Day 211

It is my final day of the scrapbooking retreat and I’ve had so much fun.  Part of me doesn’t want to leave (I still have many pictures to scrapbook), but my shoulders and back are begging to go.  They are pretty sore from 4 days of being hunched over my supplies…I will certainly not win any prizes for good posture while scrapbooking…and from sleeping on the thin, hard church camp mattresses.  I’m also dying to see my family.  Being away a few days sure makes me miss them. 

So I will leave you with the last of my photos from outside the retreat.  These are my favorite out of all of them.

Day 210

More photos from outside the scrapbooking retreat.

It’s a little hard to see but there is a big bullfrog in the upper right corner of this photo.  You can only see his head sticking out of the water.   

Day 209

The scrapbook retreat that I’m at this long weekend is held at a church camp about 45 minutes from my house and it’s out in the middle of nowhere.  There’s a little pond behind the camp with some trees and such.  I knew I could likely get some photos of some neat areas so I ventured out for a bit despite the heat. 

Day 208

I am so behind on my blog posts but wanted to get some photos posted that I took today of Baby S.  You may remember his mom and dad from THIS POST.  Anyway, the little guy made his entrance into the world bright and early yesterday morning about 3 weeks early.  I am heading out of town on a weekend scrapbook retreat this afternoon, so I popped in at the hospital this morning to snap a few unplanned photos.  Is this sweet little guy not the cutest?!!  Happily mom, dad, and baby are doing great.  I wish them lots of love, fun, and adventures in the years ahead!

All photos are SOCC (straight-out-of-camera) as I had no time for any edits.

Day 207

Our kitten may need an intervention.  He addicted to showers.  Well, actually he’s addicted the water that runs down the wall after a shower.  After anyone showers, he’s waiting at the door to rush in and chase the little rivulets of water.  It’s hilarious.  He’ll pounce on them, lap some water around the rim of the shower, and then pounce some more all the while looking for new rivulets to run down.  So cute I had to get a photo.  By the way, I love his reflection on the shower wall.

Day 206

No pictures again tonight….sorry!

Day 205

No photos for today, so I will share the photos I took inside City Museum this past Friday.  We spent hours there and still didn’t see everything.  There is so much to see and explore that it’s crazy.  We found ourselves wondering how they built the place…which pieces did they bring in first, where did they find the materials, how long did it take, etc.?  It was a great place to visit for people of all ages. 

Wall made of metal drop-in serving dishes (like in a salad bar)….so cool!

These painted conveyor belt rollers were one of my favorite parts of the building.

Open metal tunnels to crawl through.

Shoelace factory….

Awesome architectural pieces….

Insect displays…

Little kids ball pit…

Circus school….you could watch them practicing.

Central staircase…

Rock and tile sculptures…

Beautiful wooden structures…

And much, much more!  There really is something for everyone.  Love this place!

Day 204

Sadly, we had to leave for home today.  I was happy to see my kitten though.  He was even happier to see us….showering us with affection like he thought he’d never see us again.  I imagine he was lonesome as the only people he got to see were the neighbors when they dropped in to check on his food and water each day. 

I didn’t think I’d get any pictures as it rained most of the afternoon, but then this guy popped up in my backyard.  It’s been awhile since I’ve seen him around.

Day 203

Today was another scorcher, so we decided to spend the day around mom’s house.  My brother brought his kids over mid-morning and the kids were so excited to see each other.  They swam until just after lunch and then we made them settle down with a movie in the basement for some wind-down time.  Here’s a shot of my mom and all of her grandkids.

LilCrocett and his cousin M recently lost teeth (LilCrockett lost two), so I got a shot of them together.  You can’t see the missing teeth that well on M, but it’s still a cute photo of them.  Love that cheesy smile on my little guy!

Later afternoon, my best friend from high school came over with her husband and son to swim and BBQ.  After dinner, the kids started an all-out noodle war along with a neighbor girl who had come over to play.  They were getting pretty crazy before long, so we had to nix the game; but not before I got a few photos. 

 

Needless to say, my kids were worn out by bedtime and they went right to sleep.  Love days like that!

Day 202

Since it was so hot out today, we decided to take advantage of an indoor attraction in nearby St. Louis…..City Museum.  We’d heard great things about this place and GothGirl had been a few times on a summer care field trip, but we had never gone as a family.  My mom had taken the day off so she joined us.  Though it was only mid-morning when we arrived, it was very hot & humid outside.  There is an outdoor play section, which was still in shade, so we decided to hit that part first after paying to get in.  At just $12 a person, I would later realize what a great deal we got for such a fun place.  Rather than explain what City Museum is about, I will instead direct you to their website: http://citymuseum.org/site/.

All photos are SOOC unless otherwise noted.

A view of the building.  They have more things to do on the roof; but because it was so hot and it cost extra, we decided to skip it on this visit.  You can see part of the outdoor play area around the treeline.  It’s in full sun in this photo as I took this shot as we left later in the afternoon.

View of the hanging-off-the-edge-of-the-building-bus from below in the outdoor play area.

All of the metalwork and structures made this place a photographer’s dream….

I’m going to stop with the outdoor photos of City Museum for now and share the indoor photos in the near future when I don’t have any other pictures to show.

After we left the Museum, we headed to The Old Spaghetti Factory down on Laclede’s Landing.  My mom hadn’t been since she and my dad had taken my brother and I when we were kids.  Brian and I went about 15 years ago with his family, but our kids were not born yet so this was their first visit.  I had mom get a shot of us outside.  Note that cool brick street.

It was a wonderful day and we will definitely be making another trip back to City Museum, though preferably in the spring or fall when we can enjoy the outdoor areas without being drenched in sweat.