Back to our regular schedule....

I had to take a break for a few weeks since Luis had to come home suddenly on emergency leave.  Gabe was so excited to see his Daddy at the airport!

Unfortunately his brother was shot and killed by New Hampshire police and Luis was able to come home to pay his respects.  His brother was trying so hard to make something of his life, it's sad to know it was shortened and with no explanation given to us from authorities it makes the tragedy harder to bear.

January 15, 1982 - March 2, 2011

Despite the reason for his homecoming we did make the best of our time together and greatly enjoyed spending time with his family, some of which he hadn't seen in over 10 years.  It's so wonderful for our children to grow up and know everyone in the family.  I know Luis was limited in the family he was able to grow up with so I'm ever so thankful we have these opportunities to see everyone and share our time together.

Alfonso and his grand and great-grand kids

Grace, Alfonso, Luis and Johnny

Once we got back from New Hampshire we spent time with the kiddos visiting the St. Louis Zoo and we went up in the Arch.  The Zoo and the Arch are probably the first things I would tell people visiting the area to check out.  The Zoo, unlike any others I've ever been to, is free!  It is full of animals and will take you all day to take in all that it has to offer.  For additional charge they have a Children's Zoo which allows the kids to get closer to the animals.  They have an indoor area where you can pet rabbits, guenea pigs and they had the owls out when we visited.  There's the outdoor petting zoo with goats.  There are places for them to climb and explore - it's just wonderful for them.  They also have a stingray tank, a carousel, and a train ride. 
  

Watching the Elephants

Children's Zoo

As for the Arch, just visiting the grounds is a great start, but for even more fun you have to go inside.  The Westward Expansion Museum, undergournd, is neat.  They have displays of animals and talking wax figures that give a little history about the movement west.  There is a small, and I do stress small, elevator that takes you to the top of the Arch, 630 feet above the ground, for breathtaking views of the city: both the IL and MO sides.  If you stand still you can even feel the Arch sway from side-to-side.  It's just something you have to do at least once in your life!
 

Looking down below

Elevator to the top

After we spent some much needed quality time with our kiddos we needed to get away for a free days and recharge.  So we headed off to Branson.  We had a great time.  We stayed on the strip at the Holiday Inn Express, caught the Dixie Stampede dinner show, ventured around Silver Dollar City and saw the Yakov Smirnov dinner Adventure show.  They were both great, although Luis' favorite parts were lunch/drinks at the Rowdy Beaver and Ernie Biggs Piano Bar.  We also hit up the Tanger Outlet Mall, The Shops at the Grand Palace and the new shops at the Landing.  It was a good two days of rest, relaxation, fun and shopping!  I can't wait to go back with Gabe - he'll love all the city has to offer. 

After all our sight-seeing adventures we wound down our two weeks together with a trip to the Park for kite flying.  Gabe loved holding the string, but when he was done he said: "Don't let go..." and promptly let the string go.  Our friends Heather and Lorenzo darted up the hill across the park to try and catch the kite.  It was a great day.

It's always sad to see Luis go back to "work," as Gabe calls it.  It hurts my heart even more to hear the sadness in my little boys voice when he asks to go with daddy and is told no.  I know he'll be home soon.  His grandfather always tells me, you can never stop time.  It will always keep going and I'll be one day closer to seeing my love, safe in my arms again.