Cousin Camp and a Family Trip to St. Louis

Our second annual Freihaut Cousin Camp was held at our house during the last full week of July.  Derek's mom and our nephew Cameron came to stay for a few days to partake in the fun.  We packed a lot of outings and activities into three days and the kids were very worn out by the end.  The cousins made Cousin Camp shirts and wore them on our outing to the Children's Museum.  Addy still had t-ball and swim lessons, so Cameron and Carter played together while she did her activities.  We also went to a local nature center where there is a creek for the kids to play in.  Unfortunately due to the drought, the creek was bone dry.  There were a lot of other things to play on, including a super fun horse tire swing, so the kids had a great time anyway.  The kids also had a ton of fun playing together in the pool, on the bounce house, and in the yard.  It was so much fun watching them play together.  I am so glad we can provide them with these opportunities to play and bond for extended periods of time.  Cameron and Grandma Freihaut headed home on July 28th.  Addy and Carter were definitely sad to see them go and immediately asked if we could have another Cousin Camp very soon.

Modeling the shirts they made

Cameron and Carter hanging out at Addy's T-ball game

Working together on a puzzle

Singing on stage

Cameron dancing on stage

I managed to get a pic of them them all jumping in the air

Enjoying the awesome swing!

The weekend after Cousin Camp we packed up the car and headed to St. Louis to meet Derek's family for a fun weekend.  We stayed in a hotel in Illinois about 20 minutes away from the city.  The kids were so excited to be staying in a hotel with adjoining rooms with their cousins.  They had a lot of fun swimming in the pool on Friday night and playing together in the rooms.  Saturday we headed for the Zoo and Science Center later in the afternoon.  It was a pretty hot day, but the kids did very well and loved seeing all of the animals and exhibits at the Science Center. 

Petting the sting rays

Cousins!

A picture on the gorilla is a must on every zoo trip!

We built the arch!

Cory, Courtney, and Kerrigan headed home Saturday evening, but Cameron and Grandma Freihaut stayed to go to the Magic House on Sunday.  We got to the Magic House very early and before the crowds, so the kids had the exhibits to themselves for the first hour or so, which was wonderful!  The kids really enjoyed the kid sized town where they got to work as mechanics, cook pizza in a restaurant, go grocery shopping, and work in a hospital nursery.  After a few hours of play, we headed to a restaurant we had seen on the Food Network called Fitz's.  The restaurant bottles and distributes its own soda and you can watch the process as you eat.  The food was good and the soda was yummy.  We finished up our meal by splitting giant floats, which the kids loved.

 

 

Cameron the mechanic

Static Hair

Grandma and Cameron  (no one took of picture of me and Addy:)

Playing at the construction site

Our trip to St. Louis was a great time.  It was so wonderful watching the kids experience some of the sights of the city together.  It is definitely a trip they will remember for a very long time!