Meet us in St Louis

For a spectacular Fourth of July celebration. Independence Day is by far Mark's favorite holiday and he always tells me there's no better place to celebrate than St Louis. He has so many great memories from his childhood of celebrating in small town America. He just wanted the kids to experience that small town feel. So, last Thurs we loaded up the car for the 13 hour drive west. We also took our 4 year old granddaughter with us. Three carseats side by side in the back seat is a little cramped, but, they were all three great travelers. We got to spend lots of time with family and we returned to the hotel exhausted each night from the days activities. On the 3rd we had great food at a local fish fry and when we were done they started talking about heading out to a Picnic. Say what?! We just ate, why would we go to a Picnic?? But, when in St Louis.... Turns out it's what we Northerner's call a Fireman's Carnival. This was a highlight of the trip. The kids had a blast. Then on the 4th we went to Aunt Marcia's house. A wonderful place to celebrate! The kids had fun playing with their cousins and going for hayrides all day long. It was just the vacation we had planned. Here are some pics to enjoy.