Weekend in StL

*Warning* LOTS of pictures ahead ;)!
We had a wonderful (and exhausting) weekend with Abby and Alex.  They have 1/2 season tickets to the Cardinals and knew we were wanting to take Ethan to a game this year.  So, they invited us for an unforgettable experience!  Ethan has been to a couple games before, but he was 3 months old...so needless to say, he doesn't remember them.  We headed to Edwardsville to pick up Abby and Alex on Saturday morning and then spent the rest of the day in Forest Park.  First a picnic and then the zoo!

Picnic by the tulips and The Jewel Box

Now, onto the zoo!

Ethan and the Hippo- he says the hippos and elephants were his favorite

Hanging out in the bear cave.

Nora and I with the elephants

Family photo op :)

The penguin/puffin exhibit is closed right now :(, so this is as close as we got.

Monkey kids swinging on the rails.  We were waiting to see the sea lions under water!

This guy was very playful!  Jared kept touching the glass like he was tickling him and he would swim up the glass and do a back flip out of the water.

Nora loved it!  And I love this picture of them :)

Abby and Ethan under the sea lions

Nora at snack time (with an ice cream mustache).

Abby and Alex- what great hosts!

We have a picture in front of this elephant from our first zoo visit with Ethan, before he was 1.  Check out that trip here!

Our growing family heading out of the zoo!

Sunday we went to church with Abby and Alex and then met my parents in the pouring down rain and storm at Culver's for lunch.  They came over the hang out with Nora for the afternoon while we went to the game.  The weather forecast was not looking good for our game, but we were determined to go anyway.  We took towels and umbrellas and hoped that our preparedness would keep the rain away.  It worked!  The only drops we felt were on our way into lunch in Edwardsville.  The weather turned out really nice.  Not too hot and sunny, but not wet and rainy!  Watching Ethan and his excitement was my favorite part of the whole day.  He brought his glove and made sure daddy brought his...just in case!

These were at Abby's before the game.  We had to get a picture of our little Cardinal's fan family!

Go Cards!

Love these kids!

We were right above the visitor's bullpen.  Great seats!  Ethan could see all the action!

Loved the one on one time with this boy! (Or would it be two on one?!)

Sunday was "Run the Bases" day.  So, since the weather held out, we got in line with 5000 other kids to let Ethan run the bases at Busch Stadium!  How awesome is that?!?  He loved it but I think Jared and I were more excited for him (and to be on the field ourselves).  No touching the grass though!  A guy next to us got yelled at for bending down to literally touch the grass.

First steps onto the dirt!

Quick stop by the first base foul line

Look how happy they are!!

And he's off!  There were so many people, it was hard to get good photos.  But he ran fast the whole time and made it all the way to home plate!

These next 2 are my favorites from the day!

Busch Stadium sign behind home plate

This one totally looks photo-shopped...but it's not!  

What an amazing weekend with Abby and Alex.  Thank you guys so much for the tickets and the great hospitality!  We'll be back ;)!

Great day at the ballpark!  Oh and the Cardinals won!! 7-0!