Hi everyone.  We’re in St. Louis.  The break is on baby!  I’m hanging out with my family, doing absolutely no work, and loving it.  Our "relationship tanks" get filled up in a major way on these trips.  🙂

What’s up across the state?  The St. Louis Arch is.  (Can you have a real vacation to St. Louis without visiting The Arch?)  Anyway, check out how teeny tiny my kids look against the base by clicking on the first picture.  (Also, I love the "accidental artistry" of the second picture.)

We had the climb around on some humongous turtles at St. Louis’ Turtle Playground.  Located in Forest Park, it was a great place to help the kids get rid of some excess energy.  Our kids get into silly pictures as much as we do.  We get home at the end of a day, flip through the new pictures, and crack each other up.

Speaking of working off additional energy, Cathy and I introduced the kids to the exercise area and pool.  Here are the little guys working off some extra energy and showing impeccable form.  We are here to "pump (CLAP) them up."

But I have to share the VERY BEST place we’ve visited while on vacation…

…the City Museum of St. Louis.

Wow, what a place…our whole family had a BLAST!  The place is full of unique displays that you walk through, crawl through, jump over, twist through, and slide down.  It’s located inside and outside an old downtown warehouse.  They also had a decent restaurant.  If you click on the last picture, you can see my most difficult & comical moment.  I was crawling feet-first down a metal tube barely bigger than my body.  There was no comfortable way to sit.  When I arrived at a turn I spent literally 10 minutes in burning heat with my wife behind me and people gawking, doubting I’d every make the turn.  (If I didn’t make it, I’d have to pull myself inch-by-inch back to the entry point…around 60 feet back.)  The wife snapped this shot as I finally started to make the turn.

L8R.