St. Louis Trip Pt. 1

On Saturday September 4th we left for our St. Louis Trip. First off.... Ahem.....

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Dad/PoPo Joe! Happy Birthday to you!

We got into St. Louis that evening and just hung out with the family until bedtime. Sunday we got up and went to the Ogle Family Reunion! It was an absolute blast. It was wonderful to see family that we see only once a year. I cannot believe how big all the 'kids' got... Now I am looking up to some of them! (Not that hard to do ya know... lol) The food was to die for, I literally had one full plate of food and then went and got one full plate of dessert. MMM. We had a wonderful visit that we wish that we could have more of.

Then Nanie Cindy and Papa Mike surprised the boys with 4-Wheelers! Holy cow. They went crazy. They thought that it was the coolest thing ever. Then Papa took a small but long rope and tied it onto the handlebars and would spin the boys (doing donuts) around inside of the garage. It was a blast. Tuesday Nanie Cindy, PaPa Mike and Uncle Nick took us to the park to play and we had a fun time swinging and playing at the playground. A couple of nights later PaPa Mike set up a baseball stand (tied a plastic baseball to a string hung from the garage) and the boys practiced their swings. I cannot believe that I have never thought of this. The kids played with this every day multiple times! On Friday we went to Monkey Joe's for the very first time. It was an absolutely amazing time. I even had fun! The boys were in their glory and you could see the happiness in their eyes. After that we took them to McDonalds for lunch and then we all crashed!

Saturday PoPo Joe was in town with Nana Lisa. The boys were so happy to see them it had been such a LONG time. They surprised the boys with goodie bags and me too! Billy got a lot of Spiderman stuff and Finnegan got Toy Story toys. I got some really cute things (thanks again Lisa!). I got a tank top that says "Future Mrs. Bamford 2010" and some pink boy shorts that says, "Bill's Bride-to-be". Darling. Along with one of their favorite wines from a winery by their house. Dad and Lisa watched the boys for my while they napped so I could go out to lunch with Jessy and Sarah. It was wonderful to see them both, especially Sarah since I hadn't really seen her since High School. Craziness! It reminded me of the 'old days' and I really enjoyed being with them both. After lunch (with a FULL belly!) I went back to Grandma Joan's house and we hung out and got ready and went to dinner. We tried a few places, but they were too busy. So we ended up going to TGI Friday's. It was so much fun! The boys were dancing to the music they were playing and ate a really good dinner. That night I stayed at Grandma's house since the next morning we were getting up early to go out.

Sunday Billy decided that we were going to go to the Zoo. It was the boys first time at the St. Louis Zoo. We were really excited because there was a Stingray exhibit. We walked around and saw all the animals and the boys were in awe. Billy just adores the elephants like his father, so we sat there and watched them for awhile. The baby elephant was trying to take hay away from the Momma elephant, so the Momma elephant hit the baby with her trunk as if to say, "NoNO!". It was quite humerous! We then headed to the Stingray exhibit. We had to take off (Lisa and I) all of our jewelry and then we all had to wash our hands up to our elbows. Once we got in, Billy tried to touch the stingray, but decided that it just wasn't for him. Finn... Well he didn't even attempt! I however was very curious as to how they felt (I had seen MANY before, but never felt one) and it was really neat feeling. Very soft. After that we took a train ride that Finnegan missed because he fell sound asleep in the Mei Tai. Billy just loved it. Each time that we started to leave a stop, he would say... "ALL ABOARD!" After our train ride we headed back to the car with two very sleepy boys. Daddy had called us and told us that he was on his way home from his weekend trip and we had him meet us back at Grandma Joan's house. We arrived at about the same time and had Imo's Pizza for dinner. It was soooo yummy! Then we stopped at Great Great Grandma Roe's house (my great grandmother) to say hi and hang out for a bit. They were so excited to see us. Great Great Grandma Roe played the piano for us along with Great Great Aunt Dot playing the banjo. The boys thought that it was the most amazing thing in the whole world! Quite cute if you ask me, two late 90 year old women playing music and whistling!! We said good-bye to everyone and headed home.

Monday was my Grandpa Joe's Annual Golf Tournament for Leukemia. All proceeds go to the Leukemia Foundation in my grandfathers name. I really wish that I could have been there to show my love and support, but with the two boys loud and going through the terrible two's I didn't think that it would be appropriate to bring them (esp. since you're not to really talk on the course.) But I was there in heart. I love you Grandpa Joe. There isn't a day that passes that I do not think of you. You were amazing, fun, caring, thoughtful and loving. I miss you. When Dad, Lisa and Grandma Joan got back from the dinner we met them at Fritz's. -Lets take a moment to think about the most amazing icecream you'll ever eat - ...... Ok, go on. We had a blast having our icecream and the boys really enjoyed their slushies. We said good-bye. Of course I cried like a little baby. It was the first time that I had seen my dad and Lisa in a year. Thank you for everything. I love you both very much!