Zoos, Magic, Sonic Youth and Go Cardinals

We spent the last two days of our vacation in St. Louis. We went to the St. Louis Zoo on Day 1, and liked the monkeys the best. We ended the day in my old (and short-term) hood, with dinner at Ciceros in University City. Kids loved it, and the pizza was great.

On the carousel

G on a panther with Ya Ya.

We went to the Magic House the next day. It has to be the best Children's Museum in the country. It is incredible. Guillermo and Maya spent a lot of time shoveling gravel and building a house in one part of the museum. "There's a lot of work to do, mommy," Maya said as she took a break between shoveling and sweeping. Later, she fished in a pond upstairs while Guillermo repaired a car. We probably covered only about half the museum before nap time was upon us. We then drove down to the Arch so they kids could take a look. I've been up only once before and had no desire to do it again. Luckily, the line was too long. We played and played and must have wore Guillermo out because as Maya and I were off doing something, Guillermo crawled in Will's lap and fell asleep.

Fixing a car at the Magic House.

Touching an electrostatic generator at the Magic House.

We ended the night at the St. Louis Cardinal's game with Julie and her family. I had planned to take Maya to the free Sonic Youth concert along the river, but at the last minute changed plans when I realized we had enough Cardinals tickets for Maya and I to go. I was a little bummed I was missing one of my favorite bands but I frequently commended myself for being such a good mom when I saw how much fun Maya was having at the game. :)

Lego Mania

Guillermo and Maya had plenty to keep them entertained at my parent’s house. Not only were their cousins there, but there are a ton of toys, a huge back yard and my father even put up the tent. They played Zingo and HyperDash, kicked soccer balls and rode bikes and scooters and took tractor rides.

But the highlight, at least for Guillermo (Maya didn’t care what game she played as long as she could hang out with her older cousin, Lily), came when my mother broke out several boxes of Legos, including several of my old sets. I don’t know who was more excited, me or him. Many of my Legos were still in the same form as when I left them 24 years ago, the bed, the couches and kitchen appliances still in tact. The day my mother opened the boxes, Guillermo and Lily played with them as I originally had built them, but I think by the next morning, Guillermo had destroyed all of my childhood work. Here's a photo so you can see some of my youthful labor. Don’t you love the retro people? And the record player?

Never in His Wildest Dreams

Never in Guillermo's wildest dreams did he expect to meet Darth Vader (or Dark Vader, as he calls him) at the Peoria Air Show. But, Darth Vader was there, along with a whole crew of Star Wars characters. Will was pretty excited, too!

Guillermo ranting like the Tusken Raider next to him.

Will and Darth Vader

With Boba Fett, the greatest bounty hunter that ever lived.

A fatherly pat from Darth Vader.

Summer Vacation

Over the next few days, I’ll be posting photos from our vacation at my parent’s house in Illinois. We had a great time. I love summer there. This year, we planned our trip to coincide with my father’s 60^th birthday. My sister and her family were there, too, which made it extra special. (Get ready, we took more than 500 pictures in our 10-day trip!)

My mother and father at my father's 60th birthday party.

We arrived Friday afternoon and the kids immediately fell into step. My father had bought them each a flashlight, which they used to hunt for my parent’s two cats (poor kitties).

Saturday was my father’s birthday party and it was so fun. Lots of friends came to wish him a happy birthday and they kids were on their best behavior. They ran around the backyard and played soccer and they didn’t mind one bit that we didn’t serve cake until about 9 p.m. Shortly after that, we put them to bed and stayed up a little later to celebrate. The party was especially fun for me because a few of my parents’ friends from our old neighborhood in Iowa drove down for the celebration. It was wonderful hearing some great stories about my parents. Just as fun was watching everyone look at the various photographs of my father that we scattered on the dining room table. I wish we still owned a scanner. Here are some current photos.

Guillermo and Will

Maya, hugging grandpa

A family photo