St. Louis, Missouri

This summer we took a trip to Nauvoo that started in St. Louis, Missouri. After a long, 3-part airplane ride, Brad & the boys went to a Cardinals baseball game.

Thankfully, their favorite player - Albert Pujols -had just come back from an injury and hit a home run in the bottom of the 9th that won the game (and landed two seats away from the boys who had their own very brief and very annonymous appearance on Sports Center's Top Ten)!

They had the time of their lives - a great game at a fabulous stadium with some of the game's most devoted fans. (I think they were just about the only ones there not wearing red... we should have planned better!)

The next morning we all went to the famous St. Louis arch. We had all seen pictures of it before, but had no idea how huge it was... (see how tiny we are standing there!)

or that you could actually go up insideof it! (see that row of tiny windows near the top???)

They have these tiny little elevators that our family barely fit inside! Brad's a bit claustrophobic - and terribly afraid of heights - so he asked us to sing him a lullaby on the way up to the top. We thought "Rock-a-bye Baby" was appropriate! {Nothing like a song about a little baby falling out of a tree to help you get over your fears, honey!} Once you get to the top, they have an observation area so you can look down at the tiny world below you... and, no - Brad didn't look!

Adam took lots of pictures, but these two of the reflection of the arch and the baseball park were two of my favorites.

The next morning on our way out of town we stopped by the St. Louis temple - so beautiful!

And we're off - Nauvoo or bust!