Vacation 2014 first stop: Missouri

We are taking two weeks to travel out west.   Our first stop is St. Louis, MO and the City Museum.

We only had a Sunday afternoon this time around, but because we knew our way around it didn't take us long to figure out what to do. 

On our way to Oklahoma we stopped off at the George Washington Carver National Monument.

Diamond, MO has a population of 902.
I was a little doubtful that this National Park would be that good. On the contrary, it was excellent and I wish we had come a little earlier because we ran out of time.  Dr. Carver was an extraordinary American. I feel his life and accomplishments are inspirational.  If we are going to have national parks dedicated to people in this country, then he deserves one.

Jane had earned two Junior Ranger Badges by the time we left Missouri.

There are currently over 200 Junior Ranger Programs in the National Park Service. In each of these parks, kids interview Rangers, complete games, and answer questions about the park and the National Park Service. At the end of their experience in the park, they are sworn in as Junior Rangers and receive a special certificate and official Junior Ranger badge.

Funny Faces

Getting Jane to smile for the camera has been a little harder lately. We have found if she is left alone with an ipod or dad's phone, we will find dozens of silly selfies.  

I would say this is outfit was to impersonate dad, but Nathan never wears ties.

The latest silly face craze at our house, zombie eyes.  

Spring Baseball Fever

We traveled to Iowa with Nathan for work and stopped at a baseball game along the way.

The Quad Cities River Bandits.

The boys both got Minecraft T-shirts for their birthdays.

This day gave us our first relief from a long cold winter.

The sunshine was welcomed and a little unexpected, I hadn't begun to pack sunscreen yet and so we all got a little sunburn. 

This was our second game of the season. We joined the Romans in Midland to watch The Great Lake Loons play.
Elliot thought it would be funny to wear all of his minor league baseball gear.  He is wearing his Whitecap shirts our team here in Grand Rapids, a River Bandit claw something he purchased at the Iowa game, and a Loons hat. 

The Loons mascots were very interactive and a lot of fun to be around. Jane got a card signed by both of them.

The girls tried very hard to get Louie the Loon to help them start a wave. The crowd was sparse and it wasn't easy, but he rallied everyone and got them to do it. 

The girls got their face on the big screen twice. 

A fun night and a win for the Loons.