St. Louis Science Center

No trip to St. Louis is complete without a trip to the Science Center (thank you, Aunt Emily, for renewing our membership!).  We took Meemaw and Papa for a short visit there this morning.  We explored a new area that opened since our last visit which was all about farming and path food takes from farm to table.  It was really interesting!  We also saw the Orcas movie, which was amazing!  We ended the day at Ted Drewes, a must for any trip to downtown St. Louis.

Driving to St. Louis and Opening Gifts

Today we arrived in St. Louis from West Virginia.  It was a very flat drive all the way across Indiana and Illinois!  When we arrived at Meemaw and Papa's, we opened presents.  It was wonderful to celebrate Christmas again with them!

Visit to Parkersburg

After we left Ellicott City, we headed to Parkersburg to spend the night with Mike and Natalie.  First we stopped at the cemetery to see Grandma and Grandpa Sneigle's graves.  Then we went to Mike and Natalie's, where we ate a delicious dinner and visited with them.  We had a wonderful time with them, and they made us feel so welcome.  Natalie served us a huge breakfast before we had to leave the next morning.  On our way to St. Louis, we stopped in Athens to visit Grandma and Grandpa Straw's graves.  We thought it was important for the boys to see both of these gravesites.  Thank you so much for your hospitality, Mike and Natalie!  We always love spending time with you and can't wait to see you again!

Visit with the Ackers

We ended our very long drive from North Carolina to Ellicott City with a stop at the Ackers' house in Potomac (where it took us four hours to drive twelve miles in DC traffic).  The boys ran into the house and into the basement with their friends and picked up right where they had left off.  We spent a few precious hours with Tanner and Julie and Tanner's mom, Barbara.  We absolutely love the Ackers, and it is always heart-breaking to tell them "see you later."  We are so very thankful for their friendship which has endured the test of time and distance!

Julie just loved snuggling with Sarah!

It was so good to see Mrs. Acker!

 

We got a group photo of the whole gang!

No one loves us like the Ackers.

A group hug always ends in a dogpile :)