Back to reality...

Well, it's late on Sunday evening...we're back from our short jaunt to St. Louis and I'm trying to get revved up about starting a new job tomorrow. I'm kind of excited, but very nervous too. You always fear that after your first day, the guy who hired you is scratching his head and going "what was I thinking?!" I'm one of those people who veers back and forth between total confidence in my abilities and total despair that someday someone is going to see that I have no redeeming skills whatsoever. But we'll see how it goes tomorrow. I suspect I'll spend most of the day filling out paperwork and trying to get used to a new computer.

Anyway, we had a fabulous time on our little vacation. The weather in St. Louis was very hot - near 100 every day - but we managed. We spent a day at Six Flags Over St. Louis (huge theme park) and stayed pretty much on the water park side most of the day. Here's Emma...ready to jump into the wave pool...


Then we spent a day at the world-famous St. Louis Zoo...I've been there many times, but this was the first time with Emma. For some bizarre reason, Emma has decided that snakes and reptiles are her favorite attractions, so we visited the Reptile House twice. I loved the penguins the best and the big cats. Here's Emma trying to catch some cool in the shade...


Unfortunately for my wallet, the zoo has a special Build-A-Bear Workshop on the premises. That place is like a crack house for Emma. But we were on vacation, so I caved in. Meet the newest member of our family...Pam the Panda!


Our last day, we went to a children's museum called The Magic House. By this time, we were dragging a little, but Emma still enjoyed it...


I have to say, we didn't go all that far from home and didn't spend a ton of money, but it was still a nice vacation. I think at this age, your kids just want to spend time with you and don't care all that much where it is, which is nice. I'm sure that might change when I try to drag Emma to Colonial Williamsburg a few years down the line (a painful rite of passage many children have had to endure, including me!)

Anyway, have a fantastic week...hope everyone is enjoying the summer!