St. Louis Trip Pt. 2

Monday September 14th was a BIG day for us! It was the boys very first time bowling. Mom and I took them to Brunswick. It was perfect. They had this stand that you place the ball ontop of and then the child can push it off of it and with the bumpers up, hit lots of pins! They thought the fan on the machine was amazing and stuck their faces in front of it. We finished the game about 45-50 minutes later and here were the scores..... Billy IV: With two spares and a strike .... 98 Finnegan: With two spares .... 83! Wow, they rock! After we bowled, there was a HUGE arcade in the building. We played lots of games that were half off. I believe that the one that we loved the most was banging the the button to 'feed' the dog. Even Mom and I played a couple of times! Oh yah... One of the most important things.... I finally got White Castles today :oD

Tuesday we got up and got dressed and went on a little drive over to Grandma and Grandpa Hunter's house. We wanted to surprise them. They had no idea that we were even in town. So once we arrived we slowly and quietly got out of the car and crept up to the front door. We sure did shock them both! They were over the moon to see us! We hung out and played at their house for a little while. Billy loved that Great Grandpa would let him 'eat' his dental floss. "MMM, it tastes good." :oP It was so wonderful to seem them. It had been too long.

Wednesday Grandma Joan came over and took us to Monkey Joe's again! They boys were so very excited. We enjoyed watching them run back and forth and going up and down. Then we got some very exciting news! Mrs. Nicole had her baby, it was a boy!!! We're so happy to hear that both Momma and baby are doing well. Cannot wait to meet him. After we played for quite a bit, Grandma Joan took us to O' Charlies for lunch. I had the most amazing salad. Then Grandma dropped us back off at home and the boys took a nap. That afternoon my dear friend Rebecca came over with her two children, Hannah and Liam. It was my first time meeting Liam and I was so excited to see him (well all of them!) They all had an amazing time playing with eachother. They had pizza for dinner and played until they had to leave. :o)

Then one night Kenny and his daughter and fiance Erin came over. Billy had quite the little crush on Ms. Ella and had to have her wear his pj's so that she could keep them and always think of him! It was adorable. Billy has never been like that around a little girl. Watch out Kenny.... They'll get married, lol! Then another night my brothers friend Kenny came over to visit. It was great to see him. The last time I saw him was when he gratuated highschool. Now he's all grown up and owns his own business. Gosh I feel like an old fart at times. Really. I do.

Saturday was a BIG day. Nanie Cindy and Papa Mike took us to Grant's Farm! It was Bills, Billy and Finnegan's first time going. We took the shuttle throughout the park and saw all the animals that were out. It was amazing because some of them stood right by us as we drove by. I am sure that we all had wide BIG eyes oooh'ing and ahhh'ing over the different things! Once we stopped and got out we walked over to the tent to buy tickets for the boys. With the tickets that you buy you get to feed the goats twice, ride the carousel once and get a sno cone. So the very first thing we did was to ride the carousel. Nanie Cindy rode with Billy and I took Finnegan. They had such a great time. They love the carousel. Once we were done with that, we walked around to find the goats so that we could feed them. Those little boogers are fiesty! Finnegan wanted nothing to really do with them. So I held him while we both fed the goats. Bill and Billy were up close and fed them and Billy thought that it was amazing, but backed away if they got too close. One attacked Bill's shirt ;o) I only fed the 'skinny' ones because all the fat ones kept taking away the bottles from the skinny ones. ;o) After that we scrubbed our hands a couple of times! We walked around and saw lots of birds and different animals. We stopped at bench and we got a couple of snacks and I walked to the nearest Sno Cone stand to get the boys their treats. When I got back they were on pretzel number two and were thrilled to see their sweet treats! On our way out we stopped and saw a Camel. We got pretty close and Billy thought that it was amazing! Once we got out to the courtyard we visited all horses. There was a long wait to get on the shuttle, so we stopped and got a complimetary beer. By the time that we were finished, the line was small and we got in while we could! Thank you Mom and Mike, it was an absolute blast and it was wonderful to be able to share that with you! That evening Mary came and picked me up and we headed out to Helen's for drinks and to listen to Donna' favorite band for her birthday. It was great to catch up and see them. I love you guys!

Sunday I did last minute laundry and got a few things packed and together. That evening we went to Angela and Jeremey's house for dinner. We had Korean. It was amazing. Thank you both for having us over. It was wonderful to meet Maya for the first time and Max too (for me!). They are absolutely adorable. *Highlight of the evening.... "Want to see the poop again?!" * Perfect ending to a perfect night!

Monday I finished up last minute packing. Grandma Joan came over to say a last goodbye. Then Mandy and her two; Drew and Leah came over. They played in the basement, we played with chalk out on the driveway, had hummus and chips and watched a movie, we did bubbles with the fan and of course played 'baseball'! It was so wonderful to see you, thank you for stopping over and sharing your afternoon with us.

Mom and Mike - Thank you for having us stay with you during our visit. It was so wonderful to see you. Thank you for all 0f the DELISH meals :: stretch your neck out like a ostrich:: lol! Thanks for our many firsts! Love you all!