St. Louis Day 3 - Zoo

We spent Sunday, which was Reagan's actual 6th birthday, at the St. Louis Zoo. There were some beautiful tulips for my beautiful 6 year old to pose in front of on our way into the zoo. :)

 Our amazing zoo crew! Thank you everyone for coming and joining in the fun! :)

 Adorable best buddies waiting for the 4-D Yogi Bear experience - beyond cute! :)

Thank you Uncle Scott and Uncle Chuck for the many piggy back rides throughout the day :) 

 Our first stop was the petting zoo and Jackson and G agreed this jeep was pretty cool. Too bad it didn't go anywhere! :)

 This is one of Grand-Dad's pictures and one of my favorite from the weekend, it just makes me smile. :)

 Jackson having fun with a snake display

 He also enjoyed the hippos

 He wasn't particularly interested in the real thing, however... lol :)

 We enjoyed a couple of rides on the train throughout the day. Here Aunt Kayci, Uncle Ran and G are waiting in line and hoping to get "Thomas" (the blue train).

The girls

 Holden, Uncle Dan and Aunt Dorothy with Jackson and Tim

 Uncle Ran and G ready to go! :)

 Grammy, Aunt Arla and McKinley ready for her first train ride

 Once off the train Jackson was ready with his map to show us the way. The boys were all so cute with their maps throughout the day.

 Uncle Chuck, Aunt Julie and Reagan

 Aunt Julie was such a good sport crawling through the log with Reagan

 The stroller parade

 The LaBar guys (I've got to get better at catching cute Jackson/Holden pictures - hopefully they'll become more cooperative in the next year or so - on the other hand I should probably be prepared that they may just not ever be as interested in posing as their older sisters)

 The elephant on the other hand was so cooperative and I love this picture of Uncle Chuck and Reagan! :)

 We were able to pet sting rays while at the zoo too. Thanks Uncle Scott for making sure no one fell in during the effort! lol :)

 Holden working hard to touch the sting rays

 Tigers are my favorite animals, they are so gorgeous!

 One of the highlights from the day was this big guy, Juma, "The Boss." It was pretty quite by the gorillas when we first got to the enclosure.

 The kids were able to get a good view of him and were just turning around to leave when...

 BOOM! He came flying up to where they were and would periodically bang on the window as well as huffing at everyone and fogging up the window. It was so much fun and the kids (as well as the gorilla) went nuts! lol :)

 Reagan and Uncle Chuck became pretty big Juma fans. The gorilla is now Reagan's second favorite animal only after dogs and I think this guy plays a pretty big factor in that.

 Grammy and Miss McKinley posing with the chimpanzees during her first zoo trip. Missy K enjoyed getting a close up view of this chimp (even though he wasn't quite as entertaining as Juma).

 I don't know if "Mr. Personality" was living up to his nickname or not, but it was fun to get a close up view of an orangutan as well.  

A Kennedy and Grandma photo opportunity after visiting all the apes - boy did they put on a good show for us! :)

 Because the St. Louis Zoo has free admission, we (Grammy) purchased Safari passes for all of us and one of the benefits was as many carousel rides as we wanted. The adults look like they had almost as much fun as the kids and it was of course McKinley's first ride. :)

 

 

 Before Grammy and Grand-Dad headed back to Tennessee we had to snap a shot with them and the birthday girl. :)

 McKinley getting lots of good love from Aunt Arla

 Jackson and G chilling out in their strollers 

 High 5's

 Grandma and the girls

 Before Grandma and Grandpa headed out we were able to get a picture with all 5 grandkids! It probably helped that two of the five were sleeping... lol :)

 After the zoo we headed over to the Andrasko's where they had a party set up for Missy Reagan complete with balloons and cake! Thank you so much Angie and Andy for both having us over and making the day a bit more special for Reagan! I just wish I had managed to get more pictures from the evening. If anyone else has some, please send them to me!!! :)

 Back at the hotel Lucy and McKinley got to know each other a little better :)

 One last picture of the birthday girl with her god-parents - thank you so much for coming from Wisconsin to join in the fun! :)

Thank you to everyone who traveled from Wisconsin, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee as well as the St. Louis locals who showed us a great time! The weekend wouldn't have been the same without all of you! We appreciate all the wonderful memories we made with you during Reagan's birthday weekend! We are so fortunate to have all of you in our lives and Reagan is one very loved, cherished and blessed little girl! :)

St. Louis - Day 2 - Reagan's 6th Birthday Party

The motivation for taking a trip to St. Louis was to celebrate Reagan's 6th birthday at the American Girl Doll Store. We had such a fabulous time celebrating Kennedy's 4th birthday at the AG store in New York Reagan wanted to have a special AG birthday as well. The food wasn't quite as good as NYC but having more friends and family made it super special! I think Reagan was a bit overwhelmed and out of sorts when we first arrived but once we entered the birthday room and she was seated in her big beautiful "pink" chair she loved every minute! I don't know if I've ever seen a happier birthday girl! I have to say American Girl is worth every penny!

Heidi, Reagan, Kennedy and Lily ready with their dolls for the party :)

Aunt Arla and Reagan with her new doll Rebecca, which Aunt Arla gave to Reagan for her birthday

My sweet girls ready to party (notice the sticker on Kennedy's head - I'm not sure what's up with that but you may have noticed that's where her Magic House sticker was as well...)

Lily and Angie - Two of the sweetest people I know! I seriously don't know if there is a more sincere and humble person on the planet than Angie and Lily is just a little doll!

Aunt Dorothy and Heidi are so super special to us and I don't think a birthday celebration would feel complete without this awesome duo. Reagan and Heidi have made it to everyone of each other's parties. :) We are so fortunate to have both these ladies in our lives and living so close by to share so many wonderful memories with!

Aunt Arla, Grammy, and McKinley doing their part to make the evening special as well. Reagan is so lucky to have these two amazing women in her life who love her no matter what! I don't think there's anything these two wouldn't do for her and they go above and beyond to make sure Reagan feels special and loved. :) They are also largely responsible for the girl's unofficial American Girl Doll bedroom. lol :)

Aunt Julie (with her trademark gorgeous smile) came to celebrate with us too while Uncle Chuck hung out at the hotel with all the guys. Thank you both for coming and making the evening even more fun for both the girls and boys! We appreciate all your patience with our crew. ;) You guys are the best and always make all our kids feel so treasured and loved!:)

My big six year old girl! Where has the time gone?

Reagan working on the craft project which was sewing a skirt to go along with the shirt they received for their dolls.

Reagan loved the cheese pizza. She made such a big deal about it being the best cheese pizza ever that the chefs had to come out and meet her and boy did that make her day! :)

Miss Reagan's birthday cake

One extremely excited and happy little girl

Reagan posing with Aunt Arla in the 2013 AG doll, Saige's, hot air balloon display

Love all these special gals who made Reagan's party so special!

Thank you Grand-Dad for coming along to be the official photographer! You captured some wonderful shots and video too!

~

Thank you everyone for taking the time and making the effort to celebrate with Reagan. It was such a fun and special evening and one I know Reagan will remember for many years to come. It wouldn't have been the same without you!!! :)