chuck e cheese and ice skating

On Monday, we spent the day with my dad.  We went to Chuck E Cheese and to ice  skate in the morning.  The kids love Chuck E Cheese, as usual, and especially enjoyed the dance party time with Chuckie.  (See pictures below)

 

 

 

 

 

The boys were pumped about skating again.  I'm pretty certain that ice skating will be a much anticipated activity whenever we go to Charleston.  I brought their helmets this time, and some winter clothes!  When we pulled into the parking lot it was pretty much empty, except for two buses.  uh, oh!  Yes, it was crowded.  There were two different summer camps skating.  I decided not to skate because of the crowds.  Mercy didn't skate either.  She really didn't like it last time, and only skated three times around.  By the end of their time skaing, Josiah wasn't using his walker anymore.  He doesn't glide very much when he skates; it's more like walking on the ice.  hahaha!  Here are some pictures and videos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

new golf clubs

Before heading over to Folly for the reunion, we stayed at my dad's one night.  The boys were given golf clubs!  They were very excited!  Any type of new sporting equipment is cool!  The set came with real golf balls and also the plastic kind.  They had a blast hitting them in the backyard.  The are nice clubs and a beautiful shade of orange!  Here they are with the clubs and giving them a try!

 

MU

We had a SUPER wet July 4th, and the days surrounding the 4th.  Ryan and I took the kids to see Monsters University.  I loved this movie!  It was quite humorous and I found myself laughing at random parts.  And, I admit that there were several times where I felt like I was the only one laughing.  I think there was a lot of situational humor.  The kids did great.  I think this was the first time our entire family had been to the movies together.  Here they are looking a little wettish! :)

St. Louis Zoo

After seeing the Arch, we headed over to the zoo.  Just our family went, as others headed back to Cookeville and some explored different parts of St. Louis.  The St. Louis Zoo is free, and it is a really nice zoo.  (You just have to pay for parking, which was $15.00.)  There are some aspects of the zoo that you have to pay for if you want, such as the sea lion show, I Max stuff, and a children's area.  The zoo is really big, and since we got there at 3:00 we really didn't have time for extras.  Although, I would have enjoyed relaxing to a sea lion show.  We were all very tired!  My feet ached as we went through the park.  There were lots of neat exhibits.  The "big cat" exhibit was awesome.  There were lots of cats, and we got there for feeding time!  The puma was eyeing Mercy as we stood outside the cage.  Even the guys standing next to us noticed it and said something about it as I picked up Mercy.  It is a little unnerving to see an animal like that lowering his head and glaring at your daughter.  Maybe it was the pink that attracted him! hahaha!  Here are some pictures of our afternoon.

Mercy liked the pink flowers.

 

Mercy riding on Ryan's shoulders.

 

enjoying the zoo

 

kookaburra

 

anteater

 

looking for the hippo

 

there it is

 

Josiah with the hippo!  A very cool exhibit!

hyena

All we saw of the cheetah was the sign.

Checking out the Asian elephant.

upclose of the Asian elephant

Leopord

Black Panther
Josiah was excited to see it! 

Lions

baby zebra

ugly camals

 

monkeys

looking at the monkeys

Mercy with her favorites! The Flamingos!

the kids and I

a bear

Penguins

 

Looking at the penguins

We enjoyed these guys:

 

We had a bit of a traumatic experience at the zoo.  Once we finished our first section of the zoo, we sat down on some benches to decide where to go next.  Well, Aedan got his leg stuck between the benches.  He seems to have a knack for stuff like this.  (He has gotten his head stuck at two other zoos...Norfolk and Columbia.)  We tried and tried and couldn't figure out how to get his leg out.  A nice couple stopped to help us.  Finally, the guy went to go get help for us.  Two park rangers and the first aid guy came to help.  They pretty made all pulled the metal benches apart to pull his leg out.  They were all very nice and helpful.  Aedan was scared, and a little embarrassed, but he was glad to be free from the bench!  The guy who initially stopped told me that he had gotten his leg stuck in this type of bench when he was little at the zoo.  I didn't get any pictures of his leg stuck, but here is an after shot:

poor guy!

 

 

Family Mission Trip at OneTrueMedia.com

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Last week, we went to Belleville, Illinois (right outside of St. Louis) for a Family Mission Trip.  The week went very well, and it was fun to do mission work as a family.  The trip was just a three day trip.  We did a Kids Camp on each day, and also a Block Party in the community on the last day.  The rest of the time was spent going door-to-door to give out gift bags and to tell people about the camp and block party.  We also served by picking up trash and we even helped one older gentleman by picking up all the gumballs in his yard.

The kids had a blast with their friends, and we did, too, with their parents!  Our kids did well with pretty much everything we did.  They did great going house to house.  All of our children (including Mercy) spoke to people when they answered the door.  Aedan, especially, loved talking to people!  He was pretty fearless in that aspect.  Josiah did well, too.  He was shy at first, but then became more comfortable as we went along.  When we picked up trash, I heard no complaints from anyone!  Josiah, Aedan, and Mercy all did awesome!  Okay, enough bragging on my children...but, I was and still am proud of them for their hard work.

Each day we did a Kids Camp.  We (the adults) rotated teaching the different lessons during the teaching time.  This was the time when it was easiest for me to talk to people.  There are a lot of military people in that area, so I met some people who had lived in the same places that I had.  I met two different ladies who had lived in Germany.  Also, I met a girl whose fiancee grew up in Newport News and went to Warwick High School!  The children enjoyed the various stations, and everyone on our team really functioned well together.  David and Melvin also went around the neighborhood and cut people's lawns for them.  We had a block party the last night, and even though it stormed, we did the best we could.  (The weather there is pretty random.)  I painted faces the entire time, and really enjoyed doing it!  (If you need a face painter, I am ready and willing!)

Before leaving the corn fields, we headed over to the Arch.  I love the moment when the kids walked through the trees to see it up close!  Mercy was sleeping at the time.  When she woke up, she said, "Woah, it's very big!"  I am so thankful to God that we were able to be a part of this trip.  I know that I cannot even really grasp at this time the impact is has and will have on Josiah, Aedan, and Mercy's lives.