St. Louis-Day 2

My Dad loves to travel, so he always made a point each year to take us on some really cool trips. My most fond memories growing up were vacations with my family. I think that is why I like traveling so much. It brings back good memories for me and allows me to make new memories with my family now. There is something special about being away from the everyday stuff and the "to do" lists and just enjoying the 4 of us. Everyone seems more relaxed. Especially myself. Today, after we laid B down for a nap and set Emma up for some quiet time, I laid on the couch, without guilt, and watched HGTV until I fell asleep. It was great!

The Weather Channel said we had pretty clear skies until noon and they were right on. We ventured out to Grant's Farm this morning. The grounds are wide open, green and beautiful. The first thing you do when you get there is ride on a tram that takes you around the grounds and then drops you off at the animals.








We saw cows close up (B loved that) and many deer and buffalo along the tram ride. At the farm, the girls were able to give a bottle of milk to some baby goats. We had to have all hands on for that adventure, so John took a picture of another little girl feeding so we could remember the memory. :)






While we were there, we (well, really John) got interviewed for a segment on the news. Click here to see the video. The Busch family owns and runs this farm, so at the end of the farm, you can get free beer samples. The Anheuser-Busch Clydesdale's are also on the land, so we went to the stables on our way out. Right at noon, the rain came and we were in the car heading for our hotel.







Brooklyn and I took a long nap while John and Emma watched E.T. (it must have been a good nap for B. check out her hair after she woke up) The rain brought some cold air in and it was still drizzly, so we had to do something inside. The front desk said there was an outlet mall called The Mills that had a large children's playground, so we headed there for the night. I have never seen a mall playground like this. Apparently PBS sponsors the area. It was amazing. We also let Emma jump on this crazy trampoline. As John said, "This is what vacation is about. Letting our kids do things that we normally would not pay for."