4th of July Weekend

This weekend was amazing. I loved it. I got to spend time with my husband and kids, and we did so many fun things. It started Thursday evening when we set up the tent. With the weather getting down to 59 over night, it was too nice of a night to pass up. (We camped out in the backyard last summer, but Gwyn never stayed out there.) Since we were all going to sleep outside for the first time, we bought a new tent. This sleeps 6 adults, and is something we can hopefully use for years. The goal is to eventually go camping for real in a park, but for now, we just want to make sure the kids can sleep outside without freaking out.

After the tent was up, we made Smores, which the kids loved. I think they had 3 or 4 each. Then we got ready for bed, and played a few games in the tent.

Kevin photobombing the tent picture.

The pool is in the firepit location. We improvised.

This girl loves Smores.

 

We caught a few fireflies before bedtime.

Arrangement #1 of several throughout the night.

 

As for sleeping, Gwyn would not. Stop. Talking. The sleeping bags had to be moved several times so kids could sleep by parents, or something. At about 10:45, and 20 minutes of sleep (apparently, I was the only one kept up by Gwyn talking) Gwyn said she needed to go to the bathroom. I told her if we went in, I was staying in. She jumped at that, especially when I said we could share my bed, and told me that she wanted to sleep by me. I stupidly thought I could sleep, not knowing that Gwyn wanted to keep her feet on me all night, and push me. Adorable? Yes, Annoying? Yes.

The next morning she woke up, saw daddy, and started crying that she didn't get to sleep by him. Kid logic is confusing.

The next day was filled with swimming, cooking, and building a tree house. I am never very festive for the 4th of July. I wanted to make fun food for the kids. So today was making red, white and blue rice krispie treats.(Hey, I have 3 kids. It needed to be super-easy.) The kids helped, and had fun. So did I.

For dinner we went to the McGuire's, and then headed to fireworks at Old St. Charles. I never really want to go to fireworks. I don't want to deal with the crowds and the heat. But the weather was AMAZING. It was almost chilly that evening! I had no excuses, and I was excited about it. I even made sure we were all wearing red, white and blue. Kevin found the best parking spot, which no one had parked in since there was a cable blocking it. Our little car was perfect for the spot! The walk was short to the riverfront from there.

The cable is blocking more than it looks like from this angle. McGuire Win.

It was great. We had some blankets to claim our spot. The boys played with other kids while we waited for it to get dark. Gwyn and Kevin walked around, and bought the smallest funnel cake ever. I waited at the blankets conquering the Maze Ball with mad skillz. We even shared our rice krispie treats with people next to us. (They also gave us a blue ball the guy had won at a game, which the boys played with for an hour.)

Kevin tackling the Maze Ball, and Gwyn practicing wearing her headphones.

Colin and Kevin are the two sitting on the hill, but they were playing. They must have known I was going to take a picture and turned grumpy just to ruin it.

 The fireworks were great. There is another community that does fireworks at BMAC, which is a few miles away. Sometimes you could see both firework shows at the same time .BMAC's were just barely over the tree line. Here are my fire work pictures, since no one knows what they look like.

Not the best picture, but you can see BMAC's fireworks at the bottom.

Afterward, the drive home was simple. All 3 kids wanted to sleep in the tent again, so I spelt outside while Kevin got the bed. (He had been working on the tree house all day, and slept out there last night. Gwyn told me "I will be quiet tonight." She was.Great night to a great day.

The next day was the same: tree house building and baking. We made more rice krispies, this time with sprinkles, and a couple dipped in white chocolate. But we also made red, white, and blue strawberries. It was another simple recipe that I found with the boys. They were fun to make, and so delicious. I may have to make them every year. And on Bastille Day. Just to have another reason to make them. And just for more fun, we made home-made lemonade.

We had friends over Saturday night and had planned to shoot off fireworks of our own. Thursday night we had walked to the stand up the road about bought a bunch. The boys wanted to invite our 6 surrounding neighbors. Instead of walking door to door right before, they decided to write out invitations. Those were delivered Friday morning.So our fireworks show had 16 extra people.

These are really from the St. Charles fireworks show, but who really reads captions?

On Sunday we headed to the zoo, but that is another blog post. To be continued...

More Cakes

We did it again. We grabbed two cousins (Emily and Rachel) and went out on another hunt. This time we headed to the Loop and Forest Park. There are 6 cakes in the Loop, and 11 cakes just within the park, not including those just right outside the park. I didn't know if we would get them all, but I knew there were a bunch to find!

As it turns out, by the time we got to the park the kids were hungry and spent. I don't get it. All they do is get in and out of an air-conditioned car and take pictures. How are they tired and crabby? But as tired at they got, they did say it was fun. I wish I could have taken more pictures, but sometimes I had to wait in the car since there was no where to park and I didn't want a ticket! I will say starting early really helps when finding somewhere to park the car, but that only last for about an hour or so. The worst part was clipping G in and out of her car seat. I feel like we could have been much faster in our dashes between cakes if she wasn't in a car seat.

We ended the day in Dogtown with lunch at Seamus McDaniel's. Then the kids complained that it was too cold, and kept going outside.

Now they are outside playing in the pool and with the hose! Emily and Rachel brought huge marshmallows and brownies for snacks. Sounds like kid heaven.

Holocaust Museum & Learning Center - This was on the way to the Loop. The girls did not know we had this museum, and Emily knows a lot about WWII, so she explained it to the boys.

University City Lion Gates - This was tricky to find since it was hidden by plants and on the other side of the street. But the kids had fun, and Kevin liked how you could write on it with chalk.

COCA - Center of Creative Arts - I didn't know where this was located until this hunt. Also, those bicycles in the background must be the most uncomfortable bikes ever. 

Vintage Vinyl - This was the first part of my trying to convince the girls to go to the Loop when they can drive. I loved going there in high school. I even told them the easy way to drive there.

St. Louis Walk of Fame - I like our Walk of Fame. This was across the street, so the kids went alone. This is also when I learned that Rachel doesn't know how to cross the street.

Blueberry Hill - I get the reason there is a cake here. I just never liked this place. The booths are uncomfortable and the food was not good.

Tivoli Movie Theatre - This was remodeled in 1995. Before then, it was known for its midnight showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show. I couldn't go until I was 16. People would dress up and sing along and bring props. It was a big thing. When they remodeled (when I was 15!) they stopped doing it. I still wish I could have gone! But they do show old movies at midnight still. I have seen The Princess Bride and Monty Python and The Holy Grail here. I like theaters like this!

Moonrise Hotel - I still have not stayed here, but I have friends who have, and several more who like the bar on the roof. You can see the "SUN" sign in the background. The boys liked that there were signs indicating how far apart the planets would be if they were smaller. The last one (Neptune) was at the start of the Loop.

Regional Arts Commission - This place is responsible for the cakes. Sounds like this location was rigged...

Ruth Porter Park on the St. Vincent Greenway - There was NO WHERE to park here, so the kids were on their own for the picture. I love this one though! It is so honest. Colin was excited to be on Rachel's back, and Gwyn was walking to the splashground nearby.  This was the last one before we entered Forest Park.

Missouri History Museum - Can you tell there was no parking here, either? I love this picture as well! This was also when the complaining about the heat and the need for water began. At this point, they also perfected how to cross the street together.

Grand Basin / Fair Saint Louis - I forgot that they would be setting up for Fair St. Louis. (The Arch grounds are being updated, so the fireworks are in the park for 2 years.) Luckily, we could park. However, there were 2 bees buzzing around this cake, and no one wanted to climb on it. I had to promise that lunch wasn't far away at this point. (It was only 10:30!)

Saint Louis Art Museum - This is between the statue of St. Louis and the Grand Basin. You can't see anything with the giant tents for the fair! At this point, I also had to tell my kids that they could not climb the cakes since there were too many arguments.

St. Louis Arena - I remember going to this arena to watch the Blues and the Ambush (soccer) when I was younger. I loved this place. The seats and floor would shake when the crowd was loud (which reminds me why it was replaced) and I would look for the cats that were there to catch mice. Supposedly, this cake is where center ice would have been. This was the one I wanted all day, and it is located just outside the park.

Dogtown - I didn't really know exactly where Dogtown was before this. I knew the general area, but I don't think I have ever been there.

At the end, I want to find more! Do you know there is one at the statue of MLK? I didn't know we had one! I am ready for a day of it, with more cakes! I want my hubby to be there, though. He was missed today.

The good news is that these cakes are here until the end of the year, so if we have a boring Sunday in October with nothing to do, we can look for cakes. Or maybe when the Kerr's are in town?

Cakeway to the West

In honor of St. Louis turning 250, there is an art display around the St. Louis area. 250 (fiberglass) cakes have been placed , each decorated by a different local artist. Some are all the way out out in Kimmswick, a lot are in Illinois. I have been seeing them around for the past few months, but didn't really think much about it.

Well, Gwyn's (amazing) preschool is getting the families involved. They sent out a letter, asking families to take pictures with the cakes. At the end of the summer, they will have a birthday party/end of summer party and show all the pictures.

I love this. I have been wanting to find the cakes. I like how they are artsy. I love that it is like a scavenger hunt. I love that I am learning about the history of the area. I love that I am having fun with the kids.

Here is the website for the event. I have found out that people voted on the location of the first 50 cakes. The other 200 were selected by the committee. There are 5 categories, each getting 50 cakes. They are Landmark Sites, Heritage and Culture, the Great Outdoors, Local Favorites, and Innovation. The website not only provides a map with all the locations, but it tells you who the artist is, and why there is a cake there. So far, about 240 cakes have been revealed.

So I decided today that we would have a cake hunt. I was more excited than the kids, but they did have fun with it. We found the cakes in St. Charles and the one in St. Peters. (2 were within a mile of our house.) Then we got a few that were just on the other side of the river. The boys started have fun with it, and set our goal at 50 cakes by the end of the summer. Even though the cakes are out until the end of 2014, it is not realistic that we will see all 250. Some are over an hour drive in one direction. I think one day we will devote to a few in Illinois. The boys have mentioned going to see the statue of Robert Wadlow, and now there is a cake there!

Here are pictures from the 10 cakes we found today. My favorite part is looking for the cakes. I don't tell the kids where each one is located, and I try not to read that information. I just go to the place on the map. The kids have fun running around looking for it. The cake that took the longest to find today was the cake by the Shrine of St. Rose. My second favorite part is talking about the history. (That cake was to honor the first school west of the Mississippi that was free to its students. Then Kevin and I talked about why that was important.)

Also, the boys were using Lego men and designs to come up with different poses. (Adorable.)

Centennial Greenway / KATY Trail - This was our first one, and this is how we get to the trail!

Lewis and Clark Boat House and Nature Center - The first of several in old St. Charles

First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site - Kevin tripped looking for this one, and didn't want to be in the picture.

St. Charles Old County Courthouse

Shrine of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne - We looked around a different statue so this took a few minutes to find.

Lindenwood University - the boys remembered that this is the school I got my Master's from last year!

St. Charles County Heritage Museum at Heritage Park - This backs up to our neighborhood.

Creve Coeur Lake - Gwyn's favorite because it has a purple candle.

YMCA of Greater St. Louis - The best part of this cake was that it was inside, and gave us water and restroom breaks.

Payne Gentry House - Our last stop.

 I know it is a lot of driving, but this was a great event for a hot day!

Lego Movie - Colin Style

Colin wanted to make his own Lego Movie.  The film has a few plot holes, but the story is still incredibly better than anything Michael Bay has ever made.   And I expect many sequels based the fact these plastic legos are far better actors than anything seen in Twilight movies, and they made a ton of those.

The New Batman!

Someone found our capes and masks....

Science Experiments!

On the bucket list for summer, Kevin added science experiments. What he had in mind was explosions, but I can not do more than Mentos in Diet Coke. In response to his request, I am signing both Colin and Kevin up for the St. Louis Science Center science classes at the library. (They are free, and have one on robotics and one on explosions!)

In the meantime, I did two experiments that I was ready for with no prep at all. The first was a chemical reaction involving salt, vinegar, and pennies. The boys made some predictions, and one guessed that the pennies would be clean. Not super exciting, but anything science has a certain interest level.

The second one involved food coloring and celery. (I usually have celery on hand since I like them in my salads.) The boys filled the glasses, made predictions, added the color to two glasses, and of course Kevin put those predictions on a chart. I always have a control, so the third glass is normal water. We only did food coloring, but I am thinking on boring days we will redo the experiment, and add sugar and salt to other glasses to see what happens. (If you caught that, I implied that these experiments will make the day LESS boring.) I love my kids.

 

 When we left for vacation, the leaves had some color in them. It was neat to see the celery with so much color when we returned. Also, we trimmed the red celery and the control celery. I noticed that those glasses had less water after a week. Interesting.... SCIENCE!

We have art!

If you look at our house, it is a constant work in progress. The walls need to be painted (badly), the front porch needs to be redone, and kitchen needs to be remodeled (we are always thinking about that one), the carpet needs to be replaced with hardwood, and so on and so on. However, it just doesn't seem to get done.

What has 6 thumbs and interrupts everything?

These guys. It is them.

So we celebrate when we get some artwork up. It looks simple, but it requires us to agree on what we like, buy it, and then after a few weeks finally hang it up.

Here are the outcomes.

This is actually pretty old. The Family Rules have been hanging in the kitchen for a few months, but I wanted this post to look like we had done more than reality. I love this list though, and have been wanting one for a year or so.

Today we finally hung up some blue prints that we purchased a few weeks ago. There were some pretty fun prints to buy, and I loved to Lego ones. But Kevin and I each chose one print. He chose the Wright Bothers, and I chose the Starship Enterprise. The are hanging on either side of the opening from the living room (tv room) into the family room (toy/Lego/games room). I was too embarrassed to get a picture with all the toys in the background, so you have to settle for this.

 

The other ones we hung today were just ordered two weeks ago. They are movie prints. Again, we each chose our favorite.  They are hanging in the dining room. Do you know what movies they are from?

The blue prints and the movie prints were both purchased from Woot. We are finding out that we love the artwork on that site! We have gotten art, sleeping bags, and a vacuum from there in the last 6 months.

Locks of love

Before...

 

During...

A donation...

The beautiful results