{ day trip to the zoo! }

Probably the only thing I really don't like about where we live is how far away we are from our family.
I want Hannah to grow up knowing her grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles.
We try to travel as much as we can to family functions and such, but it's just not the same as being there.
So, this week, when Brian's twin brother and family invited us to join them for a day at the STL Zoo, we decided to make a day trip of it!
We pulled out bright and early at about 5:30 am to hit the road and made it to the zoo just before 9.

Hannah had a wonderful time hanging out with her cousin.
They get along so well! Their conversations crack me up... I wish I had recorded them.
After a hot few hours at the zoo, we went to Fitz's Rootbeer in UCity. I had never been there, but it was great! Highly recommend it. Great burgers, sandwiches, and of course, root beer!
Hannah enjoyed sharing a root beer shake with daddy.

After lunch, it was time to say goodbye, and the girls really didn't want to.
They are so sweet together. It melts me.

Needless to say, we were dead tired after the early morning departure and the day in the sun.
Fortunately, my sister let us come and recover at her apartment for a few hours.
Hannah loves her Aunt Carolyn! It was nice to be able to sneak in a quick visit.
Thanks, Carolyn, for letting us crash at the last second!

We drove home after the St. Louis traffic died down, and ended up making it back to our place around 11pm. That's a 17.5 hour day for anyone who's keeping track.
Definitely a long, tiring day, but oh so worth it to be able to spend some time with our family.