Spring Break

I am very behind on blogging and will attempt to catch up over the next couple of weeks now that we are back in Turkey! First stop...Spring Break in IL! Even though we are on vacation, the boys still had remote school. And they also had a week of spring break, which was a welcomed break for us all! That week, Betty also had spring break, and  I had to go to DC for work for a couple of days, so Nathan, Eliza and I headed east and Caleb and Benjamin had a fun week with Grandpa and Grandma in IL.

One day they went to the Magic House in St. Louis. It’s a fun discovery museum for children. They went there a couple of years ago and loved it just as much the second time.

Benjamin loves doing cartwheels. You can usually find him doing them or handstands when there is open space.

Another day they went to Skyzone, which is a huge trampoline park. They love coming here and had a great time jumping and with all the different activities.

They got new legos and spend time building one day.

Over the weekend they all went to the St. Louis Zoo and had a great time.

It has been such a treat for them to spend this extra time with their grandparents, and to go to all these places, since most things in Jordan and Turkey have been closed this past year. The boys love the time with their grandparents, and we are thankful for Mark and Betty spending the week with them while we were away. Meanwhile on the east coast....Eliza was a good little traveler.

We were welcomed with blooming Cherry Blossoms in Virginia, one of my favorite times of year.

We got a quick visit with Justin and his family, and Nathan and Eliza hung out with him while I was at work.

On Friday, we left town after work and drove for a couple hours in Staunton, where we stopped for the night. This was a pizza place we ate at years ago when we were engaged.

The next morning we headed to IL, and made it back right around the same time as everyone got home from the zoo. Mark, Betty, and the boys reported a fun week and DC was productive, so mission accomplished all around. 

Southern Illinois

 We stopped at the Superman statue in Metropolis, IL then headed to Salem!

It is so nice to be back again. Our days have been spent with people we love and doing things we enjoy. The boys have remote school while we are here, but we get it done in the morning, and then we can go out about during the day. The first weekend we arrived we went to Giant City for the fried chicken brunch, and it was delicious!

Next, we went to Boo Park, which is one of the boys favorite places to go while we are here. It is a large wooden castle and inside there are lots of tunnels, pathways, bridges, and all kinds of places for kids to play.

They have lots of gnomes, wizards, dragons, and other medieval statues.

We ended the day with ice cream. We have all eaten our fair share of ice cream since we arrived and it has been good!

Another day, we went to the City Museum in St. Louis and it was such an interesting place. It is located downtown in an old shoe warehouse and the exhibits are made from repurposed architectural and industrial objects. It looks like a bunch of old junk, and it is truly incredible what they created out of it.

Eliza loved the fish exhibit. They had a huge iron fish that would fill up with water and pour the water out of it’s mouth when full. She liked watching it fill and empty and watching the real fish swim around.

These pictures don’t do this justice, but this is inside a massive cave area looking up to a 10-story slide. The boys rode the slide and said it was fun, but not worth the wait to go a second time.

Every corner you turned there was a tunnel or small opening for kids to explore and get lost in. We wouldn’t see the boys for sometimes 20-30 minutes. Eliza had fun exploring the museum with all of us while the boys were off playing.

So many places to climb!

Mirror maze.

The museum was three stories inside, had a huge outdoor play area, and exhibits on the roof. The rooftop tickets were sold out, but we had plenty to see inside and outside.

Lots of suspension bridges to cross, castles, more slides, and even a suspended airplane to climb into.

Next we visited the pinball room. I’m not sure who was having more fun, the kids or grandpa and grandma :).

More places to run and play. This structure was made of old concrete and rebar. 

They even had a smaller kids play area.

Everywhere you turned, there was something creatively constructed. From repurposed mosaics, to pillars made of old gears, walls designed with old bread baking pans, it was so impressive.

It was a great day and everyone had a fun day at the City Musueum!

We stopped at a park to play on the way home.

It was another fun day.

Another thing we love while visiting is the nature trail behind the reservoir. The boys have been coming here since they were babies, and as they grow, it is fun to watch how they experience it differently. This visit they have enjoyed riding their bikes and exploring the side trails.

Splashing around in the rain. We have had a lot of it on this trip!

Playing at the skate park.

We had a nice visit with Don and Suzanne one afternoon and ate Chicco’s, our favorite Mexican restaurant in town.

Another day, we went to Carlyle Lake. The water level was high from all the recent rain.

Playing on the suspension bridge.

And of course another playground.

We have enjoyed lots of spending time with family, playing outside and eating ice cream. A good start to the trip.