Gone Fishing

Wednesday we spent the day at Lake Catherine State Park out on the lake. Doug stopped and picked up a Spiderman fishing pole for Noah (he thought that was way cool!) and we rented a little fishing boat. After getting sprinkled on for the first fifteen minutes or so it did turn out to be a beauiful day. Doug showed Noah how to bait the hook with a worm and how to cast his pole. Noah's favorite part was reeling in the line. He didn't have any patience for a fish to bite on his hook - he couldn't wait to reel the line back in. Poor Doug - between Noah and his pole, Rachel being loud and me just wanting to chat at him - he didn't have a chance to catch any fish. So we spent a good part of our day driving around the lake exploring. The park is a beautiful place. After turning our boat back in we stopped at one of several of it's playgrounds and let the kids run off some steam before heading back home.

Rachel is 18 Months Old Today...

Our baby is 18 months old today... it's seems crazy that she is that old already... She thinks she's four though... and that she can do anything and everything that Noah can do. I suspect that she will be climbing out of her crib any day now. Cross your fingers for us that she will hold out a little longer on that one! She climbs everything and does it well (yes, this is scarey). She is beginning to talk more and there is a whole list of words she says and animal noises she makes. She knows most of her body parts and loves her belly button best. She is as girly as she can be - still loves her baby dolls, purses, jewelry and adores having her toenails painted. She amazes us everyday and we love her to bits!

Playing at the Lake

We went to the lake this past weekend and it was a perfect day - just gorgeous! There is an island out there in the middle of the lake that we have been wanting to check out for a camping trip and this was the first time we had gotten the chance to explore it (there are usually campers there). It is the coolest little bitty island and the kids loved playing there and checking it out. (The big people thought it was pretty cool too!)... The lake is up right now because of all the rain we've been having and the rock beach was just under water making it easy for the kids to run and play on. Noah and Doug took a quick swim but it was still pretty cold - Rachel even braved it for a few minutes in her float boat.

Swim Like a Fish

The kids had an absolute blast swimming and playing in the pool at the hotel. Doug and I had a really great time swimming too. It was great just to relax and have some fun family time together. We stayed at a place called the Victorian Inn in Cape Girardo, Missouri and it had a really nice layout with a great pool. There was a cut out in the big pool with a kiddie pool that Rachel and Noah loved jumping in and also just splashing and playing. They spent most the time playing there, but also loved jumping off the side of the big pool into our arms. Rachel shows no fear what so ever of the water - She loves it. This is a bit scarey as she thinks she can jump right in at any time. Doug taught her to blow bubbles in the water and she came up laughing every time I would dunck her under the water. Noah is loving the water even more this year than last and we have him signed up for swimming lessons the second week of June. I know he is excited to really learn to swim without his swim floaties. He adores swimming and gets mad at us when we ask him to get out of the water.

Hanging Out with Grandma

The kids enjoyed spending time with Doug's Grandma and Grandpa - we loved watching them play together. =)

The St. Louis Arch

We just got back from our trip to the St. Louis area last night. We had a great visit there with Doug's grandparents, mom and dad, and extended family. It was really great to see the kids enjoy meeting and spending time with their great grandparents. On our first day in town Doug and I took the kids to the Arch. Both the kids liked going up inside and looking down on downtown St. Louis. Noah thought it was really cool that he could see the trains running below across the Mississippi River.