The City Garden

After the kiddos all took naps, we headed out for a late afternoon stroll through the City Garden in downtown.  It was a really fun area with lots of cool statues and sculptures for the kids (and Brad) to climb on and play around.

 How perfect that they had this Easter Bunny statue for the kids to climb on!

 Those three had so much fun together!

 We love the Arch!  The girls would holler out "Arch!" anytime we were driving around and they saw it out the window.  Lexi would like to tell where she saw it, too - "Arch - Lexi's window!"

 This year is St. Louis' 250th birthday, so there were these fun birthday cake statues all over the city.  The kids loved climbing on them and having their pictures taken.  Even Iko got in on the action this time!

 And leave it to Brad to outdo everyone in craziness.  He climbed up this statue and completely freaked Julie out by walking across the top.  Gotta love that boy!  I know I do! ;)

 Just strollin' along through the city with amazing views!

 The kids found water and made a beeline for it, as always.  Freezing temperatures or not, you can't keep them from splashing around.

 Whoa!!!  Is that my family inside a man's head?!  Crazy!  And, yep, women, it's like we've always thought...empty!!!! ;)

 Those are some of the cutest little eyeballs I've ever seen!

 We love St. Louis!

 The world's greatest hosts and tour guides!  They were seriously awesome!

 Group shot as the sun was setting.

 And, of course, another birthday cake.

Don't worry, only 2 flowers were destroyed in the taking of this picture. :(  That Lexi, she's an animal!

The City Garden was awesome - big cities sure are fun!

The Famous Gateway Arch

Since it's what St. Louis is most known for, visiting the Arch was on the top of our to-do list.  Tuesday was still chilly, but sunny and beautiful, so perfect for viewing the sites from 630 ft above the ground!

 I know I've said it a thousand times already, but the trees in bloom really were incredible!

(The Sideriadis' were kind enough to let the girls borrow some hats for the day, too, which they loved!)

 Julie was at work, but Dimitri and the kids joined us for their first time up in the arch, too.

 Wow!  How cool is that?!?

 While we were waiting for our time to go up with little tram to the top, the kids had fun checking out the museum.

 The Arch is actually called the Jefferson Arch since he was the president that signed the Louisiana Purchase that basically doubled the size of the US and opened the "gateway to the West".

 A view from the top of the arch - what a sight!

 There we are at the tippy top!

 Just a little perspective for you.

 The building on the right with the green cupola is the old courthouse where the Dred Scott trial was held.

 Libby looking larger than life! ;)

We loved the arch and would recommend it to anyone.  Such a cool thing to experience!

Botanical Gardens

Unfortunately, the weather turned against us after the baseball game.  The next day we planned on doing a few indoor activities since the weather wasn't cooperating, but they were all closed for the day.  So, rather than miss out, we decided to brave the cold and go to the St. Louis Botanical Gardens.

 Some of the gorgeous daffodils lining the walkways into the park.

 Our favorite (or at least my favorite) spot was the Climatron where the temperature was regulated at a pleasant 75 degrees to accommodate the plants (and me!).

 Our little squirrels.

 I guess Disneyland's Jungle Cruise isn't the only place where you get to experience the back side of water!

 Everything there was so beautiful.

 In the children's garden they had some really fun rope bridges and slides that the kids enjoyed playing on.

 And we finished off our tour with a little tram ride around the park.  The red noses are a dead giveaway for the cold we braved.  I don't think it ever hit 40 degrees that day!  Yikes!

Despite the weather, it was an awesome day!

We finished off the night at their house with a movie for the girls (poor Iko was already in bed).

Cardinals Game

Our first stop was a Cardinals game.  Busch Stadium is pretty famous in the baseball world, so we were super excited to get to go to a game with our friends.

 Julie and Dimitri were so nice and got all the kids hats to wear.  We couldn't get Lexi to keep hers on, but the rest of them sure looked cute! ;)

 Despite Libby's face, she did have a GREAT time.

 Andi and Libby chillin' like some homies! :) By the way, I love that they mow the grass to have the famous Gateway Arch in it - how cool!

 Unfortunately, after 3 innings, it started pouring and they had to delay the game.  We were not in covered seats, so we ran for cover in the hallways, as did the rest of the world.  What an adventure!

 Rain and all, the kids still loved it.

 When it didn't look like the rain was going to let up, we headed outside the stadium to take some pictures.

 What cute girls!

 The Macbeths with the arch and the new Ballpark Village in the background.

 The Sideriadis family

 Brad posing with one of his favorite players - Ozzie

 Like father, like daughter.

We fell in love with Busch Stadium and were true Cardinal fans for the day. 

After about an hour, the game was back on and we ended up beating the Cubs (their arch-enemy!).  What a fun start to a great trip.

St. Louis for Spring Break

For Spring Break this year, we decided to visit one of my friends since Kindergarten who lives in St. Louis, MO with her husband and two kids.  We had an awesome time and fell in love with the Midwest.

 This is what most people's kids look like on flights, right?! ;) Please say yes!

 They were actually great!  They ended up sleeping the entire second flight, which was amazing!

 Our first day we went on a walk through Julie's neighborhood.  It was gorgeous!  The trees and flowers were all in bloom and it truly felt like spring.

 Brad pushing Libby and Andi, who became fast friends and loved playing together.

 The kids played at a park for awhile, and loved it.

 Tire swing!  :)

This is Julie's house - it was built in the 1920s and is so adorable.  Her whole neighborhood was just to die for - so cute!  Many more posts to follow...

Conference Fun

For General Conference (lovingly referred to as "TV church"), we sure enjoyed getting to relax in our PJs!

 Brad broke out the book bin for Lexi,

and Libby and I did lots of coloring. 

I'd like to imagine that some listening occurred, too. :)