Spring Break - Gateway to the West Arch

In March we went back to Illinois to finish our move from that house and to say goodbye to so many friends. It was a sad and very intense time. Karen Lane was so great to help us as we sorted though our things and got rid of so much. We are very thankful to her for all of her help. We are done having babies now and so we gave away the crib, cradle, changing table and all the clothes. We were not ready to do that when we moved to Houston on our 2-year “temporary” assignment, but now that we are making the move permanent we decided we could let go of that stuff and give it away. It is sad to realize that part of our life is over forever. In some ways it is good (we can normally sleep through the night) but it is sad to realize we are getting old. So, we sorted, packed and moved out of the house over Spring Break. The kids were really happy see their friend Kelsey and they spent all the time they could with her. We were also able to see many of our friends and say good-bye, although we feel bad that we were not able to see all of them. It was an intense week because we had to drive about 1700 miles round trip so we spent much of the time in the car.

We were able to spend one evening with Kathy and Steve Dever. Since we were moving and not going on vacation, Lori and I both spaced it and left home without any of our cameras. That was not a very smart thing to do. Right before going to dinner with Kathy and Steve, we stopped by Circuit City and bought a cheap, compact digital camera. It sure is nice that I can say both “cheap” and “digital” when describing a camera. The kids were experimenting with the new camera and took this picture. All of the pictures in the post are due to the new camera.

We were able to squeeze in a little time for some fun before we had to drive back to Texas thanks to the fact that the movers decided they wanted to pack and load us on the same day. That gave us an extra free day where we had the time to go to the Gateway Arch one more time despite the cold, wet weather. Kelsey was home from school and she was able to go with us. Here is Kelsy, Jared, Brett, Ryan and Lori by a very full Mississippi River.

This is the statue that everyone was in front of in the previous picture. By the time we left the hat on the left was under water.

This is everyone freezing by the river with the Arch in the background.

This is looking up-river and you can see that the river has reached the road.

This road just goes into the water. While we were there some river's over-flowed their banks and there was flooding due to all the rain. The good news is our house in on a hill and the yard is graded so everything stayed dry.

Ryan, Brett and Jared by the Gateway Arch.

This is the area where we waited for our trip to the top of the Gateway Arch. This is a balance to weigh things. It can also be used as a teeter-toter.

Kelsey and Brett on the teeter-toter.

Jared pulling the steamboat horn.

Jared riding the balance.

Brett pulling the steamboat horn.

Kelsey, Brett, Jared, Ryan and Lori in the car to go to the top of the arch.

Kelsey, Brett and Jared in the car on the way to the top.

Lori, me and Ryan on our way to the top.

Brett looking out the window at the top of the Arch.

Jared looking out the window at the top of the Arch.

St. Louis from the top of the Arch.

The new Busch Stadium where the Cardinals play. It looks like we will never see them play here now that we have moved.

Ryan, Jared, Lori, Brett and Kelsey at the very highest point of the Arch.

Ryan looking out the window at the top of the Arch. Hopefully Ryan is old enough he will remember this experience.

Jared sitting at the viewing location at the top of the Arch.

Everyone at the top.

Waiting to take the car back down to the bottom of the Arch.

Brett and Kelsey making faces on the way down.

Ryan, me, Jared and Lori making faces on the way down.

Lori making a funny face on the way down.

Jared, Ryan, Lori, Brett and Kelsey by the bear at the bottom of the Gateway Arch. I had my picture taken here when I was a kid.

Ryan by the buffalo. Actually, it is really a Bison.

Jared, Thomas Jefferson, Brett, Ryan Lori and Kelsey.

Ryan, Jared, Lori, Brett and Kelsey freezing as we leave the Arch. Most people go South for Spring Break, but we went North and it was cold.