Our Week in St. Louis

During the summer we try to spend some extended time in St. Louis, because once football starts it's really hard to get back for the weekends. This year we went the week leading up to the 4th of July and it was extra fun because A. Henry was old enough to do a lot of the fun things for kids around town and B. My best friend, Stephanie, and her family were in town so we go to spend some kid and adult time with them. 

On our first day in town we went out to my Aunt and Uncle's and had a great time fishing and swimming. I was unsuccessful at catching anything but Nick caught a few blue gill and Henry liked seeing and touching the fish. At first he was not really into the fishing thing but after awhile out there he liked it better. 

Henry fishing with my Uncle Fritz

Henry and Nick with their fish.

After fishing we spent some time on the Polaris and then ate lunch and swam. It was a great day and Henry was so tired after it all. I definitely think that we will find a place to fish back here in Louisville. It was a really fun day.

Monday in St. Louis was a typical summer day in the midwest, 95 and humid, and we knew that we needed to have an inside day. So we decided to head over The Magic House and we had a wonderful time. Henry is just over 2 years old and this is about the youngest that I think I would take a kid to here. For a few reasons. One being that it's probably the beginning of when they can interact with a lot of the exhibits. With that being said, obviously there are still a lot of things that are too old for him, mostly in the older part of the museum, but that's great because when we go back it'll be new to him. Secondly, with the play dynamic of the areas he is still young enough that he was getting pushed out of the way by some of the older kids and even though he'd quietly wait his turn, other kids would jump ahead and he didn't know how to vocalize this yet. Part of this is his nature, he is a quiet and observant child in these settings and other places that are new to him. I'm sure there are other two-year old that would've pushed their way in too. 

There was a new Sid the Science Kid exhibit that he really enjoyed. Mainly because of the playground and it was kid more kids right around his age he could interact with. 

This was in the Sid exhibit. It was one of his favorite parts. It was a sandbox filled with little beads as opposed to sand. 

They have a whole area that is devoted to construction. He loved wearing the hat and looking at all the stuff and playing with all the tools. 

                              

                                              

 

This is the highlight for anyone going to the Magic House. I assure you that most people that graduated Kirkwood High School have a picture (probably on a button) that looks like this. This made me so happy to do with Henry. It was awesome to do something with him that I had done as a child in Kirkwood. 

Tuesday was significantly cooler and we were able to make it over to Grant's Farm with my parents and Stephanie and her family. It was a lot of fun and so inexpensive! We had a coupon for $5 of parking, so it was $7 to park and then my dad bought each family a $5 fun pass that got us a ride on the carousal, a son-cone and two bottles to feed the goats. It was a lot of fun and the perfect things for the little kids because the size of the park is small and you can really do it all in a morning. We also made a point to be there right as the park opened so we didn't have to wait at all to get in. This is something I would definitely recommend because the lines were huge when we left just a few hours later. 

Wednesday we just hung out and were able to go to the Muny with Stephanie and Tim and see Tarzan. I hadn't been to the Muny in years and it was a great night for it. It was super cool, almost cold at times when the wind blew, and the production was really good. It was great to be able to get out and have an adult night with good friends that we don't get to see all that often.

Thursday was a quieter day. Nick and the family were playing golf in the afternoon so we just went up too Kirkwood park in the morning and let Henry run around on the playground. It was fun to see him playing where I spent so many summers with Camp Kirkwood. I was impressed by how great the park was looking and I even saw Camp Kirkwood hanging around! 

Friday was the 4th of July and we went over to a home of a good family friend and watched the Webster Groves parade from their front lawn. Henry LOVED it. His favorite were the fire trucks and the marching band. When the parade was over he cried for more. I was hoping for this reaction and not that he would be scared. It was great. I, once again, remember going and even being in the parade as a child and so it was fun to do it with him. We didn't get great pictures from the morning but he had a wonderful time. 

Finally, Nick and I got to spend the evening at the Cardinals game. For my 30th birthday my parent's gave me gift certificates to use at a Cardinal's game. We decided to go all out and use them for an all-inclusive night. We sat in the Champion's Club and had a great time. Great service and great food. It is worth the money to do it. It was the perfect way to celebrate the 4th. They even had some fireworks after the game. 

It was a great week in St. Louis and we are so glad that we had the time to do it. I look forward to doing it, hopefully, every year and even having Henry (and hopefully future kids) go visit on their own.