St. Louis Part 3: The Zoo

Holden was really excited for the St. Louis Zoo this summer because they now boast sharks that you can "pet" mixed in with the stingrays. I can think of more pleasant things, but he thought this was awesome! Of course we had to get the shark face paint when we arrived, and pose under the big shark in the entryway. :) For the record, we did see the sharks...they are very small which was just fine by me! None of them swam close enough for us to touch, which was also fine by me. Holden was slightly disappointed, but he got to feed the stingrays so he got over it.

The penguin exhibit is one of our favorites. It was a huge hit with Hunter! He loved them! We did have to move through the indoor part pretty quickly because it was SO cold and his little lips were trembling.

The carousel and the "choo-choo;" two stops we can't skip with little boys. Daddy was a good sport and handled the carousel since it makes me nauseous. We all rode the train together.

We hit the children's zoo at the perfect time; right before a thunderstorm/downpour! As a result, their indoor area was packed, but at least we stayed dry. The boys had a great time in there. I love how hands-on it is.

Once it stopped raining we headed to the outdoor children's area. It was a little wet and muddy, which made it all the better to Hunter. :)

Holden had a great time exploring, too. He really like climbing the big spider web. He's getting so big!

Hippo mouth shots! I couldn't get a good one of Hunter looking because he just kept scrambling out. Somewhere there are pictures of my brother and me in the same hippo when we were kids.


Even Daddy got in on the slide action.

Summer 2011: Hunter was as tall as a koala, and Holden was between the river otter and pygmy goat. Mommy didn't quite clear the llama, and Daddy just matched it.

As usual, we had to get our otter family pic. A few more years and I will be able to start making a collage of this yearly tradition. Cracks me up!

Holden made "Smiley the Penguin" at the zoo's Build-A-Bear shop. I also included a picture of him in the penguin exhibit. He just loves his stuffed animals! Hunter was snoozing in the stroller during the making of Smiley, so we got away with just making one animal. I am sure that was the last time we will be able to do that! Smiley is a low-maintenance pet and even makes water sounds when you squeeze his leg. Lol.

I was so bummed that Hunter missed the elephants. They were really active, and one especially came right up close! Holden and a little group of boys were just enthralled with them...and equally so with the giant mounds of poop that they found hysterical. Ohhh boys! We also got to see one of the hippos swimming.

Watching the giraffes. Hunter had just woken up when we got there. Love his smushy, sleepy face and sweaty hair. Holden had the giraffes on our must-see list.

The boys at lunch: all smiles! We had a great day at the zoo together. It was the nicest weather that I've ever experienced there! Usually it's unbelievably hot. The animals were so active because it was much cooler-high 70's and breezy.

St. Louis Trip 2011 Part 2: Cardinals Game!

Are we brave or slightly insane? That was the question that we asked ourselves when we decided to take both boys to a Cardinals game while in St. Louis in August. Holden was pumped about it, and we figured we drag Hunter along to everything else, why not a baseball game? We took Holden to his first game at the same age, but we had both grandparents with us then. And....let's just say Hunter is of a slightly different variety of toddler than Holden was!

Here are the boys at the hotel before the game. In the pics with Holden in the blue shirt, he was playing nicely with his trucks, and Hunter kept getting in his way. I love the top left pic. Holden had flung his arms out in the air in his usual, "I'm DONE with this baby!" pose. And there sits Hunter, giant baby, right in his way, grinning at him adoringly. He just has no concept of personal boundaries. And not only does he steal Holden's toys, but he drools on them. Unforgivable in big brother's eyes. :) After I got them both in their Cardinals outfits, they were hamming it up in the hotel lobby for me.

This pic is out of order because I loaded it from my phone. Love this of my 3 guys at the game.


We went to Calico's to eat before the game. Love that place! Love it more without kids! HA! Holden decided he didn't care for their pizza, and all Hunter wanted to do was eat ice cubes. Jay and I managed to scarf some food between the dramatic moments. Then we headed to the stadium.

As usual, the playground area at the stadium was a big hit. (No pun intended! Hee hee!)

"Take me out to the ballgame...take me out to the crowd..."

Family pic we had taken at the photography station. Little did we know then that the Brewers/Cards would be having quite the playoffs down the road!

And...as usual I had some random lady take this one. Just because Jay loves it SO much when I do that. HA!

I ended up walking back to the hotel to get Hunter ready for bed after about 2 hours. I was impressed that he made it that long. Holden and Jay stayed a bit longer, then watched the rest in the hotel lobby, where drinks were less than 5 bucks apiece. Lol. Holden thought it was very cool to hang out in the lobby at night "with the grown ups." The Cardinals lost that particular game, but we all know who won the WORLD SERIES this year! And they beat the Brewers when it counted, to get there.

St. Louis Trip Aug. 2011 Part 1

Happy turkey day, everyone! The Hobson family has so much to be thankful for. At some point I will be caught up on my blog and post Thanksgiving pics! Today I'm taking a walk down memory lane and working on our August St. Louis trip. I have to admit, it's fun to look back at the pics later and remember all of the special moments.

The prerequisite road trip pics. Aunt Allie gave Holden this hilarious monkey neck pillow that used to be hers when she was little. He loved that thing and insisted on wearing it the entire trip. It doesn't look all that comfy to me due to the fact that his booster seat back combined with it actually push his head forward! Hunter was happy as long as I kept a constant supply of snacks coming his way. He did nap for awhile, too. Jay also enjoyed the snacks. :)

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza in downtown St. Louis. We have stayed there on several occasions and really like it. I was cracking up at how much luggage we had for just 3 days! Holden was a good little helper, wearing his backpack and pulling his little suitcase through the parking garage. The boys had fun exploring our hotel room and looking at the arch out of our window.

We took the boys to Union Station for dinner the first night. We can't visit St. Louis without a stop at The Fudgery! This year, both boys liked listening to the workers sing and watching them make the fudge. We bought some peanut butter fudge. It was SO yummy! Hunter was a big fan, imagine that. Holden wouldn't touch it. :)

Union Station, St. Louis. The boys enjoyed throwing pennies in the fountains, stopping by the Cardinals shop, playing in the little vehicles, and eating pizza for dinner.

After dinner, we went to the outdoor area to feed the fish. I loved doing this as a little girl, and enjoy sharing it with the boys now. Hunter nearly gave me a heart attack a minimum of 20 times as he would have dove right into the water with the fish if we would have let him. Gotta love his enthusiasm!

We had beautiful weather while we were there! It is the first time I've been to St. Louis in the summer months and not been a sweaty mess. It was mid-70's and sunny, sooo nice. We were able to enjoy being outdoors.

The cooler weather did make our evening pool time a bit on the chilly side! That did not deter the boys so Jay and I put on our game faces. It wasn't too bad until we got OUT of the water, on the windy rooftop pool, and discovered they were out of towels! LOL. There was also the matter of our staircase experience...Jay decided the stairs would be faster than the elevator, slipped while carrying Holden, both of them got banged up and almost knocked Hunter and me over, and after that we used the elevator the rest of the entire trip! Ha!

We took an evening carriage ride, one of Holden's favorite things to do when we are in the city. The boys were actually in their pj's! The lady took us down by the riverfront, on the cobblestone streets. Both boys really enjoyed it.

On day 2, we went to another of our favorite spots, The Magic House. There is one area that has a different theme each time we are there. This time it was Alice in Wonderland. Holden had fun going through the rabbit hole and playing with all of the big objects. Hunter made me laugh because of all things he fixated on a tea set and played with it the entire time we were in that section. Daddy loved that. :)

Holden was so cute in the baby nursery area. He was "doctoring" this baby. Love how he was kissing his hand!

Both boys had a blast in the construction area, and made a visit to the "Oval Office."

There are so many neat things to see and do at The Magic House. We covered quite a bit but there's no way to get through it all in a day. Hunter discovered a wall of light switches and was in HEAVEN! He was obsessed with lights this summer. He'd have a little tantrum and point and squeal at the light switches until someone picked him up so that he could flip them. I started dying when I saw this wall. I wish I could have them install these in his room at home! Right at his height level. There was also another wall with doorbells that he loved, too. Holden loved playing in the village...hospital, library, pizza parlor, grocery store, "fishing" area, etc. He is really into imaginary play.

Hunter enjoyed the grocery store with all of the "balls." That is what all of the fruit and the potatoes looked like to him. I spent a lot of time doing damage control.

Love this pic!



We had a great day!

Before we left, we let the boys enjoy the outdoor area. I remembered the water from the previous year and brought extra clothes so that it didn't matter if the boys got soaked. Good thing! Hunter also decided to have a little action in the fountain. Lol!

This pic is out of order; it was actually after our carriage ride. I only remember this because they are in the same matching pj's that they are wearing in the pics on the carriage. ;) I love watching my babies sleep. No matter how old they get, they will always be my babies, especially in their sweet and innocent slumber time. They were WIPED each day of our trip and slept awesome! We got to sleep in until around 8 each morning, which is amazing for us! Love how little Hunter is laying in a puddle of his own drool in the pack n' play.

Part 2 coming soon. :)

Summer Birthdays

We have several important birthdays in the summer!

Holden loves art projects. We went to Hobby Lobby to find something special for him to make for Daddy and Grammy's bdays. He chose some sun-catchers and worked very hard on painting them. Hunter surveyed his work and kept busy with one of his favorite items, a toothbrush. :)

Grammy's bday is July 15th. We celebrated with her and Papa at Chili's. Holden picked out a big dump truck balloon and helped Hunter choose an Elmo balloon for her. (Hunter just yelled, "Ball! Ball!" all the way through the store.) Holden helped her open all of her presents. He is a very good helper at age 4. :)

Our whole group

Some table shots with my silly boys. They sure make for a lively meal!
After Chili's, we went back to Papa and Grammy's for our usual routine of cake and ice cream. The boys enjoyed the leis and balloons. You just never know what might happen at Grammy and Papa's house! Jay got into the pirate spirit, and Hunter and Grammy busted out some maracas, and Papa and Holden got in touch with their feminine side in my old dollhouse.

Mom and I had a girl's day out with Granny. We ate lunch and shopped at Washington Square, and then we enjoyed dessert at Granny's place. I love this tradition for each of our bdays!

Aunt Allie turned 16 on July 29th! It is crazy to me that the little girl that I met when she was 3 is now driving and in her sophomore year of high school!! Allie had a sleepover party and was kind enough to let the boys crash it for a bit. We enjoyed her Hello Kitty ice cream cake. The boys enjoyed the attention from all of the girls. :)

Holden and Aunt Allie are buds. He just adores her.

Testing out Aunt Allie's new car!! She zebra-fied it as part of her bday presents. The boys think it is hysterical to sit in the back (while it is parked!) and listen to her blaring music. Allie prefers rap at the moment, and Hunter will start bobbing around the minute it comes on. When she switches to country, he stops. Too funny!

Jay's bday is July 18th. He had the day off and we were happy to hang out with him-literally-in his new green hammock from Memaw. It is so big and comfy! It was a scorching hot day, so they boys had some fun in the water (with their clothes on!) out back. Nobody does water fights like Daddy! Holden decided to jump on everyone in the hammock while soaking wet. :)

These are out of order-taken in the morning while Holden was still in his pj's. Birthdays are a big deal to him and he loves to be the present/card helper. The top middle picture is him dancing to the musical card he picked out for Jay. See how his arm is going and Jay is laughing? Holden loves his Daddy!

Hunter doesn't really understand birthdays, yet, although he does enjoy the cake and ice cream part. I managed to get him in Jay's lap but had to let him chew on some toy drumsticks in order for him to stay put. Chelsey and Allie came down to give Jay some birthday razzing and to play with the boys. My parents also stopped by with his card and gift.

Cake time! I love how Hunter is just blankly staring in all of these pictures, like,

"What are you people doing?"

My parents watched the boys so that Jay and I could go out on his birthday evening. We used the Red Lobster gift card that they got him (I love when I benefit from his birthday, too! Ha!) and then went to see "Horrible Bosses." We were the ONLY people in the theater until right before the movie began. Jay thought it would be cool to go down in front of the screen and dance. I am thinking the guy in the booth was getting a big kick out of him. Love how the ad for Angie Harmon is in the background and she appears to be giving him a "look."

My grandma Bourke turned 89 on July 15th! (She and Mom share a birthday!) We went up to the Chicago area to celebrate around her birthday at my Uncle Joe's. It was great to see her and the Bourke relatives.

Joe is a confirmed bachelor and lives in a nice little apartment. I was worried about how the boys (especially Hunter) would do in such a small, unchild-proofed area of space. Well, they LOVED it!! Joe is a train buff and has two big model train cities set up. He handed Holden a conductor's cap when he walked in the door and put him in charge of the trains. He was in heaven!! Hunter was a little trickier since he doesn't understand concepts such as, "Walking on top of the train set in the living room is NOT a good idea," "Pulling the trains off the table in the kitchen is not appropriate," and "No, you can't pull on any of the electrical cords." :) Fortunately, he was a big fan of Joe's bed. Uncle Eric helped him turn it into his own little trampoline.

It was a nice day so my dad, Jay, and I also took turns taking the boys to a little park across the street when the apartment seemed too small with them in it. :) There is an airport very nearby so we could see planes flying really low. The boys were fascinated!

Love their expressions as they are swinging and watching the jets fly over.

(Holden kept that conductor's hat on most of the day.)

My favorite little boys!

My grandma loves to read, so my aunt ordered a cake that looked like a book about her 89 years of life. When it came time to blow all of the candles out, she cheated and waved her hands over them instead. She is ornery. And of course, Holden helped her open all of her presents.

Party pictures

My brother also turned 28 on July 3rd, but for some reason he didn't want us celebrating with him at the Milwaukee fest. concerts. :) Happy birthday to all of the special summer birthday people in our lives! We loved celebrating with you!