Ben & Gabe's Great St. Louis Arch Adventure.....

One Saturday in February Abby had a Winter guard competition in Highland. Her competitions were at 8am and 5pm...do you think Brian, Ben & Gabe (and me) would sit in a high school gym and watch dance, flag and pom pom teams all day....NO! Since we were so close to St. Louis we decided to pass some of the time and take Ben and Gabe to (and up) the Arch. They have been to the Arch but never up in it....Some of the photos got out of order....

Gabe looking out and seeing Busch stadium..... Ben & Gabe in a "mock pod"....the kind that you ride in to the top of the Arch....

Outside the Arch.....

Looking up......

Me and Brian at the top of the Arch.....I like this photo!

Ben at the top.....

Now Gabe at the top.....He looks excited, doesn't he?

View out to the city, including Busch Stadium.....

Brian pointing out points of interest......

Gabe standing next to the Arch.....

Here is Ben next to the Arch too......love the reflection of the photo.....

Inside the pod going up (or down, can't remember!) Ben was video taping the whole trip!

Here are the steps you need to climb after taking the pod to the top.....

Ben again video taping the top.....

This is a view of the Arch from the car.....

Walking away from the Arch.....it was a beautiful winter day......

The "token" boys with the Arch photo.....

We had been noticing ALOT of Park Rangers around the Arch grounds, never before seen that many but we finally found out why.....A Right to Bear Arms Rally on the steps of the Arch...Hey...the boys first protest rally!!! LOL

Brian's creative photo of me and the boys......

We finished the Arch, headed to Fairview Heights for some lunch at Olive Garden and some shopping and back to Highland and still had to sit about an hour to wait for her next routine! This was the first time we just had Ben and Gabe to ourselves like this and it was really nice to give them each alot of one on one time....

The Roy Rogers III Bowling Memorial Bash

On Sunday, February 28 we attended the Roy Rogers III Bowling Memorial Bash is honor of our friend's (Roy & Teresa) son Little Roy......Ben, Beau and Gabe have all been bowling with both "Roy's" for several years (and Roy II is a 2nd cousin of Brian's). Little Roy was killed back in October from a drunk driver. They held this Bowling Bash to raise funds for scholarships to the Illinois Teen Institute that Little Roy was involved in....Roy III was an outstanding bowler.

Here is Ben, Gabe and Brian enjoying the day..... Gabe with his event t-shirt on.....

Ben with his event t-shirt too and he said he needed a new photo for his Facebook page!

Me and Abby.....

Abby and Gabe (who was enjoying the ice cream).....

Ben had a great time.....He really enjoys bowling...

Gabe getting ready to throw the ball.....

Me and Brian (and he is actually smiling in this photo!)

Abby getting ready to bowl......

Brian and Ben.....

The event was held at the K-bowl and it was a complete success! We (the group) had the whole place to ourselves! We are already on the list to attend next year!

Basketball and Extras....

February was a busy month with Ben and Gabe's basketball, Abby's Saturday Flag competitions, Gabe and Abby getting glasses, work, doctor's appointments, me getting out of my cast and our crazy life!

Here is Gabe in action at one of his basketball games... Trying for the rebound....

He's got the ball.....

Getting the pass......

Spots me taking photos.....Say Cheese...

Here are some from one of Ben's games....Here he's with his team and coach...

His "game face"....

Passing the ball.....

In action.....

Looking serious and "in the game".....

Ali came to one of Ben's games to cheer him on.....

I spotted this flock of snow geese (I think) on a run to Herrick school....there were 1000's of them!

Here is what Shakes looks like when she goes "bye bye" with me.....

One night in February Beau was heading to bed (it was about 11pm). Next thing we hear is him screaming....he thought something had jammed into his foot! We looked around at it and thought the same thing but we could not get it out so he and I headed to the ER.

Here he is soaking his foot in iodine.....luckily nothing was in his foot. He must of just jammed it really hard and busted the skin, it was sore and red for several days.