Days 10 and 11 – Family Reunion

On Wednesday afternoon we finally made it to my sister’s home.  The kids made quick friends with their cousins and played late into the night. 

Thursday we headed to the beach. 

Everyone finally got to swim in the ocean.  This beach had showers to rinse off some of the sand, so we didn’t have quite as much to clean out of the van this time!

Day 9 – South Florida/Manatee Museum and the beach

We headed to the South Florida Museum this morning.  The kids were really wound up and going crazy today.  We took the fast lane through the museum, checked out a couple things here and there, found the manatees, held some starfish, and got out of there. 

 

I wonder if that's the fish that swallowed Jonah?

 

 

Off to the beach we went!  The kids’ first time in salt water!  Everyone had a blast.  Lots of sun, laughing, splashing, running, giggling, digging, seashell finding, and sand.  Lots and lots of sand.  Everywhere.  The kids all got rinsed before getting into the car and were still covered with sand head to toe.  I had to sweep the entire van out when we got back. 

 

 

 

He loves to pray.  :)

 

The older kids wanted to hit the pool again later in the afternoon.  The little kids were exhausted so I put a movie on for them while Brett brought the girls to check out a different pool at the campground. 

We are headed out again in the morning to the other side of Florida so we can visit my sister and her family.  The kids will get to play with their 4 cousins (5 if another one will hurry up and decide to be born so we can meet her before going home!) that they haven’t seen in over a year. 

 



Days 6, 7, and 8 - Florida at last!

We have not had constant internet connection, so I apologize for the overload of posts while I catch up!

 

We took off driving early Saturday morning.  It was a very uneventful day and driving went very smoothly.  We drove as far as we could for the day and then pulled in to a Home Depot parking lot to spend the night. 

 

Sunday morning we woke up and got dressed for church, then hopped in the car and drove another hour south.  We timed it just right and made it to the Household of Faith Bible Church just north of Atlanta in time.  This church was awesome and worth checking out if you are ever anywhere in the area.  Wonderful pastor and message and very welcoming.  After changing back into our every-day clothes again and making up some sandwiches for lunch we spent the rest of the day driving again.  Our “campground” this night was a truck stop.  A parking lot full of semis running all night is the best white noise machine ever. 

 

A few more hours of driving on Monday finally got us to Bradenton, FL.  Yay!  We spent a couple hours at the pool turning some of us pale Minnesotans into lobsters, ate dinner and headed to the Anna Maria City Pier to watch the sunset. 

 

The beautiful white sand beach by the pier.

 

A photo with me in it!!!  Just for you Diane.  :)

 

Exhausted baby.  Not so sure I could fall asleep with my foot on my shoulder....

 

Day 5 - museum day

Saturday is always pancake morning in our home.  Brett and the girls have made them almost every weekend for years now.  But, we will be hitting the road first thing in the morning, so the pancakes arrived a day early.

 

 

Today it rained all day.  A perfect day for hitting the museums!  We started off with the St. Louis Science Center.  It is huge with tons of hands on activities for the kids.  I think everyone agrees that this was our favorite stop in St. Louis. 

 

 

After that, we went to the history center.  This is at the location of the 1904 Worlds Fair.  It was interesting to learn all about it and take a step back in time.  (Sorry, no flash photos were allowed here, so I didn't take any.)

 

Finally, we headed back over to Illinois to see the Cahokia Mounds.  The girls loved the life-size village that was set up in the information center.  Unfortunately, it was pouring, so we didn't get out to walk the trails and explore the mounds.  I did snap a few photos of them (and "woodhenge") as we drove by though. 

 

 



Day 4 - zoo, courthouse, and arch

We headed to the St. Louis Zoo this morning.  It has been rated the best zoo in the country and is free!  The kids got to pet a chinchilla and some guinea pigs (Elaina has been trying to convince me to let her buy one, now she wants one even more).   

 

 

Abby finally got to see her favorite animal, a cheetah.

 

 

The kids all wanted to see a bear since a mama with three cubs was spotted close to our property last year.  They finally had the opportunity to see one up close (and on the other side of a fence!). 

 

 

The penguin exhibit was awesome.  Ben announced that he wants a penguin for his birthday.

 

After the zoo we did a quick walk through the courthouse.  Here are the beautiful paintings on the ceiling inside.

 

Then, we went to get an up-close look at the arch and the museum underneath.

 

We had so much fun at the Citygarden the day before that we ended up going back again before heading back to the campground.