St. Louis Zoo

We finally made it out to St. Louis to visit our friends Scott and Jennifer this last weekend. They had a cool tent set up for Sam to sleep in, and if it weren't for our demanding that we go places, Sam would have stayed in the tent all weekend. Their dog, Oliver, also stayed with Sam in the tent some too. We made it to the St. Louis Zoo, after a very tasty breakfast at Einstein Bros. Bagels (need one of those here!). It started out not too hot, but by the time we were ready to go, it had steamed up a bit. The coolest part was the indoor penguin exhibit where it was 45 degrees and you could walk right up to the penguins. I think this zoo has to be one of the nicest we have visited, and the best part was that it was FREE. Sam, Dad and Scott are pictured here riding the carousel. Sam, of course, wanted to ride the "bench" instead of an animal (like he did at the Santa Monica Pier Carousel in California), but mom insisted that he ride an animal, after all we were at the zoo. After a bit of hesistancy, he selected the tiger, although he clung to his penguin and blanket for most of the ride. We ate at great restaurants, Sweet Tomatoes (in Kansas City on the way up), Chevys, and Cheesecake Factory, plus had a great homemade dinner of fried rice with chicken and steak--thanks Jennifer! It was a great trip, and we will have to go back again to visit the 100's of places we didn't make it to this trip.

Latest Pictures

Here are a few new pictures to share.

The first picture is of Sam and his buddy Ethan Doerksen. We both went to a place called "Pump It Up" which has lots of those inflatable "jumpy things" as Sam would say. Ethan was a big help to Sam when the obstacle course was a bit too challenging (as was Ethan's mom, Kristen). Mom tried to help some, but with a growing stomach (thanks to the little one), it made jumping and climbing a little challenging. Ethan was celebrating his first day at kindergarten, and Sam says that he is going to go to school with Ethan on Tuesdays, and Sam is going to be the teacher. Sam also says that he is going to learn to dance when he goes to school. I'm not sure where he comes up with these ideas.

Sam has gotten into playing computer games. Some are online, others are on a disk. He still hasn't mastered using the mouse, but he knows the word "loading" and says "click on that one" very well.

It has cooled down here a little bit, enough to visit the park some. Here is Sam on the turtle at the Sedgwick County Park. Today when we went, he sang the alphabet song to the turtle.

Sam at the Fountains

It has been so hot these last few days, all there is to do outside is swim and play at the fountains. There are several parks that have these interactive fountains. This park has all sorts of shapes to run through and stand under.