Pa-sticks DC Vacay Day Two

So we decided to head to the Zoo on our first full day, because they were calling for rain the next few days anyhow. It looked like it was kinda far from downtown D.C. on the map and google maps said driving would be way faster than riding the Metro, so we drove.... and it was stressful. Haha! But we made it to the Zoo in one piece!

We headed to see the Panda Bears first, which did not disappoint.


We saw two outside moving around and getting themselves some Bamboo to eat. Then we saw a baby one hanging in a tree! So cute! And finally one was inside sleeping on a rock and looking so cute.

We saw some Gorillas also...


It was around feeding time, and one got a brown bag of food from a zoo keeper then came to the corner we were at. So the boys had a cute lunch date! Haha!

Then we saw some Orangutans, and one came up to the window and interacted with us a little!! It was awesome!


And the Tiger and Lions were all active- which I feel like never happens at Zoos! They are always sleeping in the day. But the Tiger decided twice to go take a dip in the water, but didn't want to get its head wet! Haha.























We saw some elephants inside, but none outside. We also got to see these cute tamarin monkeys who kept slamming their little house door on each other, it was hilarious! We saw giraffes and huge turtles and other small animals. It was definitely a pretty good zoo- and the fact it was free really was awesome.


We had planned to do a picnic lunch at a park close by, but the address Google took us too was just a historic house we couldn't go in... no tables or playground or anything. So we picnicked in our vans with the air on! Haha! Then we navigated back to the hotel. We made a food plan and Jen, Dustin and I drove to a "nearby" Walmart.... which turned out to be 45 min away through awful awful traffic and merging. Jen handled it like a champ though!!

We cooked dinner and walked to get ice cream in our Crystal City neighborhood we stayed in. Then hit the hay :-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pa-sticks DC Vacay 2017

Since our Pa-sticks Vacay went so well last year, we decided to plan another! This year we picked D.C. We loaded up on a Tuesday afternoon and hit the road... only to hit traffic literally five minutes from our house. It took us 30 minutes to get going :-(

But once we got going we made it to our halfway point and slept for the night... we ended up in a sketchy Red Roof Inn... oops!






Once we got here Wednesday, we got settled in and then headed to a Nationals Baseball game!


We navigated the Metro like pros...


Pros in a very crowded place...


Literally smashed into strangers on the Metro...





Grady said "there a lot of kids in here" haha!





Griffin LOVED their President mascots!



































The game may have been a little slow for some...


Luckily Jen and I woke them up by going to see the mascots!








Mr.Pate and I want to visit every major league stadium, so we were glad to cross one more off the list!


Unfortunately it was a slow game and they were losing when we left... and then came back and scored 5 runs the inning after we left!! Always happens to us!

It was a great night for a game!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Griffin's Birthday Plan

This year, Griffin decided he wanted his friends to donate items to Hope House instead of giving him presents. He heard of someone else doing this and said he really wanted to help others too. He was a little torn because he said he did want a few presents, but once KneKne suggested maybe just the family get him presents he was so excited. Haha! So the Monday after we got back from St Louis, Griffin and Mr.Pate headed to deliver his stash:



I am proud of his giving heart. I am praying it continues to grow and have a burden to be the hands and feet of Jesus!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

St Louis Excursion Part 4- the end

After City Museum we headed to get some pizza and then back to IKEA! After that we hit the road for home. We didn't manage to fit the Arch in our plan, but we did take a pic as we drove by:



All in all, it was a great quick trip. I think St Louis makes a great destination for families with young kids like us. The zoo was great and free, City Museum rocked, and there is IKEA! Haha. But there was also the baseball team, the Arch, the Science Center and some more we didn't even get to. I would suggest going during spring or fall though ;-)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

St Louis Excursion Part 3

The City Museum had an area that we called the Ninja Warrior area, which is one of my boys new favorite shows. They had a ball!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

St Louis Excursion Part 2

After the zoo, we headed to IKEA and then let the kids swim.



Thinking about this as our next couch???








Then we headed to City Museum Saturday morning. Again, it was HOT, we picked the hottest weekend of the year to go unfortunately. Haha! This place was awesome! Griffin had a ball, and Grady enjoyed most of it too.








Mr.Pate had to pull himself through the tree tunnel above... it started out big and got tiny!





The outside was the neatest, which made it annoying it was so hot. The kids still did good though. They went up high! I was impressed.














I was really impressed with Griffin during this part, he went through those wire tunnels in mid-air with no problem!








City Museum was definitely awesome! It was way crowded and hard to keep up with everyone because they go in one tunnel and come out on the other side of the building though. I would recommend either making sure you are prepared to go with little ones, or having amazing helpers like we did :-)



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone