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Monday, July 6, 2009

Unconventional 4th Of July Weekend

Not really your typical 4th of July weekend at the Riley household this year (unlike last year) but we were kind of at the mercy of Mother Nature so we made the best of what we had.

Friday the boys and I headed to the St. Louis Zoo. By this time last year we had been probably a half a dozen times but this was our first trip for 2009. We got there early to beat the crowds and planned our route carefully to make sure we saw at the animals that the boys wanted to see. We hit the "bug-tarium", giraffes, zebras, primates, reptiles and their favorite the Sea Lion Show. We wrapped up our day with a short trip on the Zooline Railroad to get us back to the entrance so we could head home.


Snack time at the Lakeside Cafe w/ the pink flamingos.



"Come On Mom! Let's go find the Zebras!"

"There they are!"

The spider monkey was interesting as they had just been fed and were busy finding "treats" in their toys.

It's Zaboo and her baby!

Jack that snake is so big it could eat you whole! Eeeek!

Our favorite - The Sea Lion Show




"Let's go to see the River's Edge Next - sound good?"

And for lunch....every good mother feeds their children.............ICE CREAM! Yep, I did!



Saturday morning we woke up to a dark, rainy sky that dropped almost 2" of rain on us. Tim and I had plans to take the boys to a local parade, which of course was cancelled so we waited the morning out to figure out what we were going to do. Well....we ended up at the LAST PLACE that I'd ever imagine I'd spend time at on the 4th of July...............CHUCK E CHEESE!!! Yes, I said it! Chuck E Cheese for TWO HOURS but the boys had a great time running around, playing games and seeing how many tickets they could collect. Tim and I were pretty proud of ourselves for the brilliant idea that not too many other parents had (it wasn't that crowded)!.



Look at that concentration!

He could have played on this for HOURS!


How many tickets did you get? I got 165!!!!


Saturday night, we waited until about 9:00pm and then headed over to watch the Chesterfield fireworks. We strategically found a spot that we could park the car and sit in the back and watch the fireworks from far enough away that they weren't too loud for the boys and we were under cover so that as the rain started to fall again, we were protected. Since these were really the first fireworks that the boys have ever seen (last year they fell asleep waiting for them to start) they were a bit unsure but as they began, the oohs and aaaahs let Tim and I know that they approved. Mason kept saying "I like fireworks!" and Jack's intense "Look at that one!" let us know that although soggy, the day was a good one.

Sunday was pretty typical at our house, add in the fact that it was cool and damp, we hit the grocery store, did laundry and just hung out. Nothing fancy, nothing special, just watched the baseball game and enjoyed a relaxing day at home gearing up for another busy week.

We hope you had a great 4th of July wherever you were. As for us.....typical or not - it's the memories that we'll always hold on to forever.

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2 comments:

Amy said...

That looks like a perfect weekend to me! Loving those ice cream cones too, yummo!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the pics, Libby. Sure helps to make me feel like I was there. MBR is going to be bigger than his older brother very soon.

xxxooo