Home sweet home! We didn't get home til 3:30 this morning. I do not want to ride in a car for a long, long time. Ellie, however, loved the trip and asked if we could go again. She really did an amazing job on the long car rides, never even complaining. I think she is like her daddy who also loves road trips.
The first day of our vacation was the longest because we drove from Houston to St. Louis. We spent two nights in St. Louis, catching a baseball game and a ride to the top of the Arch. Ellie tried to push the Arch over. When it didn't fall, she asked Tom to help her.
It stayed standing.
She loved looking out the windows at the top of of the Arch, pushing people out of the way so she could see.
Check out the amazing view from the top!
Ellie did fairly well at the ball game as well, but we ended up leaving in the 6
th inning.
From St. Louis, we traveled to Council Bluffs, Iowa for a family reunion. The family reunion was for my dad's side of the family, but my main incentive for going was to see my grandpa on my mom's side. He was diagnosed with colon cancer, the same cancer that my grandma succumbed to last year. I really wanted to spend some time with my grandpa while he was still feeling well. He is the most amazing man...a quiet, gentle person, a hard worker, someone who always looks for the best in people. Every time I see him, he always says, "How's my Holly girl?" and then gives me his trademark rib-crushing hug. I love his hugs.
My grandpa and I were able to spend time walking around his beautiful property, feeding the horse, and admiring his huge garden.
We stayed three nights in Council Bluffs. Unfortunately, Tom, and I decided to take turns coming down with the worst stomach bug of all time (Ellie was sick one night in St. Louis, but we had assumed it was all the junk food she ate at the ball game). I seriously thought I was in labor at first until I started throwing up. It was so painful and exhausting. When I recovered, I was able to go with my family to take Ellie to the Omaha Zoo. This was the same Zoo that my parents and grandparents would always take me to growing up. I have such great memories of this zoo and it was such a neat experience to be able to take my own child.
On our last day in Council Bluffs, my parents took us on a "trip down memory lane." We went by their high school where they met and fell in love, their old church, and my mom's childhood home.
When we stopped to take pictures in front of my mom's old home, a neighbor came out to ask us what we were doing and then informed us that the place is now a crack house. We decided not to go ask for a tour.
On our way home, we stayed one night in Kansas City and went to another baseball game. This game was right in the middle of the day and was scorching hot so we only lasted 4 innings and then got in the car for the long drive home. By this point, my ankles and feet were swollen, my pregnant belly bloated, and my mood irritable. I whined a lot about being in the car for so long, but honestly, I enjoyed talking and holding hands with Tom while we drove and I liked being in such close proximity to the two people I love the most.
After Momma Mia! we went out to eat at Bess, Sandra Bullock's restaurant on 6th street. They gave us their only private room. So cool. The food was good and the company even better. We decided to make it an annual thing and pick a new show each year to attend...girls only.
A little side note about the pictures. While waiting for the show to start, we got in trouble for taking pictures in the theatre. Then, when I was reading about the restaurant afterwards, I discovered they had a "no camera on premises" policy. What a bunch of rebel girls we are.
