Missouri Botanical Gardens

One of my Leave List wishes was a morning at the Botanical Gardens.

We ventured out last Wednesday morning (because of the free admission on Wednesday mornings) and readied ourselves for the fun. 

Let me preface this trip with saying that I had been in a funk...my return to work growing closer...Cole challenging me with sass and 'tude....financial woes of a leave without full pay...and oppressive heat that held us hostage inside the house with the shades drawn...

It was a VERY hot morning.  Temps in the 90s with 1,000,000% humidity - I am only slightly exaggerating.

However, the gardens were lovely.

Really lovely.

We arrived early to try to beat the heat - which meant a rushed morning.

We walked a lot to try to see it all and make it to the Japanese garden for one of my favorite sights, the koi.

Oh, the peaceful Japanese garden...The really hot, steamy Japanese garden.

All was going well enough.

Until...

Cole looked down and saw "boo-boos" (blisters) on his feet from his new shoes. (this happened as we arrived ON the bridge to view the koi)

Oh, the horror.

The screams.

The tears.

The drama.

The improvisation. 

The carseat hanging out of the bottom of the stroller.

The wrap that saved the day.

The hot, hot hike out of the gardens pushing/wearing somewhere around 65 extra pounds of human.

The white knuckles.

The a/c pumping ride home for naps.

We crossed it off of my leave list.

Moving on....

Mondays

this photo was taken after Cole's Monday....notice the clock says 6:15...that is PM....as in, he came home, ate dinner, went back to his room, and passed out.  Poor kid....Monday gets the best of him sometimes. 

A Delicate Flower, She is Not.

 Maxine's Two Month Check-up:

Length: 23.75 inches

Weight: 13 lb, 8 oz

 That would be 98th percentile for height.

 98th percentile for weight.

 because a petite lady would not fit into our family.

Fun with Friends

We have been spending as much time as possible with friends over the past few weeks.  

I love having friends with children that my children can befriend! 

April, Adalyn, and Carson came to visit and kick off their summer.  Cole loved playing with Ada and Carson while Maxine and I enjoyed visiting with April.  We've come a long way since college, but conversation flowed just as easily as our time living together in Carbondale!

Erica and I ventured to a nursing group in St. Louis with Elijah and Maxine.  It is so fun to have another mama/baby duo going through so much of the same as Max and me....even if it does land us in the YMCA parking lot nursing our babes in the front seat after a "scream off" in the backseat!

We had family fun night with the Lange's.  Cole loves playing with Corbin and all of Corbin's awesome toys.  Carter caught my camera's eye with his entertainer ways.  He makes me laugh!  I seriously love me some Lange Family! 

Maxine and I ventured to visit with Brooke and Miss Carley.  We had our first ladies lunch with them...Carley at nine days, Maxine at nine weeks.  The trip was long but so very worth the time with my dear grade school friend!

I am so grateful for my friendships.  I look forward to my kids developing friendships...and hope that they can be as lucky as their dad and me in finding friends that will last a lifetime and weather all seasons of life.

Now- gotta fly, we are off for another playdate!

RRR

 

We are officially recyclers again.  Cole is loving it and wants to recycle EVERYTHING!  I hope to improve our "green" skills and decrease our impact on the planet so that these two lovely kiddos of mine can enjoy healthy living with their kiddos and kiddos' kiddos...and so on.