A Girl, A Guy, & A Kid: Summer Roadtrip 2012: St Louis

Cooper loving his new carseat & being a
champion rider.

We set off for St Louis EARLY Saturday morning. (June 30th) We only had to stop once & that was for a shift change in drivers & for gas. Cooper did AMAZING on the 7-8 hour drive. Once in St Louis our first stop was the Arch. The city was HOT but we cooled off by exploring the museum (located under the arch) while we waited for our ride to the top. I'd always heard it was tiny at the top so I was pleasantly surprised by the space. Bigger than I thought. Coop was a trooper while we took teeny tiny elevator cars up & down the arch.

There she is!

Proof that we made it!

Playing in the museum.

Riding up, Up, UP!
(I wish we could've gotten a picture of how
small this elevator/car was!)

Looking out at the TOP!

We ALL made it to the TOP!

Once we made it to the top it was so neat to see downtown St Louis on one side & then the river & Illinois on the other side. The St Louis Cardinals were playing a baseball game while we were there. It was cool to see the stadium from the top of the arch.

After our descent we were rather hungry so we stopped off at a greasy spoon for burgers & fries. We then topped it off with the BEST frozen custard EVER!! (or so I'm told-this was only my second time having custard) It was definitely yummy & helped cool off on a scorcher of a day. This must be a pretty happening place because we were there all of 20 minutes & we saw not one but TWO wedding parties stop by post wedding to get their Ted Drewes fix.

We were all worn out so we headed to the north side of StL to stay with my brother, Kevin, & his family. Kyle's brother, Karl, & his family were staying with Kev too. We had a BLAST spending time with everyone. I didn't realize how much I missed them until I saw them. The kids are growing up so very fast. I hate having them so far away! We spent the night talking, eating, & playing games. It was awesome!

Ethan & Cooper during church. :)

Sunday morning came early & we headed to church. After church Karl & Onna left for Nauvoo & we headed to Pappy's Smokehouse. We got there just as they were opening (gotta go early bc the line is LONG & the food runs out). Fortunately it was a short wait & our food was at the table just as we sat down. Kyle & I split a full rack of ribs, fried corn on the cob, & sweet potato fries. Let me just take a moment to reflect on the deliciousness........................ They were the BEST (YES BEST) ribs I've EVER had in my life. EVER. I'm still dreaming about them! Let me just say I didn't even think about the BBQ sauce on the side. The ribs were Ah-mazing as is. The corn was great as well as the fries. It's definitely a MUST DO when we go back to visit.

Our ribs, corn, & fries.

Cooper not quite enjoying

On our way back to Kevin's we stopped by & saw the St Louis Temple. We couldn't walk the grounds much because the gate was closed but it was oh so beautiful. I really loved being there. (Another must do when we return)

Me & Coop

playing & smelling the pretty flowers.

Later that afternoon we loaded up all the kids & went to check out where the Mississippi & Missouri Rivers converge. It was a nice nature walk & cool to see. On the way back to Kev's we saw a sunflower field. That's right a whole field FULL of SUNFLOWERS! We stopped to walk through & take pictures. I was in heaven. I loved every minute of it! Even if it was a thousand degrees. :)