The St Louis Arch

Because we were in St Louis we of course had to go see the St Louis Arch. It seems that we are making our vacations the last couple of years around national monuments, so this year we added one to the list. It was very neat to see something you have heard about and seen pictures of in person. The boys were once again much better than I expected them to be. I remember last year at Mt Rushmore thinking they would not care much for the visit and being pleased when they enjoyed it, same thing this year. The loved to look and ask question and were very excited to go to the top.
Here are some pictures of our adventure to the top of the St Louis Arch!

Andy and the boys a good way out from the Arch

A closer picture

The things was very large! Did not realize how tall 630 feet was!

The boys and me!

And another

A picture from the side

Down under getting ready to get our tickets to go up

There was a very neat waiting area. There was a lot of information about the west and why the arch was built. The boys really enjoyed looking around and had a lot of questions.

Andy and Brayson playing on the scale

At this point the boys were saying, hey mom take my picture here, and here , and here.

Love these kids

Not sure, but it was his idea!

We were in cart #7. The cars are about 4 foot round. The doors were about 3 foot tall. The cars would seat 5 so it was perfect for us. It was very cramped and I usually do not have problem with small spaces, but it was tight in there for a good 4 minutes to the top

The boys inside the cart and I got in there too! Told you it was tight!

Another view

Andy and Brazos inside on the way up

Braxton on the way up

Me and Brayson

At the top - looking out the window

A view from one side

And from the other side

Proof that we made it to 630 feet!

My turn

They had a museum in the bottom, where you get on and off of the cars. It was fun to see all the history and the was it was presented. The boys in front of a stage coach

And a buffalo

This wall was really neat. All those images were carved in stone.

Leaving the arch in the dark - one more picture

My camera was dying and some of the pictures are just not very good - but it is what we have

The boys in front of the Mississippi River - can you tell it was late and they were done with my picture taking!!!

The Arch looking up from the bottom at night

Very cool and a must see at some point
It was a great trip and one we will remember. The boys can now look back and see the arch and say that they have been there. I can too!

St Louis - The Magic House

*****Warning - the 4th of July was long - THIS ONE IS LONGER****
After a week in Paris we headed to St Louis for a couple of days to explore and learn. It was a lot of fun to see all the things St Louis had to offer. There are a lot of activities for kids that are free!! The Magic House is not one of those things, However IT IS WELL WORTH the money! It was Wonderful. We made it to St Louis late Tuesday night and decided to try out the Magic House on Wednesday, we had other things planned in case the day went fast, however, that was not the case. The Magic House is wonderful, we spent well over 7 hours there and the boys were not ready to leave, but at that point mom and dad were ready to go. It was very exciting and something worth making a trip for. Here are some pictures of our adventure!

Ready to go - The boys are not always excited to stop and take a picture but they do it anyway!;)

Brayson the human hockey puck!

The boys had fun working this puzzle on the big screen

Brazos enjoyed watching the balls roll and trying to predict where they would land

Braxton had fun filling the bottle with air to see how far it would shoot

Brazso with an air gun to make the wheel spin

Brayson spent over an hour playing with magnets

He had a good string of washers going

Braxton got in on the magnet action

And Brazos joined us

THere was a large metal ball there that would make your hair stand up, and since nobody in our family has any hair except me, well I got at turn to make my hair stand up. Major static electricity!!

There was a very large slide that went down three stories, so of course all the boys had to try that, a couple of time!! Braxton coming down

And Brazos

Then Brayson

THe bubble room was also a big hit - Braxton making a bubble around him

Andy blowing on a bubble plane that Brazos had made

Brazos making a bubble on the table with a large hose

Brayson making shapes with bubbles


The Pulley system was also a favorite with my boys. They worked really hard to get themselves up to the top.

Brayson enjoyed building with the blocks

Braxton playing with the balls in the bell maze

The the water room!! Huge fun

Of course Braxton had to find a way to block the water. He is such an engineer!

Brayson driving a truck

Braxton and Brazos playing in the sand

How much fun can some kids have?

Braxton and Brazos driving a truck

Giant legos!!! Of course we had to build a fort, they all worked together and got it done.

Some other boys joined us at the end for a picture. Great job guys!

The boys found a car that needed some repair and of course went right to work.

And Andy got in on the action with Tangrams

Brayson serving a pizza to his customers

Braxton ringing up the paying

Brazos serving pizza

There was a Jack in the Bean Stalk ladder that went up three stories and the boys climbed their way up and down, Brayson making his way up

Brazos going to the top

Braxton going higher and higher

We found a room that had these giant building pieces, It was fun to see what they could come up with.

Brayson building

There was a section where you have to slove a crime and they give you steps to follow and one of the step is in a lab, there are glasses in there and of course Braxton played the part and played it well. Good job detective!

Brazos and Brayson in the train room

Alice and the Queen before we went into the Alice in wonderland exibit

Brayson in the room with all the doors

Brayson beating the drum

And we found the building site and went right to work. Moving rock, laying bricks, running pipe, and whatever else we could find.

Brayson gearing up to work.

Brazos moving the rocks

Braxton getting his pipes ready

Brayson designing his room

We we have the future presidents of the United States of America

Playing with the microphone

Singing some songs on the big stage

Playing judge and jury

I BRazos witness of the crime

Rising the flag

Andy wiring up somethings - things to do for all ages!

Brazos and BRayson scooping ice cream

We went back to see if we could fix the car again!

Brayson scooping more ice cream

And a lego table! Awesome!

Brazos fishing in the water

The boys climbing the rock wall

And Brayson swinging from the vine!

More building and ready to race the cars
It was a marvelous time and something we would do again if we are ever back in the area. Memories were made by all.