Summer swimming fun

We spent many, many days in the water last summer, whether it was at Grammy & Crappaw's, friends' pools or pools out of town. Here's one big post of just some of our swimming fun, trying to beat the heat!

St. Louis: The Zoo, The Arch and The Rest

We also visited the St. Louis Zoo while on vacation. This was an incredible zoo and the best part?? Admission is FREE! They do charge small fees for some of the attractions, but that's all optional. Keeping with the theme of the whole trip, it was HOT the day we went. We got there as soon as it opened in the morning, trying to make use of the (slightly) cooler temps, but it was still sultry.

Our first stop was the stingray exhibit. We nearly melted just standing in line for our turn to get in. The boys were so excited to "pet" the stingrays, yet when it came time to actually touch one as it swam up to us, they weren't so jazzed about it. I'm pretty sure mommy was the only one who actually made contact. They are slimey creatures.

We purchased little cups of food (little fish chopped in half and other really nasty, stinky stuff). Again, they were pumped to feed the stingray, but just couldn't pull the trigger when they had to actually touch the stuff. Gag. Mom stepped up once again. Double gag.

Here are a few other things we saw at the zoo (after we washed our hands...over and over and over).

I'm pretty sure I would have paid $16.50 for a margarita in that heat. Yikes. I was drooling just seeing the sign.

Look at the adorable baby elephant!!

We couldn't leave St. Louis without visiting the Arch! The day we visited it was very cloudy, and as we were walking the 1/2 mile from the parking lot to the monument, it started raining on us. Oh well, we were not complaining about the rain after all the heat we'd experienced.

Standing in line for security.

We actually waited a VERY long time for our "appointment" to go up in the pod. Once we finally got outside the little door, we waited some more. Believe it or not, Hayden took her first steps at that time! Some peopel behind us had just asked if she was walking not and I said not quite, then she just toddles over to the steps! Crazy memory!

There are only 5 seats in the little bitty pods. It's very cramped quarters--they're like little egg-shaped elevators.

Going up...

The view from the top.

Our kids at the top of the Arch.

Busch Stadium view from the Arch.

Love this of them all peering out over the city.

And finally, just a few other random memories from the trip. One of the days we ate at Fitz's. It's a old Root Beer bottling company that is still in operation! It was pretty cool to watch as we waited for our meals.

A few snaps of the kids swimming in the hotel pool.

Upon high recommendation, we also ate a place called Pi Pizzeria. Being the math geek that our daddy is, he was pretty pumped. The boys even got Pi tattoos! ;)

When Chris & I visited St. Lucia a few years ago, we met an awesome couple that we had so much fun with. They live just outside of St. Louis, and had always said to look them up if we ever vacationed there. We were able to meet Tim & Kim for a yummy Italian dinner one evening and then stopped for a Ted Drewes fro-yo experience. So good!! And it was so fun to catch back up with Tim & Kim!! Our kids loved them as well.