St. Augustine

After leaving Memphis, we drove through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, then we made it to Florida! We drove through Tallahassee, which is where I went to college for 2.5 years at Florida State University. I had not been back since leaving in 1999, so we took a drive through town and the campus. Tallahassee looked unfamiliar in a lot of ways, but the campus and neighborhood where I lived still looked the same as I remember. This was my freshman dorm, Salley Hall. It was kind of a dump when I lived there 24 years ago and has since then been  renovated.

We got to St. Augustine mid-afternoon and we stopped at Publix to get groceries. This is the grocery store that I went to growing up. They are all set up the same and everything was familiar. It was a nice feeling to go inside a Publix again.

This is the house we rented for a couple of weeks in St. Augustine. It was on Anastasia Island, about a mile from the Anastasia Island State park, that had beaches and other water activities. The house had a nice yard for the kids to play and it was in a great location, tucked away in a quieter neighborhood away from the noise, but close enough to the beach and other attractions.

Waiting for grandpa and grandma to arrive.

It had been a while since we saw my parents. My mom came to Jordan when Eliza was about 7 months old, but we had not seen my dad since Eliza was born. Thankfully we have Skype so the kids could see both sets of grandparents each weekend. The kids were excited to see them, and we spent the day relaxing and catching up.

The next day we went to the beach. The boys love swimming in the ocean and playing in the sand. Eliza is slowly warming up to the beach and enjoys playing in the sand. The beaches are unique here, with long sand dunes leading up to the water. It was a beautiful beach day.

The waves were rough and the boys loved it!

Beach bums...

Getting buried in the sand.

A pretty beach day :)

At the state park, they also rented kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards. Nathan and I took turns with the boys on the kayak. We even saw a few dolphins swimming around while we were out, it was neat to watch them swim around the inlet and jump through the water.

Afterwards, the lifeguard brought her dog down to the beachfront and Benjamin enjoyed throwing the ball around with him and playing in the water for a while. 

It was a fun day!

 

Memphis!

After departing Illinois, we went to Memphis for a couple of nights to meet Uncle Ed and Aunt Laura. About halfway between in Sikeston, MO is a famous restaurant called Lamberts, where they throw rolls across the restaurant at you. Nathan told the boys that he went there when he was young, so they were excited to go. They caught these massive rolls from across the restaurant.

Benjamin actually caught three...and we all ate some good southern comfort food.

We arrived in Memphis mid-afternoon. The last time we saw Ed and Laura was when we were in Salem about 2 years ago. We love visiting with them, they are so thoughtful and full of interesting stories that we all enjoy hearing.

We stayed at the Big Cypress Bass Pro Shop hotel, which is an interesting place to visit. It was formerly the Memphis Pyramid, representing the great Pyramid in Egypt, and was formerly used as a basketball arena for both college and NBA basketball. 

The hotel portion is located above the shops, and it is a neat view from above. In the pyramid is the Bass Pro Shop, a bowling alley, displays with live alligators, ducks, and fish, several restaurants, and an observation deck overlooking the city. 

There was a nice lobby with comfortable chairs to relax and talk.

Watch out for the hungry grizzly bear! Eliza was concerned about her brother:).

Inside the shop, kids can sit in the ATVs and boats. It’s a fun place for them to explore.

The first evening we took an elevator to the top of the pyramid for dinner.

We had a nice dinner and view of the city from the observation deck afterwards.

The next day, we went to the Children’s Museum, which had so many great hands-on exhibits for kids. This one even had a carousel that was over 100 years old!

Breaking it down in the disco.

Beep, beep. Crazy driver coming.

Gone fishin’

Rock wall fun.

What’s for dinner?

Air-powered rag catching.

Lots of places to climb. Can you find the boys?

Surgery time....a bit more medical training may have been needed.

There was even a large outdoor playground, zip line, and basketball court.

Last stop was tornado alley. We actually had a real tornado warning in Salem the day before Easter, and we were preparing to go to the closet while it passed (which it did without hitting the ground), so the kids have been extra interested in tornados lately.

One more view of the city from the observation deck. It was a pretty sunset.

To finish the already full day, we went bowling at the hotel.

The next morning we had to part ways. Ed and Laura were heading to St. Louis and we were heading to St. Augustine to visit my family. We are so thankful for the time we got to spend with them, how thoughtful they were to plan a fun visit, and we look forward to the next time we can get together again. We love you guys!

 

More Southern Illinois

During our stay, we enjoyed visiting lots of our favorite places around the area. One day we went to Forbes Lake State Park to hike around and play. We have been many times over the years, and this time we went to a lake the kids and I had not been to before. The boys enjoying going around the trail together and then took Eliza half way around another time.

Enjoying the peace and beautiful view.

The farmer came to plow the field behind grandpa and grandma’s house, and Eliza got a kick out of watching him work. At first she was scared and would scream, “the tractor is coming to get me!” And she would yell for Benjamin to come inside. She eventually warmed up to it and watched him work for a long time. It was cute.

Caleb loves running to the end of that field. One night he wanted to run across the field with a flashlight, so he did. 

Grandpa Mark became the official Eliza swing pusher. Some days he would push her upwards of an hour and they would sing songs together. 

She loves her Grandpa! When she woke each morning she would ask where he was, since he generally left for work before she woke up.

We managed to get one or two pictures of all of us :).

Back to the nature trail. The boys doing what they love to do....ride bikes which was a big treat for them.

Exploring the side trails.

We took them to the track a couple times a week. Nathan had them working on their 400m time. Caleb’s record was 1:30, and Benjamin’s 1:39. You may not be able to tell from this picture, but Caleb runs without shoes on....these boys are fast like their daddy!

Another day we visited Hawthorn Elementary so they could see their old kindergarten and 1st grade teachers from when they attended school in Salem in fall 2018 when Eliza was born. They boys remember the school and talk about it often and remembered where their classes were. It was sweet to visit with their teachers and everyone enjoyed the quick reunion.

Oh how the kids looked forward to movie night and popcorn nights!

Nathan and I looked forward to morning walks through town with beautiful sunrises and quiet streets.

Another rainy day we went to Union Station in St. Louis. It’s an old train hub that now has a lot of different restaurants and attractions.

We rode the giant Ferris wheel and got a great view of the city.

The kids had fun on the carousel.

We managed to not get lost in the mirror maze...they are so creepy!

Another day we went to the St. Louis Science Center, another place the boys really enjoyed in the past. This time around, one of their favorite stops was the video game section where they could sample a variety of games, and play super Mario Brothers on a a life-sized Nintendo controller.

The discovery room inside the museum was really interesting. The project was programming and operating different robots. There was one robot that followed a color pattern and would illuminate with what color it was traveling over. It was pretty neat and enjoyed by the adults and kids alike.

Seeing what it is like to experience tornado force winds.

Another day we went to Kaskaskia College. There is a nice trail around the campus so we brought the boys bikes and they rode and we walked around the path, then had a picnic for lunch.

There is outdoor exercise equipment around the path. Just hanging out :).

Pizza Man...thank goodness this place (and Chicco’s) was open during our visit. The boys will forever love and remember this place...mostly because of the trinket machines...But the pizza and salads are so good and I’m glad we had the chance to eat there.

I was surprised one afternoon with a sweet early birthday celebration :).

This pictures about sums it up. Family, fun, ice cream...

It’s never easy to say ‘see you next time,’ but we are always so thankful for the times we have together and know next time will be here before we know it. We love you guys!