Vacation - Day 1

On Monday we began our vacation. Our destination was Tulsa, OK to connect with people that we have become acquainted with through our adoption journey. Along the way we took in the sights and sounds of several other cities. We began by traveling from our home to St. Louis, Missouri. Our hope was to take in the Arch and the zoo this day. My plan was to leave home at 6:00 a.m. but with a car to load, two teenagers and a 1 year old, we didn't leave until 6:30. Not bad, all things considered. We arrived in St. Louis around 11:00. After finding our way to the Arch, we took some time for a picnic lunch. Then it was off to the top of the Arch. There were a lot of people at the Arch on Monday and we had to go through security and get tickets to ride to the top. Then it was wait for 1-1/2 hours before getting in line to go to the top. This is when I was given my unexpected "water baptism" down my back. The view from the top of the Arch is beautiful. We took several pictures and then because it was so crowded, we headed back down.

Because it was getting close to supper by now and the zoo would be closing by 5:00, we decided to wait until our return trip to do the zoo. So we headed to our hotel to get settled in and then to the mall (I can't imagine why we would want to head here with 2 teenagers). We ate in the food court and then the girls set out on their own to shop. I headed to JC Penny but didn't last long before someone was in need of a diaper change. So, to the opposite side of the mall I headed with Levi. As I was leaving Pennys, I noticed a play area for children so I decided to just head there and wait for the girls to finish shopping. Levi loved playing on the toys in this play area. I knew it would be difficult to get him to leave when the girls were ready to go. When the time came, he did pretty good. We had some ice cream at Marble Slab before heading back to the hotel. Levi settled down and went to sleep quickly and didn't wake up until 6:15 the next morning. We were so thankful he didn't wake up in the middle of the night and thankful for a door separating the bedroom.