I planned a family fun day out and so we headed to the doctor. I know, I know, I need to work on my idea of fun but we need to get Nikki’s eyes checked to make sure she was healing well. Good news! Her eyes looked good! Her infection was very rare and I was grateful we got her in when we did because it could have been much worse.

Funny side note: Andy went in with us and said to the staff “I have a problem with eyes, I can’t roll them!” They assured him this was not a problem. As his mom, I am totally ok with him not being able to roll his eyes!

We headed for the Ulysses S. Grant Historic Site in St. Louis, Missouri. We love the national parks and since we are highlighting President Grant as the last hooray for American History this year, I thought a family day out sounded like the way to go. Now don’t make the mistake I almost did and go to Grant’s Farm. It’s right next to it but you get free parking at the historic site. In fact, the entire experience was free. We went inside and were greeted at the desk where we asked for the junior ranger badge booklets. We remembered to bring our clipboards and pencils this time. In order to earn the badge they had to see the film, take a ranger-led tour of White Haven, and do a certain amount of activities in the ranger booklet (depends on age). The film was very well done but it made us want to know more about President Grant. Then we moved on to tour the house which is painted the most pitiful green in my opinion. When the ranger asked the kiddos if they would change the color, everyone but Andy said yes! One of the things the ranger pointed out was Grant never intended for his life to go the way it did because he had very different plans for himself. Rick and I both had the same thought as we looked at each face of our children. This is not what we had planned but we will tell you this- We wouldn’t trade it for anything! Sometimes what we think we want is not what we want at all.

CrewTip: The Concept Behind My Crazy  

I love free activities! I love them even more when it teaches my kiddos something. National Parks and State Parks have wonderful opportunities to explore and learn in a fun, engaging way. We spent about 2 1/2 hours at the Ulysses S. Grant National Park and every single kiddo groaned about leaving. Check out your local park’s website or the National Park’s website to see what’s available near you!

Check out the YouTube video about our day! And please, subscribe!