Grandma & Grandpa come to visit

One of the perks to being back in the midwest is being that much closer to our family. As a result we were happy to have my parents come down for a long weekend at the end of April. Being the great parents that they are they packed their car full of goodies for us and weathered lots of rain in the nine hour drive both down and back. Although the drive wasn't fun, the visit was a ton of fun and we had great weather the whole time they were actually in St. Louis!

Emma was so excited for Grandpa and Grandma to arrive and it was so much fun to see her face light up when they actually arrived and got out of the car and weren't just a figure on the computer screen. So on Thursday afternoon once they got into town we spent lots of quality time in the backyard just having fun, the bubble wand was clearly the hit of Emma's special bag that grandma and grandpa brought down.

Friday came with more beautiful weather which meant some more relaxing and playing at home and opening a very early birthday gift - a new wagon for Emma! She loved getting going for her first few rides with all of the attention on her. The attention continued as we headed to the park for lots of sliding and swinging with grandma and grandpa.

Paparazzi 

If it means going on a walk, Dakota is excited about the new wagon too!

I don't think Grandpa was as excited about the slide as Emma

Going to the park with Grandma is way cooler than just Mom

Life is good

Friday evening was spent with my dad and Steve going to a Blues playoff game while my mom and I hung out with Emma at home. Unfortunately Steve and my dad did not do enough cheering at the game.

Someone's not spoiled at all...

And Saturday morning was one more gorgeous day with lots of time outdoors spent at Grant's Farm. Emma loved the horses, goats, riding the carousel and so much more - pretty much everything except the super long lines that we all could have done without. Lesson learned that will never come back on a nice Saturday afternoon again!

"Neigh, neigh!"

This young Clydesdale was worn out from all the photos!

"Look! I'm petting a goat!"

Emma loves carousels, but isn't quite ready for riding the animals very often yet

Beer for the adults, giant bouncy balloon for Emma

It's rare to get a family photo this good!

We were so sad to see the weekend come to a close but it wasn't before one last nice family dinner out (at our neighborhood favorite, Trattoria Marcella) and another walk around the block in the wagon that almost put Emma to sleep!

"Being pulled in this wagon is exhausting..."