Father's Day Weekend in St. Louis

Saturday morning we headed to St. Louis for Fathers Day weekend. 

The kids were excited:)

Rachels Dance team performed before the Cardinal's game Saturday so Matt, Kane, Rachel & Dad went to the game and the rest of us hung out at the pool.  It was HOT!!! 

Look at my lil Stud ready to dive in the pool.

Here is how he spent most of the afternoon-floating and he preferred to float all by himself.  He acts like his big sis more and more everyday.

My other lil fish.

After dinner we just stayed around Union Station-the kids were in AWW over all the fish.  Brody only said "fishies" about a millions times-he kept wanting to lean over and touch them so we had to hold on to his pants and shirt so he didn't fall in. He would SCREAM b/c he didn't want us to hold him back.  Oh he is such a little STINKER these days. 

LOOK AT ALL OF THEM! Pretty gross if you ask me.

Daddy took Ashlyn for a ride on the paddle boats-which of course made BRODY not a happy camper but they wouldn't allow kids under the age of 3 to ride.  Try explaining that to a STUBBORN 20 month old.

Watching Sissy and Daddy on the boat-he finally stopped screaming.

Happy Father's Day Daddy-We Love You!!  Brody looks less than thrilled.

Sunday morning we were up and off to Breakfast by 8:30 so we could be at the zoo early before it was 100 degrees.

The kids loved the train.

Kane had to get his picture taken with the BIG GORILLA!

Ashlyn was making funny faces and this guy would just stare at her.  She thought it was just the funniest thing that he was watching her.

Of course we had to go on the Carousel-Ryan was in charge of taking pictures can you tell!

Aww what a cute picture with our Daddy on Father's day. 

And one with his favorite granddaughter

We stopped by to pet the stingray's and sharks-the kids were a little unsure at first.

Last stop was to check out the elephants.

Daddy and Brody found a way to cool off before we headed home.

We had such a fun & relaxing weekend spent with the kids and our family.  Wish we could do it more often. 

random phone pics

I finally broke down last month and got an I-Phone-I'm not one for change and my blackberry worked just fine!! Work told us all they were not renewing our contract on the blackberry server and we needed to upgrade to an I-phone I was a little ticked.  Ryan has had one since the day they came out and told me I would love it once I got it and you know what he was RIGHT (for once;).  I'm in LOVE with my new phone and all the FUN apps. especially Instagram and Instagram Frame.  Oh and I sold my old Blackberry on Ebay for $153 bucks-Heck ya!

I thought I would share a few fun pics I have taken with my new phone.

Nothing more innocent than a sleeping baby-he is such a snuggle bear when he wants to be.  I love how this shows his LONG dark eyelashes. 

Love my Hydrangea bush

Ashlyn prefers to go down the slide face first

Those are water balloons:)

Hanging out with mommy at work

The neighbor kids-minus Brody and Evan. 

Emma practicing her driving skills in Ashlyn's jeep-only 1 more year til she is the big 16!!

Tremont Turkey Festival

This is our 3rd Annual trip to the Tremont Turkey Festival; its probably our favorite festival of the summer!  The food is AWESOME, its not so crowded, and the kids always have a blast!

Ashlyn was FINALLY big enough to ride most of the rides all by herself.  Her favorite last year and this year is the dragon roller coaster.  Look at that SMILE; she was soo excited.

Arms up ready to GO SUPER FAST she said.

Ok maybe I will hold on:)

Daddy had to ride on the tea cups with her.

Of course we couldn't leave without getting our face painted.  I forgot my camera that day so I just had my phone-oops I totally forgot to take any pics of Brody.  He is still to little to ride but had fun watching all the kids and we stopped by the park so he could play.  We usually stay for the parade but Ashlyn got a tummy ache so we had to miss it this year.  Another fun year at the Turkey Festival!

Tot Soccer

We decided to let Ashlyn decide between T-ball and Tot Soccer and she decided on Soccer Ball (that is what she calls it).  Her best friend Katie (our neighbor) plays soccer and Ashlyn wanted to play soccer ball just like Katie does.  So on Thursday nights for 6 weeks we got to watch Ashlyn practice on some soccer skills.  Overall I think she did pretty good and she really looked forward to Thursday night soccer ball.  Some nights were of course better than others-it was hard for her to stay focused with all the distractions but we just have to remember she is only 4 (ok not quite 4 just one more month)

 Patiently waiting for class to start!

Time for a little stretching (check out those leg warmers she HAD to wear:)



Here is how she spent most of her time; chatting with the other kids.



 Ashlyn's turn to practice kicking and stopping the ball. 

 Doesn't she look so grown up:(

 Look at that Form:)

 She loved when it was time to kick it in the goal!

 I love this picture; she is such a beautiful little girl.

 Look how cute they are!!

 The last night they did a little awards ceremony

 and of course got a sucker

She was very proud of her award and couldn't wait to show her best friends Katie & Emma!  Next up Swim Lessons, we decided to take a little break from tumbling just for the summer.