Saint Lou-eeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Ryan had a few days off of work so we took a mini vacation to St. Louis.  We weren't sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a great couple of days!

The drive took about 4 hours (not factoring in the potty stops we had to make) & the kids did a great job.  When we got to St. Louie (the kids found this pronunciation HILARIOUS!), we went straight to the Arch. Up we went and they loooooooved it!  The Arch was a BIG topic of conversation before, during, & after this trip.  We traveled to the top in a little "egg pod" and were blessed with clear skies.  It was cool to see the skyline and the Mighty Mississippi!  After the Arch we drove to the hotel & had dinner in our room then hit the hay.

The next morning we woke up, had a quick breakfast at the hotel, & headed to the St. Louis zoo.  WOW!  It was a great zoo!  Austin enjoyed seeing the rhinos & the bears.  Caitlin loved the giraffes.  They got to pet guinea pigs, bunnies, & goats in the Children's Zoo...it was so cute to watch them with the animals.  Also in the goat pen we got to see some classic comedy...goats would steal papers from unsuspecting people's pockets & bags and chomp away.  One guy was even chasing the goat thief...not sure what he thought he was going to do, but he couldn't catch the goat anyway.  That was funny to see.

After the zoo the kids took a "car nap" and Ryan & I were able to drive around and check out the neighborhoods.  Next time we WILL be visiting "The Hill"...St. Louie's Little Italy.  Ahh, but not this time.  Instead, for dinner we headed to some place that was like a way better version of Chuck E. Cheese.  The food was awful but the kids had a blast playing all the games...mini bowling, pop-a-shot, skee ball, driving games.  At first Caitlin was puzzled about the tickets coming from the games, but once I showed her the prize counter & explained how we would turn in our tickets for prizes, it was ON!  She was obsessed with getting as many tickets as possible.   She ended up with about 500 tickets and was able to get a boatload of junk toys.  :)  Austin had about 400 tickets and got his fair share of junk toys too!

On Thursday we got up, had breakfast, & packed up.  We thought we would stop at one more fun place before hitting the road.  We went to City Museum which looked very cool but Ry & I decided it was more for older kids.  So we drove to Magic House...the Children's Museum.  It was great & the kids had a blast.  The exhibits were awesome...Caitlin loved the exhibit with separating recyclables and dumping them in the recycling truck and Austin put on a hard hat, grabbed an empty spray bottle & cloth & starting cleaning the SMART car that they had.  He was on a mission....even crawling inside the car to detail it.  :)  The funniest was when a girl put her foot on the bumper and he immediately went over, pretend sprayed, & wiped off the offending footprint!  They also had slides, a water table, a sand table, a replica of the Oval Office/Congress/Courtroom, a house under construction, a beanstalk to climb...it was a great museum & definitely tired the kids out.

Then we were on our way home.  It was a great time of reconnection for our family!!!

The Schnipkes are coming! The Schnipkes are coming!

Yesterday we were very lucky to have a short visit from some very dear friends.  Carrie, Andy, & their ADORABLE twins, Ben & Kate came over!  We haven't seen them in ages so it was great to catch up.  The kids got along sooooo well & it was fun to see them playing together.  Ben & Kate are a year younger than Austin & Caitlin so it was like a flashback for me & a flashforward for Carrie.  :)

Austin gave Ben one of his basketball cards which is how he demonstrates love for ya nowadays...he even left one for the Easter Bunny!!!  LOL  Caitlin was the perfect little hostess...showing Kate around & basically never leaving her side!  They spent a lot of time playing with the princesses & the Cinderella castle...imagine that?  :)

It was a great (but too short) visit and we look forward to doing it again soon!

And Another Thing...

Before playing "water park", they got into the red velvet cupcakes I made them as a little treat yesterday...they each scarfed down two!!!!!!!!!!

It's What I Get for Thinkin'...

Just the other day I was thinking about how fortunate we were that our kids didn't do anything destructive like flushing random objects down the toilet or stopping up the bathroom sinks.  This will prove that God has a sense of humor....

You know it is not going to be good when your husband yells "KIM, COME DOWNSTAIRS & BRING EVERY TOWEL WE HAVE!!!!" at 5:30 in the morning.

Well, it wasn't good.  Wasn't good at all!

The kids had done one of their infamous night wakings and were in the mood for fun.  So what is super fun for kids?  WATER.  These two hooligans were naked and spraying themselves with the sprayer from the kitchen sink.  There was water ALL OVER our kitchen floor, dripping down & into the cabinets, all over the counter, under the stove...swimsuits were tossed aside on the kitchen floor!

After a lengthy cleaning process, Ryan went upstairs to talk to the culprits.  When asked why they would do something like that, here's what they told him...Caitlin said, "Daddy, we were playing water park!"  Austin said, "I was typing on the computer & washing the dishes!"

Today HAS to get better....right?

Catching Up is Hard to Do

SO FUNNY!  We are playing outside right now...the kids are having a good time together playing make believe with their sandbox & playset.  Anyway, we hear a loud boom & then I see some fireworks go off down the street (who knew Easter was the official start of fireworks season?!)...Austin immediately plugs his ears with his fingers and hollers, "MOM, IT'S JULY!"  I got a good laugh outta that.  Caitlin just asked Austin, "Did you see the fireworks?  Were they gorgeous?"  Now she is informing him that the rain will make it "wet sand" and they can build a sandcastle..."Let's just wait here for it (the rain)" she says.  lol

Caitlin just blew her whistle & shouted, "Attention RAIN!  Go away!"

Yesterday was a seriously NON traditional Easter.  At 5:30, we were awoken by a sweet, excited little boy who said, "Mommy, I think the Easter bunny came.  I'm not sure if he brought me a book and a big chocolate bunny, and some Tootsie Rolls (of course "he" brought all that....Austin MUST be clairvoyant!)...so Austin woke up Caitlin & we all trounced downstairs to check out the baskets.  By about 6:30 everybody had dozed off but alas it was time for me to get up to get ready for church.  A & C fell asleep in the car on the way...

Church service was incredible...by the end both Ryan & I were misty-eyed (ok, I had big fat tears rolling down my face, but whatever).  I have never attended an Easter service at Grace and NOT cried.  Austin came out of GKC & told us about the "mean guys" putting a "thorn crown" on Jesus and "it hurted him very much".

After church, the kids & Ryan had a brief nap before we headed to downtown Indy & Bracket Town.  I was certain Austin would love it because it had to do with the Final Four...but CAITLIN was the one who embraced the experience!  I have a ton of great pics of her...pretending to cut down the nets after a Final Four victory, posing in cut outs of various college athletes (track, skiing, water polo, gymnastics), making a hockey goal, enjoying the bounce house...Austin was reluctant to do most of the activities...he DID shoot a couple hoops, participated in a lay-up line, and tried his hand at hockey & soccer.  Caitlin also wanted to try the Home Run Derby, but we weren't in the mood to have our SUPER coordinated daughter knocked unconscious by a baseball...  :)

After a couple hours, we headed back to "Daddy's Work" to get situated for the big Pacers game.  Austin was excited to see the "Wockets" (Rockets) because he never saw them play before.  This boy LOVES watching basketball.  He just sits & chows on Goldfish & tells Ryan the score.  His fave players are Roy Hibbert (the other day he requested his name be changed to "Roy Hibbert"), Mike Dun-LEAVY (emphasis on the 2nd half), and Tyler Hansborough.  Caitlin wants to walk all over the arena & see the sights.  We went to Starbucks, to our "secret room" for employee families...we love the fruit tray & complementary beverages & the comfy couches & private restrooms, Caitlin got to hug Boomer.  Then we came and sat down with the boys...and patiently waited for the game to end (mommy had a SERIOUSLY bad headache by that time).

The kids fell asleep quickly (and so did the parents)!

Gonna go enjoy some conversation with the kiddos on the porch......