Day 15 - St. Louis, MO to Peoria, IL

Today we drove from St. Louis, MO to our great friends' house in Peoria, IL! Before we headed out of town we stopped by the Gateway Arch and Riverfront. The Riverfront park that had the Arch was absolutely beautiful! It was lined with trees with a calm lake filled with ducks that Kylie loved! It was right next to the mighty Mississippi River, which has risen alot from the large amounts of rain that the Midwest has gotten in the past weeks. It wasn't up to the point it was back in 1995 when the Mississippi flooded, but it was only a few feet away! The weather was gorgeous and we could've stayed there forever, but wanted to get back on the road to the Webers' house! We did get some good shots of the Arch and toured the museum & gift shop!

The Gateway Arch from the highway.

The Gateway to the West!

A view through the trees!

Mommy & Jillian at the base of the Arch.

The St. Louis Arch and the Mighty Mississippi!

The flood waters in St. Louis at the Riverfront Park.

Flags in the flood waters.

Once we left St. Louis, we had a short trip to Illinois, The Land of Lincoln, to head to Peoria to stay with Mike & Jenny Weber for the night. It was great to see Jenny after two years of being apart and to finally meet their daughter Caitlin and for them to meet Jillian. Kylie & Aiden hit it off immediately and they played all night! Jenny was the best and bought Kylie a birthday cake for her birthday and had a present for her! After dinner of yummy pizza, we all sang "Happy Birthday" and had some delish cake! Kylie loved it!! It made her birthday so special! Thank, Ms. Jenny for being the best and thinking of Kylie on her special day! We are so glad that we could spend her 4th birthday with you!!

Kylie's special 4th Birthday cake! Thank you, Jenny!!!

Kylie & Aiden waiting patiently for a slice of cake.

Kylie & Aiden in the toybox playing "train."

"Say cheese!"

We've had so much fun catching up with our great friends! We wish we could stay longer, but we know that now that we are living closer, we can definitely visit again and hopefully, soon! We love you guys and thank you so much for letting us stay with you on our way through Illinois! We head out to Indiana tomorrow, so check back for more pictures! ~The Thayers & Mom-Mom :)