Family Fun in STL

Last weekend Oliver and I headed south to visit my family in St. Louis. Our time in STL was busy-busy...and lots of fun! I miss having the opportunity to see my family more often and hadn't been down to visit since late February.  

We began our visit at Steak n'Shake. We ordered up shakes, malts and a little bit of cousin horseplay!

This is even BEFORE their shakes came out!

Friday morning we had breakfast with Dad / Grandpa Tom. When we got there Oliver recognized him and ran right up to him, joining him on HIS side of the table. They had a great time at breakfast and it warmed my heart that Oliver was so happy to see him, given that February was a long time ago for a four year old.

Being silly with Grandpa Tom's old-school flip phone

After breakfast we headed to the nature center at Powder Valley. I don't think I've been to this nature center before and was surprised at how much there was to do and see. Oliver had a blast and we spent quite awhile going through all of the exhibits.

"Ta da, I built a bird house!"

This is Peanut, a turtle that had an old 6-pack ring stuck around its body. Now his body looks like a peanut and they use him to help discourage littering. Oliver wanted to bring him home or get one of our own!

The day had only just begun. After lunch we headed to the Magic House for the afternoon. I remember going to the Magic House as a kid, but it is now even larger and more exciting than when I was a kid. Lots of interactive areas and fun stuff for Oliver. We were there for a couple of hours and didn't get to everything. I guess we will need to make another trip!

Oliver going down the 3-story beanstalk from Jack and the Beanstalk

Proud of making an F out of the construction PVC in the construction exhibit

Gears!

Friday night Oliver got to spend some special time with Pawpaw and Nana while I caught up with a couple of my friends. As much as I appreciated the time out with friends, I think I am more grateful that my parents want to spend solo time with Oliver. Tony's parents get equally excited when they have the chance to have special time with Oliver too. I have several friends who have parents or parents-in-law with little or no interest in spending time with their grandchildren, so I am sure not to take advantage or let it go by without appreciation. We are certainly blessed on both sides of our family!

Saturday morning we met up with the cousins for a trip to Grant's Farm. Oliver was intimidated by the extremely aggressive goats, but he found one that he wanted to buy and bring home (he even had me take a picture of the tag so we could find him later!).

Oliver and C080...the goat he wanted to take home

We listened to the educational session on elephants, which was fitting as we were just reading about them earlier in the week. We also checked out a variety of other animals. Oliver even got to ride a pony for the first time!

He was having a good time!

For some reason Oliver also really liked the lawn statues outside the beer garden. Here he is posing with his cousin, refusing to smile for Nana.

This is my serious face...

He was giving the statue his "creepy" look...and boy is it creepy!

Whew...anyone else tired? All of that in under 48 hours...and having a child go to bed late and get up before 6am. We took it easy the rest of Saturday (meaning Pawpaw took Oliver to the park while I took my Mom to check out Costco, and then we ordered pizza). We had such a great visit it was hard to leave on Sunday.

Luckily the whole family is heading back in just over a month for another visit. Yeah!

First Day of PreK 4 & More

School starts late this year and today is (finally) Oliver's first day of Preschool for 4-year-olds! He will be going three mornings a week -- he went two mornings last year. I am so excited for him to have the opportunity to spend time with other kids, be instructed by other adults, and have the chance to learn, explore and play in a way that is hard for just the two of us to do. He grew so much last year during the school year and we can't wait to see how much he grows and changes this year.

I asked Oliver a few questions this morning and here are his answers, word-for-word:
What is your favorite color? "Rainbow Color" and then "Red"
What is one of your favorite things to do? "Play dragons"
What do you want to be when you grow up? "A Daddy"  {so sweet!}

Today is orientation, so Oliver and I will be attending class for just one hour. He will miss his first full morning on Friday as we are flying to St. Louis tomorrow, making Monday morning his first official day in school.

In addition to beginning school today, he will also begin the Little Joyful Singers choir and AWANA program tonight. He has already memorized his first Bible verse for the year, along with the reference:

1 John 4:10
...God...loved us and sent His son

He has been asking to return to AWANA since it ended last year and I think he will have a great time tonight. Oliver has been more interested in singing and music this past month or so and we are hoping he enjoys the 30 minutes of singing as well. 

Let the school year commence!

A Long, Fun Labor Day Weekend

We have had a great long weekend together! Lots of family time and fun things to do as we kick off a very (very) busy September.

On Saturday Oliver had the chance to show Dad around the Eastman Nature Center. When Oliver and I have gone there we have spent far more time in the nature center than I ever plan on. It's not that big of a place, so it isn't too overwhelming for him. He loves to bounce between the snakes and animals, the bee hive and the fun play things. He was proud to show Dad around and it was a pleasure watching them both!

Showing Dad his butterfly moves

He wore the bee outfit for about 20 minutes...loved it!

The weekend was rather warm and humid...heat index into the upper 90's. Tony has been wanting to take Oliver backyard camping for a while now, and he decided that he wouldn't let a little heat and the threat of rain keep him from it this weekend. Oliver was a big helper, setting up the tent and assembling the fire pit. They were two peas in a pod!

Teamwork!

All done (well, the rain fly was added later)

We lit a fire, even though it was already So.Hot.Out. Dinner was roasted hot dogs and chips, with a traditional campfire dessert: S'mores. Yum! 

Note the still green grass underneath...now it's just a burnt patch!

I think his face says it all!

The rain, thunder and lightening came at 4:00 am. The storm was pretty strong, unrelenting. I was wide awake, pacing between the window (watching for their flashlight) and the phone (checking for any tornado warnings). It is very possible that I was more worried about it than they were, as they stuck it out and didn't come inside until almost 8:00! I am so glad they had fun.

On Sunday we made the trek to one of Tony and Oliver's favorite places to eat: World Street Kitchen. Oliver and I also got our flu shots and did a little shopping while Dad picked up our neighbors from the airport. We ended Sunday by watching a movie of Oliver's choice: Rudolph. Crazy! He's currently obsessed with Halloween and asking for Christmas movies. I don't know what we are going to do come January!

Today we were so happy to host our small group for a BBQ. Tony smoked about 16 pounds of pork so we had yummy pulled pork sandwiches (along with a lot of pulled pork in the freezer for the fall/winter). It was fun catching up with everyone and planning our study for the fall. The fall!! It's hard to believe.

On Wednesday Oliver will start Pre-K 4, the little kid's choir at church and his second year of AWANA. A big day! I can't wait.