We dropped Eric off at the hotel around 3:30, well, we checked in, got settled, whatever. And then Dad, Aron, Jordan and I headed south to Ste. Genevieve where Trish (Aron and Jordan's birthmom) and Jessi (her daughter, and A&J's sister) live.
After a little while of warming up to Trish and Jessi at their house, the kids all played together for a while and then we went out for a very nice dinner.
Prior to our leaving on the trip, the kids were having arguments about who's 'sister' or 'best friend' or even 'friend' Jessi was. They had a photo of her, which Aron brought with him - perhaps to just to make sure that the person he saw was the person in the picture. Aron would run around the house saying "My Jessi!" to which Jordan would retort "My Jessi!" It was cute.
The big damper on the trip, and particularly that evening, was that Jordan was finishing up with the cold that all of us had at one point or another - or even several times - since the year started. She felt awful and I felt for her. She was a trooper, though.
The next day, well, first of all, it snowed. So it was freakin' COLD! But we had made arrangements to meet up with Trish, Jessi, and Trish's parents at the St. Louis Zoo. The kids have actually been to that particular zoo twice before. The first time was shortly (like days) after they were born. At the end of July it's HOT in St. Louis. And Eric and I had figured out the basics of feeding and changing them. We were waiting (somewhat patiently) to be allowed to leave the state, and subsequently to enter our state and we got bored watching the free movies in the hotel. So we went to the free zoo for a day. It was a great day.
2 years ago we went to St. Louis because my roommate from college got married and I was in the wedding. We also visited with Trish and Jessi during that trip. While I was doing some bridesmaid thing or other, Dad and Eric took the kids to the zoo. Apparently it was pretty cold that day too.
Anyway, the zoo was pretty much completely empty. But we made the best of it - visiting everything that was indoors. The penguins were particularly cool.
Then we went out to lunch. There was no real place to nap that day, so we went to the mall, played on the "wee!" (escalator to those of you not fluent in 3 year old speak). Up and down, up and down, up and down - trip to the potty - up and down up and down. And then we played in the mall play area for a while - which was packed, it being a Saturday and cold outside. Jessi also seemed to enjoy both the 'wee!' and the play area.
Then we went and saw Flushed Away! at the dollar theater. It was cute - at least, what I saw of it. Jordan still felt pretty crappy, so she was clingy and whiny, plus neither of them had had a nap, so they were both cranky. There were an obscene number of trips to the potty during the film too.
After the movie it was time to say good bye to Trish, Jessi and Trish's parents. Jessi was not at all pleased with this turn of events.
We had a great time and here are a bunch of pictures from the experience. Many of the pictures were taken by Aron, Jordan and/or Jessi... so that might explain the... "perspective" of some of them.
I should mention that in the middle of the 93 photos there are about a dozen of last weekend when, while Eric was in Philadelphia for a conferences, my dad and I took the kids to a think called "Sugar Camp Days" at Bendix Woods. They make syrup from the maple trees in Bendix Woods and once a year, for one weekend, they have an all-you-can eat pancake and sausage breakfast (with loads of syrup, of course) and then a tour of the grounds including how they make the syrup and kettle corn. And, of course, there is an awesome playground.
Oh, and then there are a few pictures of Aron and Jordan dancing in the living room before bed... Aron decided Jordan shouldn't be the only one who wears a nightgown, so he borrowed one from her.
The pictures after those are the ones from, mostly, kids hands.
Hope you are all doing well.
Love,
The Stewarts
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