We had so much fun with the grand kids in Branson that we just had to bring them home with us (that was the plan all along anyway). They were going to spend the week at “Nana Betty’s and Papa Jack’s” house (aka: The Huffman Resort as our children jokingly affectionately call it). We didn’t have a lot of activities “planned,” but we found plenty of things to do that kept us busy. Of course, we spent some A LOT of time in the pool!
Can’t believe that I caught all three of them in mid-air!
Since Jade didn’t get an actual birthday cake or birthday cupcakes, we made cupcakes one day. The grandkids had fun icing and decorating the cupcakes. Of course, we had to lick the icing bowls!
A few weeks before the grands came to visit I couldn’t find any toothpicks in the house. I intentionally bought a big a HUGE box of toothpicks. When I returned home from the store, I found my toothpicks, of course! 🙂 It was another huge box, too. I figured it would take at least 10-15 years for us to use all those toothpicks. Then I remembered an activity I had pinned on Pinterest for kids using mini marshmellows and toothpicks. We spent one morning discovering our “engineer” aptitude.
Now we’re getting the hang of it!
Building it higher.
Nana, can I eat JUST one? Pleeeeease?
Finished!
Kylee thought: double toothpicks = double the structural support. Finished!
Ok, I’m finished. NOW can I eat one?
My creation. It’s my husband standing in front of the bank where he works. What? You don’t see that?!
On Saturday we took the kids to Grant’s Farm in St. Louis. Grant’s Farm is the 281 acre wildlife preserve and ancestral home of the Busch family (Anheuser-Busch). It is also the former home of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States. The farm itself has an intriguing history (you can Google it), not to mention you can see the world famous Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales while there. If you haven’t been there, you absolutely must go sometime. First of all, admission is free (well, except for the $12.00 parking fee-but just PACK your vehicle with as many people as possible)! You begin by taking a tram ride with a guide through the wildlife preserve. You get off the tram at the main attraction where there are all kinds of animals to see, an area resembling a German Beer Garden with stables where you can eat lunch as well as sample a couple of Budweiser products, and enjoy the other attractions and shows. You can buy a special coupon for kids for $5.00 which gives them milk to feed the baby goats (a MUST do!), a free snow cone (well, it’s not really free because you paid $5 for the coupon), and one ride on the merry-go-round. The coupon was definitely worth the price.
Waiting in line for the tram ride.
Look at those HUGE tortoises behind those adorable grand kids! 🙂 If you look closely you can see my husband’s and my reflection in Jackson’s sunglasses (Lol! I just saw that typing this!)
OMGoodness! Camel rides are now offered at Grant’s Farm for an additional $5.00 per person. Of course, Papa said he would pay.
Feeding the baby goats is fun. However, watch out – some goats do get a little aggressive.
Hey! Stop eating my shorts!
Oops! Jackson suddenly leaned down to feed a smaller goat. The other goats are wondering why they didn’t get that milk.
Jack! The milk is for the GOATS!
Now I got a picture of him standing up.
One afternoon we took the grands to see the movie Epic. The kids and I really enjoyed it and I think Jack even liked it — he only dozed off ONCE!
Waiting for the movie to begin, and Kylee didn’t touch one piece of popcorn until then.
The grand kids really worked hard this week on one special project, but I’ll tell you about that in the next post.
Coming Soon: Sumer Fun: June – Part 4