What a vacation, we had!

Sorry that I haven't posted in a while. We had a very relaxing and fun vacation. There is so much to say, so to save me and you some time here are the highlights of our trip.

Hopefully later today or tomorrow (when I have time) I will create a slide show of our trip.

May 1st:

• We met my in-laws in St. Louis to see Travis off for his mission. He is doing a young performance mission in Nauvoo, IL playing the trombone for the bandwagon this summer.
• We spent the night in the Embassy Suites, where we enjoyed playing in the swimming pool and walked a deserted mall in search for the food court. Hoping that a zombie would not jump out at you. Seriously, I felt like I was in a horror film.

May 2nd:

• We spent most the day at the Gateway Arch State Park.
  
• We were able to take the ride up to the top of the Arch and overlook St. Louis and Illinois.
• We headed out to Giant City State Park in Carbondale, IL and checked into our cabin.

May 3rd:

• We spent the morning, hiking a few trails before it would rain that afternoon. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was just right and we had a delightful picnic of sandwiches and chips. To top it off we made s'mores by the fire.
• In the afternoon, we drove to Anniston, MO to find the burial sites of Ken's great grandfather and grandmother. We were able to find their graves and some others with the last name Smith. It will be great to work on the genealogy.
  

May 4th:

• Happy Anniversary for Ken and I. We celebrated our 7th anniversary. We spent most the day driving from Carbondale, IL to Cincinnati, OH.

May 5th:

• Thanks to Ken's mom for watching the girls, Ken and I were able to celebrate our anniversary a day late by going to see "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" and getting a quick bite at the food court.

May 6th:

• Ken stayed home with the girls, while Colleen and I had our own girls day out full of shopping. I was able to buy me 2 pairs of capris and 3 tops. For many of you who don't know, I HATE clothes shopping. Surprisingly enough, I actually enjoyed it.

May 7th:

• We decided to take Tressa to the Cincinnati Zoo. She thoroughly enjoyed it. She would walk around with the map pointing us in all directions. She would run from one animal to the other. She is definitely growing up.

May 8th:

• We celebrated Ken's birthday (May 10th) early. We had a delicious dutch oven dinner of bacon potatos and BBQ chicken. Followed by a lemonade oreo ice cream cake.
• To top it all off, we saw a late showing of the new Star Trek. I am not a Star Treky but I absolutely LOVED it. Definitely recommended to everyone to see.

May 9th:

• We headed down to Louisville and spent the day at the Brenheim Arboratum and Forest. Boy, how I miss Louisville and Kentucky. Excellent scenery.

May 10th:

• HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY Ken!
• HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY Michelle! and to all those Mothers out there.
• Headed home, sad to see our trip end. Oh well, back to the real world.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the slide show.