Little Layne Turned 5

My sweet Layne celebrated her fifth birthday this month.  She is a feisty five.  Layne loves to climb and tumble. She loves to help momma in the kitchen and rake leaves in the yard. Layne spends time each day creating with paper, crayons, paint, markers and whatever else mom and dad let her get her hands on.  Layne is the little mother to all of her older brothers.  Whenever they get scraped up she is the first one to the first aid kit, quickly dealing out love and band aids.  Layne has a temper but it is because she is so passionate.  She can be stubborn but most of the time it shows itself as determination.  Layne loves music and dancing and is rarely silent.  Layne is our girl.  She is a special one. 

This year we planned a special day for Layne's birthday.  Rather than do a party, we decided to take Layne on a ladies day out.  To accomplish this, I asked her Grandma Pam and Great Grandma Mildred to accompany us to the Build a Bear workshop.  They gladly accepted.  

Here is Layne walking with Great Grandma.  I love how she's looking up to see how a "lady" behaves in the big stores.  She is so precious with her dainty little purse and her purposeful walk. 

We strolled into build a bear and Layne got giddy.  She flitted from one shelf to another touching everything and oohing and ahhing every other second.  Layne was so excited, it made the three of us chuckle.  Layne very quickly decided that she must have a pink bear for her birthday bear.  She hugged that one tight and walked right to the next station.  Layne loved the stuffing machine, she was completely engrossed watching it do its magic. 
Then we headed to bath time.  Too cute!

I'm sorry about the blurry picture but I couldn't leave it out.  Look how happy that little girl is! 

Of course she was happiest when her new Sally Bear was dressed and placed into her waiting arms.  Just like every good momma! 

Happy Birthday Layne!

Blast from the Past: Meramec Caverns

Last year we decided to nix birthday parties.  I'd done several in a row and thought we needed a change. Erik and I decided to take turns giving the birthday kid a special day by themselves.  We have four kids and it is almost impossible to get any individual time with each while we're at the house.  This has ended up being the coolest day of our kids' year. 

Carter turned nine this year and it was my turn to take him out on a birthday trip. I wanted to take him to a place he had never been before. I also wanted it to be grand, a place he would remember forever.  I hit gold with Meramec Caverns. 

I was a bit worried that the one hour tour would not hold my active son's attention. I needn't have worried. Meramec Caverns is a boy's dream come true.  It is a huge cave but it is so much more than that. Meramec was once the home of Indians. The union and rebel armies took turns occupying the caves and using it's resources to build explosives. The James gang used Meramec as a hideout and Jesse almost got caught right there but narrowly escaped by using the underground river to swim right past his would be captors. There have even been movies filmed inside Meramec caverns. Yes, they were old movies and one episode of Lassie but it was still Hollywood. 

Even without the history of the place, Meramec was beautiful and intriguing. We saw stalagmites and stalactites. Soda straw sculptures and a huge rock formation called the Curtain were beautiful. We enjoyed an underground light show and were amazed at the reflecting pools.  Meramec Caverns was a sight worth seeing.  When we headed above ground there was still more to be done.

We grabbed the a ticket and hopped on a boat for a guided tour of the river running past Meramec. We saw turtles basking in the sun, discovered a snake swimming our direction and met canoes paddling down stream.  There were also several interactive exhibits that day.  Carter was able to build a bat house and make an arrowhead necklace.  He loved it.  We also treated ourselves to a hard ice cream cone and a little shopping in the souvenir shop. 

On our way home we found this strange animal emporium.  It looked kind of beat up and I wasn't sure whether there were in fact any animals present on the grounds but Carter really wanted to go in and find out.  I really wasn't sure but it was his birthday. We went in and we were very surprised with what we found.  The front part of the shop was a strange kind of junk shop filled with Ripley's Believe it or Not type oddities.  The storekeeper assured us that there were animals behind the doors so we paid the fee and waited for our tour guide. Sure enough, he lead us back to several exhibits. Many of which were very hands on.  This was where I really earned the title of Coolest Mom Ever.  Yes, that is my sweet son holding an alligator.  In fact, while we were outside that gentleman behind Carter allowed him to go into the fenced enclosure where the adult alligators are kept.  He even allowed one to get within feet of Carter.  I have pictures but they are very blurry due to excessive shaking on my part.





Here is Carter holding the Albino Python. See how excited he is



 

Here is my picture with the same snake.  Obviously snake handling is not my cup of tea.  We left soon after this encounter. 

All in all, it was a fantastic trip.  Meramec has been talked about off and on for months and I don't think either of us will ever forget our introductions to the reptile kingdom.