Saint Louis Day 4 - The Butterfly House and Home


The Butterfly House was pretty awesome. It was actually way more awesome than we predicted and we spent most of the day there. Inside the actual Butterfly Conservatory, it is a balmy 85 degrees and 70% humidity - needless to say, I was sweating bullets after about 10 minutes in there. We had to go out and back in just to cool down a little. There are about 1900 to 2000 butterflies in the conservatory, which basically means there are butterflies EVERYWHERE! Ella freaked out a couple of times because they touched her, but Chuck thought it was kind of cool when a couple of Blue Morphos landed on him.

Apparently my new favorite thing to do is take pictures of butterflies. They were just amazing, and catching one resting on a leaf or tree seemed like a special treat that just had to be captured. So, here are all of the butterflies I could capture. Unfortunately, there were several that I just couldn't get because they would not stop flying. I swear, I followed a black and red one around for 10 minutes before giving up on it landing. Enjoy - they truly are beautiful.

I've labeled the ones I can. If you know the names of the ones I don't, please let me know.

Possibly Sailor - Malaysia

Zebra Longwing - South Florida, Central and South America



Achilles Morpho - South America

Small Postman - Ecuador (The blur above the stationary butterfly is another butterfly.)
Small Postman - Ecuador


The Atlas Moth - Malaysia (Note: the only moth in the conservatory)




The Paper Kite - Malaysia/Philippines
Green Banded Peacock - Malaysia/Philippines (open)
Green Banded Peacock - Malaysia/Philippines (closed)
Sappho Longwing - Costa Rica
Common Blue Morpho (open it is blue, closed it is brown) - Costa Rica
Common Blue Morpho - Ella's favorite because it is featured on an episode of "Go, Diego, Go!"

Almost six minutes of butterflies. Round about the two minute mark is some entertaining footage of Ella. Enjoy!

Saint Louis Day 3 - The City Museum and Aunt Lisa, Bethany, and Baby Z

The City Museum was pretty cool, but a little too old for the girls. Anna and Daddy had fun on the rolly slide.
The architecture/art of The City Museum is amazing.

The biggest hit of the day - the ball pit.

Anna's favorite - a turtle! She even got to pet a few tortoises at the World Aquarium inside the City Museum.
Shortly after entering the City Museum, my camera battery died. It is annoying that way - going from full bars to zero in the blink of an eye. What I didn't get pictures of:
Painting
Cutting out snowflakes
Making clay sculptures
Making masks
Lots of animals at the aquarium
Lots of cool architecture/art - industrial, caves, a huge outdoor industrial playground

I saved the last bit of my camera battery to get a picture of Z, my cousin Bethany's baby. He is a doll and almost as big as Anna, but he is only 10 months!

Saint Louis - Day 2

We started the day with dinosaurs at the Science Museum.
Ella and Anna were able to explore some of the exhibits at the Science Museum, but it was a little too old for them to thoroughly enjoy.
I, however, enjoyed seeing Chuck's head on a platter.
Our next stop was the Saint Louis Zoo. Which was totally free, as was the Science Museum!

Black Bear. I like to call him Brownie.
Penguins. The penguin exhibit was completely awesome. However, I was a little uncomfortable with how close the penguins actually were. See those shadows in the picture? Yeah, that is us - about a foot away from the little guys. Definitely close enough to get bitten.
The chimps - again, we were very close. This time there was protective glass in between us and the wild animals.
I like to call this guy Mr. Grumpy. He seemed none too happy about us looking at him and even less happy about me taking his picture.
Anna, in her usual fashion, wanted to climb all barriers and get right in the cage with the cute kitties.
Very pretty kitty.
One of the best things about the zoo was Anna pointing at everything to make sure we saw all the cool stuff. Seeing stuff for the first time all over again through her eyes has got to be one of the best parts about being a parent.
Cute baby elephant and mommy elephant.
Anna's favorite - turtles. Well, actually tortoises, but we won't correct her about that yet.
One of my favorite parts of the zoo - the butterfly exhibit. We got up-close-and-personal with some beautiful butterflies. While I am not okay with them touching me or landing on me, I appreciate their beauty and want to take their picture.We ended the day with dinner at India Palace. Aunt Lisa and Art met us there, and the girls finally warmed up to Lisa by the end of dinner (much to her delight).
Day 2 was a success, and we are looking forward to just as much fun tomorrow at the City Museum.

Here is some video of the penguins, hippos, and the cutest baby monkey ever.

Saint Louis - Day 1, March 31

The drive was surprisingly painless and actually enjoyable. Anna chilled in style while Ella slept. Chuck and I belted out our favorite songs or took alternate naps.

Our first stop in Saint Louis - The Gateway Arch
"Wow, it's really tall Daddy!"
A view from inside the tiny little capsule that takes passengers to the top of the 630 foot arch. The arch also happens to be 630 feet at the base.
A view of downtown from the top.

Chuck and the girls looking out at the view. It is a little scary leaning down like that because you literally are looking straight down. Nothing, however, can scare Anna.A view straight down - 630 feet.

Anna cheesing for the camera.
The. Best. Mexican. Restaurant. Ever. Period.Swimming at the end of the day. The girls loved it. Anna was fearless of the water, as always. She walked off the steps into would-be nothingness (if we didn't catch her) several times. Ella tried to get the hang of kicking her legs to make herself move in the water. It didn't work out so much.
As day one ends, we are hanging out in the hotel room, preparing ourselves for the zoo, Aunt Lisa, and more adventures tomorrow!

We went to Sesame Street Live on Saturday! Despite a harrowing experience getting the tickets, the girls had a wonderful time.

Anna was mesmerized by the whole thing. She watched attentively for the entire 90 minutes.

At first Ella was a little grumpy, but after the intermission, she finally decided to have some fun!One of my favorites - Oscar the Grouch.

Anna had to see everything!

The grand finale with all the characters on stage. Don't ask me their names. I know Elmo Bert, Ernie, the Count, and Big Bird for sure, but I'm fuzzy on the rest.

We really did have a good time and the kids loved it. By the way, I won the tickets on the radio by knowing the line after "She's lookin' at me..." in "Mr. Jones" by The Counting Crows. Oh, and the DJ called me Suzanna.

Ella's first haircut.

Anna got a haircut, too.

The one positive thing about having a sick baby is that they like to cuddle.

So the other day Ella woke up in the middle of the night, emptied my purse, and took a few pictures. You know, normal stuff for a 3 year old to do at midnight...

The couch.

Ella's foot.

Spongebob - who else?

Self portrait.