Annual Trip to St. Louis

We just got back from our annual summer trip to St. Louis to see family and friends (and for Patrick to play in Grandpa Shelby's Member-Guest golf tournament, which they both love!). We had such a wonderful and relaxing trip!

K grabbed the vintage Cozy Coupe straight away! "Mama, I want my coo-coupe!" was her mantra every day.




We went to the famous St. Louis Zoo, which is FREE (this still astonishes me considering that the San Diego Zoo is upwards of $43 per person!). We have wanted to go in years past, but it was way too hot. This year, we had beautiful weather, with the exception of the day we chose to go the zoo...95 degrees and humid! After a bit of a rocky start (K wanted to be carried by me around the enormous zoo in the heat!), we convinced (bribed) K to ride in the fancy stroller we rented by giving her snacks. Here she is with Grandpa and DeeDee.

Once K was happy, we stumbled upon the penguin house. K was really excited to see the penguins. Unfortunately, they jumped in the yucky penguin water just at the right angle to douse K and DeeDee! For the rest of the week, K kept taking the clothes off of her babies and when we asked why, she would say, "Wet. Penguins got them dirty."



We decided to ride the train before leaving the zoo and K's mood was improving. That is, until Grandpa Shelby decided he wanted to sit by her on the train...poor Grandpa!



Much better!



After nap, K climbed back into "coo-coupe" and was happy as a clam!

She even started posing for the camera...

The next day, we went to Tucker's for lunch to spend some time with Grandpa Shelby.  K became happier to see him when he brought her a bowl of cherries!





She even let him color with her!  And he was so excited!

That afternoon, we drove to MaMa's house to visit with her and it was wonderful!  She was so prepared and ready for our visit.  She even bought a new swing for CeeCee's old swing set in the backyard so that K could swing (one of her most favorite things to do!).

She was in heaven!



And MaMa had presents for K, too, of course!

MaMa cooked the most amazing meal and had her table set beautifully with special princess dishes for K, along with Dada's sippy cup from when he was little.

Check out this spread!!!

K ate a little bit, but could not wait to get her hands on those presents!  While we finished eating, K ripped into the paper...

MaMa gave her some great new puzzles.







And a new baby in a bathtub with all of the bath accessories, too.

While Dada and I did the dishes, K went outside with MaMa for more swinging.





They were both having so much fun!



MaMa showed K how to twist up the swing and spin around!



K loved it!

And she rode Dada's tricycle that MaMa kept from when Dada was little.  MaMa made it shiny and new just for K!



A sweet hug for a sweet Great Grandmother!



K even gave MaMa an impromptu dance performance before we left!

Stay tuned for more on our St. Louis trip...