Check this out

I was going through the list of blogs that I look at every day and I found this deal! I ended up only paying three dollars for all of it. I was pretty excited.

It includes a knife set, cutting board, salad serving set and the utensils.

Vandalia Illinois & Oldest Capital

On the way, we once again saw the town of Vandalia, Illinois which boasts of Illinois’ oldest state capital. We decided to stop there and check it out. The building just opened back up again on Saturday and had been closed for about 3 months. Former Governor Blagojevich closed down this historical site and others in November, 2008 and thankfully an anonymous donor paid for 6 months salary for a full time employee. Hopefully the state budget will allow for these historical sites to remain open even at a cost for visitors because it was very interesting to learn about. We were the only tourists there so the tour guide gave us a very special tour of the building. He allowed us in to the rooms and we were able to learn so much history. We also had our picture taken where Abraham Lincoln sat in the House of Representatives when he would have been about 27 years old. This was also the first place that he spoke against slavery. It was very interesting, thankfully Tim made us stop!!
In front of the Supreme Court

This is where Abraham Lincoln would have sat and gave his first speech against slavery

Josiah & Tim in front of the capitol building

Josiah on Lincoln's lap

St. Louis Union Station

On Tuesday we packed up our hotel room and checked out and then headed to St. Louis Union Station. We enjoyed walking around and looking at all of the history that was there. Then we started heading back home.

St. Louis Zoo & Build a Bear

On Monday we went to the St. Louis Zoo. Thankfully we were there a couple of minutes before it opened because when we left at about 1:30 there wasn’t a parking spot for miles. We arrived there early so that we could get in free to the children’s zoo. Josiah was able to pet a gerbil and some goats which was pretty cool. We were able to enjoy a beautiful morning and see all of your typical zoo animals.
The seal family

Tim & Josiah petting the goats

Josiah with his new bear, Louie, in front of the real bear

Tim & Josiah in front of the polar bear

We also stopped at Build-a-Bear and made Josiah a bear that has a little shirt that says St. Louis Zoo on it.
Josiah was excited for the stuffing of his bear

Kissing the bear

Brushing the bear with daddy

Dressing the bear

After lunch we headed back to the hotel for some much needed relaxation and swimming/sitting in the hot tub.

Anheuser Busch Brewery

After lunch we headed over to the Anheuser Busch Brewery for a walking tour. The tour lasted almost an hour and a half and we were able to see some amazing buildings and hear about the history of Budweiser. After the tour we headed back to the hospitality center and enjoyed some free Pepsi, beer and pretzels.

Tim standing in front of the emblem

Tim & Josiah standing in front of the Clydesdale named Scott

Me & Josiah standing in front of the huge barrel

Tim having his free sample of beer

Josiah enjoying his free sample of pretzels

Gateway Arch

On Sunday we decided to take advantage of the somewhat clear day and check out the Arch because the weather was not supposed to be very good for the rest of our time there. We did not realize what a long walk it was to the arch but it was very neat to see the city that way. Once we got to the arch we had to wait a little while before embarking on our journey. We got to the area where we had to take the ride to the top of the arch and wow was I surprised by the small area we had to get in to. It was this white little car that had 5 chairs in it and was super claustrophobic.
Tim in the "car" on the way up

Josiah & I in the "car" on the way up

This is what we had to ride in

Josiah was a little whiny when we first went in there but luckily quieted down on the four minute ride that went at speeds of up to 40 mph. It was very cool to see all of the buildings while at the top of the arch. We were able to see Busch Stadium, The Old Courthouse, The Mississippi River and many other buildings.
All of us at the top of the arch

Josiah sitting at the top of the arch

A view of Busch Stadium from the top

Josiah & I in front of the arch

City Museum & World Aquarium

So, we headed in to the town of St. Louis. We went to the City Museum which also contains the World Aquarium. This is a very interactive museum where there is a lot of fun things for kids to do. Josiah was obviously way too little for it, but it was very interesting to see all of the items and we were able to take lots of pictures.



We also went in to the World Aquarium and the highlight there was being able to “pet” a stingray. It was very cool to touch and they were swimming to the top trying to have people touch them. Tim also tried to pet a shark but it was swimming along the bottom of the pond where it made it difficult to touch.



Then we headed back to our hotel to check in and enjoy some time swimming in the pool.

Departure for St. Louis

On Saturday we left at 5:30 am heading towards St. Louis with my parents trusty GPS as our guide. (That GPS was soooooooo helpful on all of our excursions to the tourist destinations. We were so thankful for that piece of technology). We stopped at a McDonald’s along the way so that Josiah could have a little break out of the car and enjoyed a little breakfast as well. We arrived in the town of O’Fallon Illinois at about 10 am which was way too early to check in to our hotel.

Josiah at McDonalds

Enjoying being outside

After we came home from the park we enjoyed some time just sitting outside on the lawn.

Getting in to the swing of things

Today Josiah enjoyed his first time at the park. It was such a beautiful day outside so we enjoyed going to the park. He really enjoyed being in the swing and going down the slide with Tim & I.

Raindrops falling on my head

Josiah really enjoyed bath time tonight. He really likes sitting by the running water and trying to play with the water and trying to drink some!

Free Arby's Roast Burger with purchase of soft drink

Update: It appears that the promotion is over!

Arby's is giving away a free Roast Burger with soft drink purchase now through March 14, 2009. Here is the link if you are interested.