Missouri Part 1

We had the opportunity to visit Jeff's dad and family out in Niangua MO this past summer. It was a very long trip because we drove the whole way there and the whole time we were there. On the way there the kids were very excited about the trip and we were able to make it in two days and only had to stop one night to sleep at a hotel.

We were able to save money and calories on food by packing our own lunches. If the weather was nice we would stop at a rest area and eat outside. The boys loved it!

We left on a Tuesday so we arrived in Niangua Wednesday evening around dinner time. The first evening we enjoyed a tour of Jeffs dads thirty acre ranch. His dad has done a great job fixing up their new place, but still has a lot more he wants to do. I am sure next time we visit it will look totally different.
It is not a vacation until someone has an accident. We had not been there for 6 hours before Quintin tripped and fell face first into the concrete giving him a swollen lip. I did not get any photos but I am sure that fall will never be forgotten. I thought for sure he had lost teeth. Ouch!!
Thursday morning we hung around the house and relaxed a bit. After the boys got an afternoon nap we went out to Springfield, MO or close to it for a Safari. This was very interesting and a bit dangerous if you ask me. It was a drive through Safari that you drove your own vehicle through. You were given some ground rules such as do not get out of the car and only have your windows half way cracked. However, there was no one monitoring anything and we saw many people hanging out the window with their whole bodies, touching, and petting the animals. Our boys were not sure about having the animals heads in our vehicle so we followed the guidelines. I got the most nervous I think when the longhorn has his horns right against the van. The kids really enjoyed it though and they both said their favortie part was walking through the animal cages at the end where they got to feed the monkey fruit loops through a pipe. They would drop the cereal down the pipe and the monkey would pick it up and eat it once it came through.

this is when I got really nervous!!

Friday we had a lazy morning and the boys enjoyed playing in the water outside with their cousin Aiden. After lunch we packed up the car and headed out to St. Louis for the weekend. Some of our good Coast Guard friends are stationed there and were happy to site see with us.
From the moment we arrived at their house the boys were all about their pups. They had 3 dachshunds that were about the size of the boys. Dogs usually alarm them and it did take a few minutes of warming up, but once they did they were in love. Especially with Kirby the littlest one.

Saturday morning we went to the St. Louis zoo where we saw another variety of animals. The boys did not last very long there since they had just done the safari a couple days before, but we did manage to see the penguins that were getting ready to leave the zoo for two years. We also saw the sea lions, monkeys, bears, and probably a few more animals that I forgot about.

Quintin just wanted to ride the train nothing else but Zach was all smiles on the carousel:)

waiting for the sea lion show...Q was not feeling the camera

everyone happy on the train

For lunch that day we tried some famous St. Louis pizza. The place was called Imos it was very tasty! The crust was thin and they had their own type of cheese called provel which is a combination of cheddar swiss and provolone. It was delicious and the boys enjoyed it too.

When we left the Imos we found the children's museum of St. Louis called "The Magic House". The boys of course had a blast exploring all kinds of things. Their favorite was a secret passage through a wall that led them inside the walls and down a slide. This was mainly because of the cool slide that brought them down. We were there about three hours and afterwards us adults were "pooped"!

Everyone told us we needed to try the custard as well so before we went back to the house we stopped at Ted Drues for some custard. The place was packed but it was worth it.

Sunday we went to a local coffee shop for breakfast called Hartford. It was a great place for muffones(totally probably mispelled that). These were very moist like muffins but still reminded me of scones. Next we went to the St. Louis Arch. This was actually our second time there but figured Zach should see it from the outside. He was in mommys tummy the first time:)

Before some lunch and heading back to Jeffs dads we went to the park near our friends house. This was so cool and the boys just loved it. It was fountain with about a 1 foot wading pool. They splashed around and had a blast.

Lunch was at a fast food place called Curveys which was a mistake. When we pulled up we had thought it was a regular restaurant.  I was impressed with the food and service for being fast food. They too were known for custard but definitely not as tasty as Ted Drues!