Meet Me In St. Louie!

The first leg of our vacation was in St. Louis.  We usually spend the last leg in St. Louie, but not this time.  We needed to do some major shopping for Miss Gracie so we started out here.  Plus, it was the closest stop and after a 19 hour drive we were definitely ready for the rest.

We had to take Gracie to the Arch.  Matt has never been up in the Arch and I hadn’t been since I was a kid.  Let me tell you, I remembered it being a lot bigger!  But either way Gracie had fun.  We made it a whole event by eating down on Laclede’s Landing at Old Spaghetti Factory and taking the metro to and from the Arch.  Gracie wasn’t in the mood for pictures and it was really drizzly so I didn’t take a lot of pictures, but I loved these.  The sights of home make that long drive totally worth it!

Off to Greenfield tomorrow!  More Christmas fun on the way!

Traveling.

Wow, the things I have discovered in the last 48 hours.  Saturday morning we took off for our 2 week vacation home for the holidays.  I keep playing the song “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” through my mind, thinking is this going to go as planned?  Well, we have had some good and bad things happen to us in the last 48 hours.  Which I am going to share, as I am laying in bed with 2 exhausted people, in St. Louis, good ole St. Louie!

1. Having something to do every night of the week the week of vacation, does not bode well for packing and preparation of a 2+ week vacation.
2. Thursday night football will not be put on hold to pack.  It must be watched in the recline position at all times.  Non-negotiable. 
3. Taking a 4 year old and 2 poodles is not going to be easy breezy no matter how “go with the flow” you are.
4. Explaining to a 4 year old why dogs get to sit in Mommy’s lap because they don’t have to be buckled in is not a good enough answer.  They must be buckled in because it is not fair to them.
5. Really tall towers (or in this case a casino/hotel) is where princesses live.
6. Having a hotel right next to the casino where people will go in and out will cause your dog to bark repeatedly…through the entire night which will leave for two grumpy people with little sleep.
7. Having your 4 year old scream from the back “the radio is too loud, turn it down!” will result in a response from the Daddy, “we couldn’t turn you down when you were loud earlier.”

All in all it was a great trip with no catastrophes!  We are safe and sound.  I am ready to enjoy some much deserved time with family for the holidays!  I will try to post when I can!  So Merry Christmas!

Meeshka, Mooshka, Mickey Mouse!

It was one great Mickey Mouse Saturday last weekend for Gracie’s party.  But let me tell you, it was not easy pulling this party together.  Originally, Matt and I had decided not to through Gracie a big party since we are going on Christmas vacation, but Gracie demanded, ok, she asked politely for a party.  So I thought, might as well, we can pull this together.  So, I was going to rent a jumping balloon (remember we live in the desert and we can do that in December) and have pizza.  Well, a winter storm decided to make it’s way into our area that weekend.  So we had to change venues.  I am sorry, but the thought of having 10 kids in my house around Christmas time with all of my beautiful ornaments from Germany, no thanks!  So we moved it over to Peter Piper Pizza (think Chucky Cheese without the dancing and singing.)  Gracie had a blast!  It was all she wanted and more.  Before I get to the birthday party pictures, let me show you the decorations I did.  I would have done a lot more if we had it at home, but I was happy with the little I did for the table.

 

A Mickey Mouse party is not complete without ears!!!!!!

I really didn’t want to do the typical party favors (I have like a million of those plastic rings all over the playroom.)  So I found this idea on Pinterest where you give them a homemade playdoh kit!  I loved it and so did the parents.

And the best part:  Cake and Cupcakes thanks to Miss Jamie!

Then there was a little girl who loved her party!

I thought I was the one who was sad she is 4?

Her big gift was her bike and she loved it!  She actually saw her bike a couple of weeks before her birthday but I fibbed and told her it was for another girl.  She still believes the story! ha ha!  It was a great party.  One I know she will remember for a long time!  Now it is time to prepare for vacation, not looking forward to 19 hour drive!!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Gracie

Gracie,

Happy 4th Birthday to you!  I am still in awe that you are already 4.  It seems just yesterday you were a little baby laying in my arms giving me a smile.  Now you are little girl jumping into my arms with the same big smile, but it is a lot harder to hold you since you have gotten so big. 

Some of your favorites things include Mickey Mouse and friends, your puppies, books, anything crafty, and school.  You love to play house and school.  I can usually find you singing and dancing all around the house.

You bring so much love and joy into our lives. You make us laugh constantly and you are full of life. There isn’t much you miss and you have to be involved in everything that is going on.

Happy Birthday sweet girl, I cannot wait to see you grow into the sweet young lady I know you will be!  Mommy and Daddy love you very much, thank you for making our lives complete!