Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

Today certainly was a beautiful day in the neighborhood, well at least in our neck of the woods. The sun was shining and the temperatures were nice and cool. With this combination, Kyle and I couldn't resist heading out and about to enjoy the day. We spent time at a local park, in our backyard playing, and a family walk this evening. Hopefully, we will be lucky enough to have a few more pleasant days before the extreme summer heat arrives.

Even Chloe enjoyed the day.

Grant's Farm

This morning Kyle and I ventured to Grant's Farm. As you enter you are taken on a tram ride through the property to the farm complex. We saw plenty of animals...deer, ducks, swans, ostrich, turkey, turtle, goats, etc. In addition to seeing the animals Kyle was able to feed the goats, get attacked by the hungry goats, and take a ride on the carousel. Up next on our tour was the elephants, but unfortunatley it began to rain so we had to quickly find cover. Thankfully, it didn't rain for very long, but since it was close to nap time we decided to catch the tram back to the entrance and head home. We purchased a season parking pass, so we plan to head back many times over the next several months. Next time our first stop will be the elephants since we missed them today.

Carousel ride

Watching the horse go up and down!

Plenty of hugry goats

Kyle and his friend very interested in the animals.

Kyle saying "Hi!"

OnStar Service

One of the nice features we received when we purchased our new car last year was a one year subscription to OnStar. It really is a comforting feeling to know help is only a phone call away if you find yourself in an emergency situation. Thankfully, we haven't used the service...that is until today. As I mentioned in my previous post, we took a trip to the zoo. As we were getting things organized to bring inside with us, John accidentally locked the keys in the car. We called OnStar and within just a minute or two the doors were unlocked...a lot quicker and easier than calling Pop-A-Lock!

Since, we found ourselves in this situation, we did learn two very important lessons. The first lesson is to program the OnStar phone number into our cell phones. The second lesson is that we will most certainly be renewing our subscription when the time comes.

Animal Adventures

Today we made a spur of the moment decision to go the St. Louis Zoo. The zoo is wonderful and the best part is the admission is free...however you do have to pay for parking. The weather was perfect for an outdoor adventure, although it was hot! It was extremely crowded so we didn't have the chance to see many animals and Kyle wasn't able to ride the carousel. We did venture into the Children's Zoo for the first time. Kyle was able to pet a snake...well actually he grabbed it and wanted to pick it up...needless to say the zoo volunteer wasn't very happy and neither was the snake. This section of the zoo also has a sprinkler area for the children, but we weren't prepared for Kyle to get very wet so he couldn't have much water fun. We will remember this for our next visit to the zoo. Kyle did enjoy petting the goats and even was nice enough to brush one of them. Since we were there at lunch time we stopped and had lunch at one of the outdoor cafe areas.

We enjoyed our first official summer family adventure. We hope to have many more fun times together over the next several months. Hope you enjoy the pictures from our day at the zoo!

Da-Dee and Kyle

Kyle "petting"the snake Our little otter

"Grooming" the goat Most of the goats were just relaxing

Show Us Where You Live Friday - Children's Rooms and Nurseries

It's Friday, which means it's time for another edition of "Show Us Where You Live Friday". This weeks featured room is children's rooms and nurseries. If you would like to tour other beautiful, creative rooms please visit Kelly's blog.

Our son, Kyle, would like to welcome everyone to his very own "Big Boy Room". About five months ago, Kyle moved out of his nursery into his new room. The theme for the room is Planes, Trains, and Trucks. For anyone who knows Kyle this is a very fitting theme since he LOVES anything "transportation" related. We had such a wonderful time redesigning the room...complete with new flooring, paint, furniture, and the fun, adorable decor! I hope you enjoy the tour!

Kyle, the cute little boy who lives in this room!

A Birthday Keepsake personalized for Kyle, which also

includes special events and information from the date of

his birth and the year he was born. By far, my all time favorite pieces in Kyle's room are the table/chair set and the toybox. The moment I saw these two items I automatically knew they would be a perfect addition to the room! Aren't they just the cutest pieces????

Beach Vacation Day

Today was Beach Vacation Day for Kyle's class in celebration of the last day of school. The children were asked to wear beach attire to school and parents were asked to apply the necessary sunscreen since the class would be outside for over an hour playing water games. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate. With rain off and on this morning and cooler temperatures the beach party was moved indoors. I'm sure all the children had a good time despite not being able to head outside to play in the water. I will have to make it up to Kyle in the near future and have his very own beach vacation day in our very own backyard!

Kyle decked out and ready to head to the beach!

Striking a pose!

Kyle's beach attire wouldn't be complete without a

Thomas the Train beach towel!

Our Token of Appreciation

Today is Kyle's last day of preschool for this school year. Kyle has really enjoyed school and has progressed so much in so many areas. I'm so proud of my little boy! Kyle's teacher, three assistants, and his three therapists are wonderful and we attribute Kyle's progress to their hard work and dedication. As a token of our appreciation, we wanted to give a little end of the year gift to each of them. The gift is a "Movie Night" theme. Included is a gift card to a video store, popcorn, and a box of candy, as well as a card "signed" by Kyle with his picture and a little note from our family. I received this gift idea on a mom's message board and I really thought it was such a cute, creative idea. I hope Kyle's teachers enjoy their gift.