Great Fun!

Welcome to Missouri!

The Arch!

Analiese is so happy at camp!

The Dance

The "slipper"

We had a WONDERFUL time in St. Louis! Unfortunately the battery in the camera died and we did not bring the charger so I don't have any photos to share. But, we have some great memories of our time with the Browns!

It didn't take long after our arrival for the kids to pick up where they left off last summer. Sarah and Connor were best buds and playing Wii in no time. Sarah LOVED Connors IPOD and he was such a gentleman letting her use it (Thanks Connor!). Analiese and Maya are really two peas-in-a-pod! The physical resemblance is amazing as they've come from the same province. However, they are just about the same height, weight and shoe size. Their personalities are so similiar it is scary! Grace and Kira just fit in where they can--they are the odd-men-out but it works!

Of course, it was great to see Nancy and Alan. We feel so at home in their house! They've remodeled and have a huge home theatre! I so wish I had a photo to show. The kids just loved watching movies--as did we!! As usual, the Brown's were great hosts and we were busy the entire time. We went to the city museum-- a great place compiled of items they recycled, the magic house where the kids got hands-on experience in real life activities, the fire-works and of course, the Kirkwood quaintness!

We have SO much in common with the Browns. Nancy and I have the SAME colors we painted our interiors, the girls love the same things and we all just "mesh". It is so comfortable with them. It really is unfortunate that we live so far away. We'd love to live closer and get to spend more time together. Maybe someday we'll get to be closer neighbors. For now, we'll enjoy the time we spend together.

While in St. Louis we did get to go up in to the Arch. What a great experience! From the amazing elevator ride (a small pod that fit only 5 people--8 pods together to make a tram). Of course I imagined something totally different. I thought we'd go up in a traditional elevator. Oh,not so! It was fantastic! From the top we were able to see the Mississippi river as well as the baseball park--WOW!

The museum under the Arch was fantastic. I only wish I had more time to spend there--WITHOUT KIDS! I guess I never thought of St. Louis as being so important in our country's history but, boy, did I learn alot! From the Dred-Scott decision to the gateway to the West, Missouri is more than riverboats and Tom Sawyer!

Thanks Nancy, Alan, Connor, KIra and Maya (and yes, you, too, Hillary) for a wonderful time!

When we returned home, Analiese was to start princess camp. Of course, I forgot! At 11 AM on Wed, we got a call wondering where sweet Analiese was. In a panic, we got dressed and drove to the dance studio! The teachers were so glad to see our angel!

For 3 days Analiese had a great time. It all culminated in a performance today. Amazingly, Analiese learned the dance in the short time she was there! It was fun watching her; she was ecstatic that Daddy was able to be there (she just expected that Mom would show up!).

There were lots of crafts the kids made. One was the "glass slipper" and another was a "princess diary" that Analiese kept calling her diarrhea! What a hoot she is!

It was a great fourth but we are glad to be back home. Hopefully we'll be able to find our "new normal" and settle in. Tomorrow Grace has her second TOPS testing. I'll post more about that later!

In closing, I'd just like to tell Nancy and Alan how much we love them and their family! We are so lucky to have found you as friends!