Someone had a hard time waking up this morning.
But not this someone.
Pre-breakfast dance party!
The little boys and I went for a walk to a creek at the
campground. I decided not to take my camera with me, and I am really regretting
that decision now. I absolutely loved watching Monkey walk through the creek,
skipping rocks, watching tadpoles play, searching for fossils. And Roo had a blast just sitting at the edge of the
creek, throwing rocks in the water. I bet we were there for a half-hour, and
that’s all he did. It was one of my favorite moments of the trip so far.
And then it was off to the pool… the unheated pool. I will say, I was not a happy camper (ha!) when I first got in, but it was so darn hot out today (over 90) that I was glad for the water after a while. And Roo and I didn’t really stay long, because we forgot to take sunscreen to the pool and, well, have you seen that noggin? So I took him back to the RV, fed him some lunch, and put him down for a nap.
After everyone was dry, fed, and changed, we headed back to the city for Fair St. Louis.
We got there just in time to see the last bit of the air show. I may have taken a few more photos than necessary. It's even possible that when I scanned through my shots to pick out the good ones, it looked like one of those flip books where you can actually see the action by going fast enough through still shots. So if you think I have too many photos of planes here, just imagine how many more are sitting on my computer.
Then we checked out an area called the KidZone.
Monkey was determined to find face painting, and he did. Friends, I have NEVER been in a crowd the size of the one at Fair St. Louis, and do you know how many face painters they had there? ONE. And I don’t just mean one BOOTH, I mean one PERSON. One little old lady, sitting there all day (and I later found out she would be there tomorrow and Saturday, too) painting faces. Monkey waited in line for over an hour. AN HOUR! But you know what? He was happy.
And then it was off to the pool… the unheated pool. I will say, I was not a happy camper (ha!) when I first got in, but it was so darn hot out today (over 90) that I was glad for the water after a while. And Roo and I didn’t really stay long, because we forgot to take sunscreen to the pool and, well, have you seen that noggin? So I took him back to the RV, fed him some lunch, and put him down for a nap.
After everyone was dry, fed, and changed, we headed back to the city for Fair St. Louis.
Apparently the river level is about 15 feet higher than usual. Lewis and Clark seem less serious this way.
We got there just in time to see the last bit of the air show. I may have taken a few more photos than necessary. It's even possible that when I scanned through my shots to pick out the good ones, it looked like one of those flip books where you can actually see the action by going fast enough through still shots. So if you think I have too many photos of planes here, just imagine how many more are sitting on my computer.
Then we checked out an area called the KidZone.
Monkey was determined to find face painting, and he did. Friends, I have NEVER been in a crowd the size of the one at Fair St. Louis, and do you know how many face painters they had there? ONE. And I don’t just mean one BOOTH, I mean one PERSON. One little old lady, sitting there all day (and I later found out she would be there tomorrow and Saturday, too) painting faces. Monkey waited in line for over an hour. AN HOUR! But you know what? He was happy.
Meanwhile, Lamb, Roo, and I checked out the rest of the
KidZone.
Then Lamb and Mr. Fantastic went to watch a dog show (which looked pretty cute) while Monkey and I continued to wait for his fabulous facial artwork. And finally it was our turn. Check this out:
Lamb won a free game of mini-golf! We, of course, had to pass it along to someone else, someone who could actually use it.
Dancing to the music--and the bubble machine!
Lamb is like me in so many ways, but she is 100% more coordinated than I am. I loved watching her hula hoop--I don't know when I've seen her do it before. I was so impressed!
Then Lamb and Mr. Fantastic went to watch a dog show (which looked pretty cute) while Monkey and I continued to wait for his fabulous facial artwork. And finally it was our turn. Check this out:
Does that say “Wait in line an hour for me” or what? Yeah,
don’t get me started…
Anyway, after that we grabbed a spot on the steps in front
of the Arch for the fireworks show.
There was a Trace Adkins concert going on behind us, which Roo enjoyed. And then we gave him a flag, and found him to be quite patriotic.
And then… just minutes before the fireworks were slated to start……………………… Monkey looked at me (with his hand down the back of his pants) and said, “Can you take me to the potty? I need to go number 2.”
Fab.u.lous.
I believe there were roughly (I am not kidding) 100-150 port-a-potties lined up along the riverfront. Although the lines were long for the first several outhouses, I had the brilliant idea to walk farther along the lineup—and sure enough, we found one with only 2 people in front of us! Score! So we waited, then Monkey went in, and then *I* waited. And waited. And waited.
There was a Trace Adkins concert going on behind us, which Roo enjoyed. And then we gave him a flag, and found him to be quite patriotic.
And then… just minutes before the fireworks were slated to start……………………… Monkey looked at me (with his hand down the back of his pants) and said, “Can you take me to the potty? I need to go number 2.”
Fab.u.lous.
I believe there were roughly (I am not kidding) 100-150 port-a-potties lined up along the riverfront. Although the lines were long for the first several outhouses, I had the brilliant idea to walk farther along the lineup—and sure enough, we found one with only 2 people in front of us! Score! So we waited, then Monkey went in, and then *I* waited. And waited. And waited.
After what I am pretty certain was at least 4 days… OK, it was actually 10 minutes, but STILL! 10 minutes!... he opened the door… just a crack. “Mommy,” he stage-whispered, “there’s no toilet paper in here.” Are you, ahem, let’s go with kidding me, even though another word might be more appropriate.
He pulled up his pants, and we waited in line for ANOTHER potty (sooooo thankful for a very sweet man who let us go in front of him), and got to the front JUST as the first firework boomed.
But hey, the second potty… also had no TP. And then I heard other people complaining of the same thing. Marvelous. “I have wipes in the truck (approximately 80 miles away), we’ll have to do it after the fireworks.” Poor kiddo! He was such a trooper.
We headed back to our seats, approximately five minutes into the fireworks. I thought we had missed a significant chunk, but NO. This was probably the biggest, longest fireworks show I have ever seen! It was FANTASTIC! (Don't judge it by my poor attempt at fireworks shots.)
Finally our 4th of July celebration was over, and it was time to head back to the RV. Unfortunately, big fireworks shows come with big crowds, and even though we took our sweet time getting to the truck, it took us over TWO HOURS to make the 30-minute drive back to our campground. Most of that was just the first 2-mile stretch. But we were rewarded with 3 sleeping kids when we got back. (And yes, Monkey did… um… take care of business before he fell asleep.)
And with that mental image, I bid you adieu. See you tomorrow!
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