Photo Musings ... Visit to Grant's Farm

Grant's Farm is a281-acre ancestral home of the Busch family. The Farm is home to more than 1,000 animals representing more than 100 different species from six continents. Grant's Farm, which is operated by Anheuser-Busch, Inc., has apparently been a St. Louis tradition for years. After hearing over and over how wonderful it was, we decided to spend the afternoon visiting. After you arrive, you load into a tram for a drive through the preserve and over to the park itself. Here are some of the animals (and other things) that we saw on our tram ride. Unfortunately, I don't have as many as we'd hoped because the animals seemed to be fleeing the heat for elsewhere and just weren't around. Rumor has it that early morning is the best time to visit & see the animals so we'll go early on our next visit!









Once we arrived at the park, we headed off for some Farm fun!



First stop - THE CAROUSEL! Which was a hit!


Saw some more animals. I love love love this shot of the tortouise!




There was a water walkway which the kids had to try out (which is why Meighan is SOAKED in this photo) ...

It was HOT, HOT, HOT!



And kangaroos ...

And the Eagles - they were very beautiful!

And off to the attraction that the kids were most excited about ... feeding the goats. You pay $1 to get a tiny little baby bottle of milk and go into a pen full of goats so you can feed them. Well, it was quite an experience. Paul and Meighan headed into the pen ...


And were immediately swarmed with goats. Tons of goats. All over the place. Jumping, biting, nibbling, licking, grabbing whatever they could ...


Paul finally gave up and picked Meighan up since the goats were all over her since she was so small!

I think they all had a bit of a crush on Paul in particular. The goats swarmed him over and over.

Alex didn't immediately want to go in ... he let Megs test the waters while he hung out at the fence with this particularly friendly goat!


Paul began to get irritated LOL - they just wouldn't leave him alone. It was crazy!

Right after this, Alex and I grabbed up a bottle and headed in to try it ourselves. The goats were ferocious for attention. Jumping on us, grabbing our clothes, eating our shoes (and my camera bag). Alex was LOVING it. He said he liked when they nibbled on him???? Anyway, Mom and Dad eventually had enough & forced Meighan and Alex to say good-bye to the goats. Paul looked over and said 'I don't think I have it in me to be a farmer' - and I cracked up!

On our way out, we saw a beautiful peacock running by ...

And I tried to get some photos of the kids. The sun was really harsh so they aren't very good. They were ready to leave and completely uninterested in helping me get a good photo!



As we walked to the tram, we saw some Flamingos ...

And, then we headed out for an early dinner at Red Robin which was tasty! We ended up missing out on visiting the Clydesdales so we'll definitely have to go back to see them! They are one of the main attractions!!! Overall, we had a great time and I'm sure we'll go back to visit again soon!

Photo Musings ... Gardening

Before I get to the gardening, I must show you this photo of Meighan's brand new hair do! We cut off a considerable amount of her hair so she now has an adorable little bob! Isn't she the most adorable thing EVER?

Okay, so, our flower beds out front needed some work. So, Paul got to work on getting them all pretty. I pulled weeds and trimmed the beautiful hydreanea bushes in the beds. And, the kids wanted to get in on the action ...




And fought a little over the tools ... Meighan won by the way!

Off she went to the curb with her tools, to get some work done (no, the curb didn't need any work but that never stops Meighan!)

Photo Musings ... Beautiful Day Outside

We were just enjoying the evening outside since the weather was looking up so here are a few of the photos that I got that night ... I love this one of Alex. It's just the essence of him!


He loves his Big Wheel ... his expression here just cracks me up!



Meighan would be happy to blow bubbles for hours. It's one of her all time favorite ways to spend time!


Apparently, Paul enjoys it as well ...

Alex's new obsession ... Wolverine!

Meighan is always a mess. If there is dirt in a 10 mile radius, she will find a way to get it all over her!




See what I mean about the dirt. I think she might end up being a gardener ... she could dig in the dirt all day. Finding worms is her favorite. She always wants to keep them but then I make her put them back because they might miss their mommy ... she reluctantly puts them back.

Yes, he is still a superhero almost 40% of the time. Running around, saving the world ...