The Kennedy family had a late Christmas when EVERYONE got together in Columbia for the first time in years. It was a fun-filled week with cooking, eating, present opening, singing, and playing. It was so amazing to see everyone in one place! I loved watching the kids play and open their gifts. It was wonderful too that Grandma and Grandpa Kennedy came for "Christmas" and Kathy, Mike, Caleb, and Kelci drove in for dinner too. Take a look at our plethora of pictures!
Ellie couldn't wait to open presents! :)
Myra in her new hat :)
Mia loves reading!
This version of Amazing Grace was arranged by one of Josh's friends. It was great to sing!
We also celebrated birthdays and here is Ellie and Mia eating the teal-frosted cake.
We did some top rope climbing at Capen Park. It was a perfect day for it too... in the 60's. After climbing we drove in to St. Louis and it snowed 2 inches that night.
Tommy took advantage of the snow. He didn't have his boots with him. so we covered his feet in plastic bags. It worked pretty well :)
In St. Louis, we stayed with Elizabeth's parents and they were so great! They cooked us dinner and provided us with beds :) The next day we waited for the snow to melt a little before heading to the
City Museum in St. Louis. These pictures don't do it justice. An artist/architect named Bob Cassilly (who recently passed away) designed this amazing indoor art installation/playhouse. All the materials are recycled from around St. Louis, such as the conveyor belt rolls, broken ceramic tiles, pilars, glass bottles... It was built in an old shoe warehouse that is HUGE! The roof as a huge slide and a school bus but it was closed till the weather warmed up. It was amazing to play like a kid!
Behind dad, the wall is made of 1/3 pans from commercial kitchens.
The railings are made of painted conveyor belt rolls.
This is like a human-sized hamster wheel!
These are all steel rods that have been rounded to form a slinky-like structure for you to climb in. Dad played too :)
Elizabeth and her debut as a magician.
This is a massive tree house!
There was a 10 story slide!! It was amazing!
Can you tell which picture is right? :)
There were caves and tunnels everywhere!Some of which I could fit through and some I would have been stuck in.
A little acro in the City Museum. If you look closely, the ceiling is full of pieces of silk that have each been cut and placed up there.
After the City Museum we drove to my cousin Kenny's house and helped unload a truck full of furniture and got to see Dee and Bob and Jack, Max, and Sam too! It was a nice surprise :)
All in all, the trip was magnificent. We returned to Tucson refreshed and ready to take on life again.
"You don't stop playing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop playing."
~George Bernard Shaw