St. Louis!

It had been 13 years since the last time I crossed over the Missouri state line. The last time was when me and my rowdy rock band were touring the country and things were very, very different! Though I wasn't traveling with the band, I had another wild bunch with me as I traveled to St. Louis this weekend. It was a great great time! Check it out!

After traveling most of the day, we got to Aunt Ann and Uncle Tom'e house. Aunt Ann and Caeley quickly became close friends!

At the house, we were also excited to find Cousin Pat and his wife Marybeth! Here Elijah cuddles with Pat.

The next day we decided to go to the St. Louis Arch. Unfortunately, there is really no way to take a picture of it unless you are far away! Please check out the video to get a really good look at this amazing landmark! The kids were amazed at how big it was and had a great time running around it. The Arch is right near the Mississippi river, so we also saw paddle boats and helicopters giving people rides on the river. We went into the museum at the base of the arch, but it was a long wait to go up in it, so we decided we would wait until we bring mom next time to go up in it. Another great thing about the Arch is that it is made out of metal and is very shiny. This helps you take pics like this one, with awesome lighting!

And this one too!

Here is the video of us coming to St Louis and going to the Arch!

The next day was the main event. It was the big BBQ at the house. Unlike the East Coast, there are A LOT of Sullivans out here. Here we have cousins Tommy, Connie, and Pat.

Cousin Denny and Tommy are working with some of the other cousins to build Uncle Tom a ramp from the house to the driveway. Here Elijah supervises the measuring.

Cousin Pat and his grandson Miles!

"Now I was the one who played your dad his first Kiss record. You do know what records are don't ya?"

Cousin Tommy and Cales!

Mary Lou ( who is married to Cousin Mike, you are paying attention aren't you? There will be a test!) hanging with Cales.

Caeley and her cousin Marisa ( who is my cousin Jenny's daughter) being smiling hostesses!

These two played together all day. When I explained to Caeley that night that Marisa was her cousin and they were family, Caeley said "OH! Thank you Daddy! You're the best daddy in the whole world!" Glad I could help! haha!

Me and Cales with Cousins Connie and Pat ( son of the other Cousin Pat!)

Good pals!

Uncle Tom and I. Uncle Tom has been battling Parkinson's for quite awhile. He is a great man and I was really glad we had time to hang out with him and to show my kids what a cool guy he is!

Cousin Mike who is always in charge of the BBQ. This happens for two reasons. 1. He is a BBQ master and 2. He is a troublemaker! It is best to keep him occupied!

My cousins Julie and Bethany with their sons Miles and Max. Now who is Julie and Bethany's dad? (no cheating by scrolling back!)

a. Cousin Tommy

b. Cousin Denny

c. Cousin Pat

d. Uncle Tom

e. I am too confused and I am going on to the next picture!

Here are some fun videos! The first is Miles dancing and the second is Elijah getting rough with his big cousins!

Before we head off to the next set of pictures I just want to say that there were many more people there who are super important to us. We either didn't get a picture of them or we did and they are thanking us that we didn't put it up! It is sometimes hard to balance having such a great time with documenting it all. The bottom line is that I am so very grateful to have such an amazing bunch of people as my family and I was very happy to see my kids take to all of them so easily. It truly was an amazing time and I thank all of them for such a great day!

The next day we went to the St. Louis Zoo. This place was awesome!

Caeley and Elijah checking out the fossils! This is one of Caeley's favorite things to do. She loves to ask questions!

Zaboomafoo!

Taking a train ride through the Zoo!

A bunch of monkeys hanging with the Gorilla!

On our way home, the kids saw a sign for this place. It was Metropolis, Illinois, home of Superman! So we stopped and checked it out! It was a fun find!

"Really Lois, you need to back off, I'm married!"

They were repainting the Superman store and Elijah bumped into the wall. He was not happy to say the least.

"Don't laugh Elijah!"

A view of tiny Metropolis, Illinois.

Before we left Metropolis, we stopped for dinner which was ice cream at Dairy Queen! (before you all start saying that this is a "dad thing", I learned this from watching my beautiful wife do this one night, ok?)

Heading home and watching the beautiful sunset. I feel very blessed to have had such a great weekend and so many good memories! We love you St. Louis and we won't wait another 13 years to come back!