st louis trip

last week we took a little roadtrip to st louis to see ry's family. we had a great time!

we went to grant's farm, where they keep the famous clydesdale horses. i have always wanted to see those horses, and i have to admit that i got a little teary when we walked into the stables. i still can't figure out why i became so emotional over horses. i don't even like horses. but i think what really happened was, i realized how lucky i've been to be able to travel a little and see lots of great things.

i remember seeing those amazing horses on tv as a child and thinking they were so beautiful, and thinking that i'd love to see them for real.
at grant's farm, which is named for it's former owner ulysses s grant, you ride a little tram around the farm and look at the animals. so here are the girls with grandma and grandpa on the tram. we saw lots of different animals, including an elephant and two gigantic turtles. it was a very hot but fun way to spend the afternoon.

we were able to spend time with ryan's oldest sister and her family. afton l-o-v-e-s her cousin janette. they worked on latch hook rugs and watched a thousand movies!

ryan's younger sister, angie, has relocated to st louis and so we got to spend lots of time with her, and her "friend" doug. okay, he's really her boyfriend. he's funny and has a mustang. that's what we learned about doug.

also, i'm not sure why afton has such a pained expression on her face in the photo above. too sunny?