So about a week and a half ago we went to St. Louis for a temple visit for Nick and I, got a hotel for the night and then went to the Magic House the next day for the kids. It was of course a great trip to the temple and the kids waited very patiently for us to finish our sessions. Then we headed to the hotel. The kids had a blast swimming in the pool...luckily for my sake it was pretty warm water. And I say luckily for me because hotel pools are usually way too cold for me and I end up spending my whole time in the hot tub. Sadly the hot tub closed right when we got there for the night to be clean. It was very saddening but pleasing at the same time because they actually drained the water completely and cleaned out the hot tub...so if we ever end up staying there again, at least I know they really do clean the hot tub! But the pool was pretty warm and we spent quite a while at the pool letting the kids swim. They had a blast! Then we got our complimentary cookies...YUMMY and took them to our room for a nighttime snack.
The next morning we just had a very leisurely morning and then got ready for the Magic House. Only our luck though it was pouring down rain when we were leaving. Nick lovingly went and got the car and he got DRENCHED! While we were waiting outside the hotel under the awning, two or three lightening crashes happened literally right next to us so the girls went balistic! But we survived, went to lunch, and then headed to the Magic House. This is probably the girls favorite place to go. And we've been there twice now and love it everytime! Rex now got to enjoy a little bit of it this time as the last time he was a little baby. We forgot the stroller so Nick willingly wore him in a front pack...what a trooper...that boy is HEAVY! So here are some pictures of our fun time at the Magic House!
Cora was sadly not old enough for some of the displays that Kayley could go in, but she was a very good sport about it and waited patiently for Kayley to finish...here she is waiting at the scientific area for Kayley.
They had an Alice in Wonderland display which the girls loved. When we were leaving the display we ran into some of the characters. They only wanted their picture taken with Alice. I didn't notice until I loaded the picture that Cora's eyes were funny...and they only wanted to take one picture. Oh well!
The water play area...this part reminds me of Paradise Park...as well as the grocery shopping part. The girls could have played for hours in both places.
Here's a pic of Rex who was also a great trooper in being happy having to stay in the front pack for so long. We did let him out in a few areas. We let him play for a long time in the under 2 section. They had slides and climbing places...he had a blast!
And then he found the ball pit........... Have a said that this boy LOVES balls...of any type or size! It took us a long time to get him away from the balls. It's like he's in his own element here. He had so much fun I couldn't even get him to look at the camera for a picture!
And more pictures of him enjoying himself. He loved looking at himself in the mirror. He kept talking to himself, it was cute. He also loved being able to stand and play with the girls in the pretend kitchen. The girls really weren't supposed to be in this section since it was for kids under 2, but they were the only three kids in that small part, so I didn't feel so bad letting them play with their brother!
Then there is the baby section!! Daddy got to rest his weary back on the nice recliner and Rex very patiently watched...did I tell you he was really good?
And you know how I mentioned Rex being in his element in the ball pit, the baby section was the girls' element! They wanted to play there for hours too! They loved being able to play doctor and weigh their babies, bath them, dress them, change them, you name it. I couldn't get them to look at the camera either they were having so much fun!
And the last stop was the craft section. We almost didn't go to this section as we found out we were there the free family night and it was almost time for it to start. We wanted to miss the crowds and crowds of people that were lined up outside waiting to come in for free. We like free, but I think we would have passed on that even if we had known ahead of time...there were tons of people! But luckily none of them were itching to go to the craft section. The girls both painted pictures, I missed getting a picture of Kayley painting hers. And then Nick had a blast at the magnet part. They all three got into these magnetic pieces...not even sure what they are called, but I know now to look out for them for all the kids, including Nick! I think he found his element here! And Cora even did the beanstalk this time, the last time she was scared to do it and this time she went down with Kayley once. Kayley could spend hours in the beanstalk. The Magic House is so much fun and I'm sure we'll be back sometime soon the next time we're in St. Louis!
Here is "Father"
And I couldn't get "Father's" to fit altogether so I had to put the " s" with "Day" here....And the apostrophe (who is Rex) was an accident that worked out great! This was one of his fussy times and I was trying to get the girls to do a good "s" and he kept trying to get me on my bed, so I just added him into the picture and made him the apostrophe!
And here's our finished product on our mantle. The girls were so excited to show Daddy. We were supposed to put it up while he was at his meetings before church and then it would be a surprise to him after he got home, but of course his meetings were cancelled because of Father's Day so we had to have him close his eyes while we put it up on the mantle. You may not be able to see the words from here, but they obviously spell out "Happy Father's Day"
And he got another surprise that he wasn't expecting...one that I was really excited about and excited to make. It's not put up yet as I'm waiting for the one of myself and the kids to come in the mail. It's a mounted wall art from shutterfly, similar to a canvas wall art, but a little different. They are pictures of all three kids with Nick when they were first born or shortly thereafter. Mine will be very similar to this and I'm going to put them both up in Rex's room. Can you tell which baby is which? It's not the best picture of it but hopefully you can tell. I'll have to post another picture later of both when I get them on the wall together. We also celebrated with Cashew Chicken of course! His absolute favorite meal of all time! 
For those wondering, it's left to right: Kayley, Cora, and Rex.
