It was a full, busy day for sure.

Owen is 8

 My little baby boy turned eight years old last Monday.  He is growing up so fast.  Here are some facts about Owen and age 8:

• His favorite subject in school is Math.
• If it were up to him, he'd just sit around and play video games all day long.
• He is eager to help out when asked (but won't volunteer)
• He loves salsa.
• He likes watching sports with his Daddy.
• He loves his family. 

Owen  had a great birthday this year.  We stopped by Dunkin Donuts on the way to school and let him get a donut and then he got to choose a restaurant to eat at that evening (he picked Loco Burrito).  We also had cake and a small family party for him following lunch on Easter Sunday,  He received lot of nice gifts.  His daddy and I got him a new bicycle, which he really liked.  He also got lots clothes, shoes, and a new baseball bag.  Owen is really into Pokemon and Yo-Kai Watch, so he was happy to get lots of things to go with that game (??).  I usually have someone more talented than myself make the kids a birthday cake, but I wanted to try to do one on my own.  I won't be doing that again.  I think that Hannah got all of the cake-making genes in our family.  Despite the ugly cake, it was a good birthday.  Brian and I are thankful for our sweet baby boy, and we look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with him.

Easter Activities at the Church

 Easter is upon us and the kids have been busy celebrating our Lord.  They have been learning about the events of Holy Week in their Sunday School classes and have also been participating in Holy Week activities.  On Palm Sunday, the children of the church march in waving palm branches.  Palm Sunday was also the date of the children's Easter production.  Owen and Olivia both had a solo in this year. Owen sang "Glory Glory Hallelujah (Since I Lay My Burden Down)" and Olivia sang "He Reigns".  On Wednesday, the church hosted an Easter egg hunt.  The kids at church always get really excited about that.  We are now looking forward to worshiping on Easter Sunday  He Lives!

Gate River Run

The Gate River Run is one of my favorite annual races, and I couldn't resist running it again this year- even though I am hopelessly out of shape.  It was a hot and humid day, but I gave it all that I had.  I finished with a time of 1:38:02- my worst for this course.  Even though my time wasn't that great, I still had a lot of fun and I look forward to redeeming myself next year.