St. Louis Adventure Rundown

We had a great pseudo-weekend in St. Louis last week! We stopped by the Whittle Shortline Railroad in Valley Park. Where I picked up Little Mister's train table from a Craig's List ad, the seller told me about the store/play area. We finally got around to venturing off the interstate. It was so worth it- there were four wooden train tables including one that must've been 20 feet long. The kids were able to stand in the open area in the middle of the table and play. The store itself was a little disappointing. The selection of trains was similar to a really great toy store... but no one was begging me to purchase anything, so it was really a good thing!

We grabbed lunch and headed to Laumeier Sculpture Park. The kids ended up leading me on a 2 hour hike through the park's woods. Even Little Miss trekked the whole way.

We headed to Jilly's Cupcake Bar for a sweet indulgence. The kids loved their treat, and I had fun watching their excitement and enjoyment! Probably not worth the expense, but it was a fun splurge nonetheless!

We checked into our hotel next, and the kids enjoyed watching TV until Daddy got off work and joined us. I found it pretty amusing that my poor satellite-less children were so pumped to watch Word Girl and Animal Planet.

With Daddy, we stopped by Hobby Lobby and headed to Texas Roadhouse for dinner... then back to the hotel for bedtime!

The next morning we attended a story time that was part of the St. Louis Storytelling Festival. It was one of those presentations that included goofy songs, got the kids bouncing and singing along, and was generally a fabulous free 45 minutes. The storyteller is the children's librarian in Columbia, MO and made me want to drive there for her story hours!

The event took place in the St. Louis Carousel building in Faust Park, so we paid our $4 and all rode the carousel before we headed home.

Not the Typical Childhood Hero

My son loves all the typical boy characters- transformers, Disney's Cars characters, Handy Manny, Super Why... all the shows that sell action figures in department stores. However, his longest running and greatest hero is THE NUTCRACKER. From the time that Big Sister showed him Barbie and the Nutcracker, Little Mister has adored the story. From the showdown between the mice and the toy soldiers to the gentlemanly care that Nutcracker takes with Clara, my little boy doesn't miss a beat. He begs Big Sister to play the part of Clara and asks her with a great bow, "May I have this dance?" You will not find this boy play fighting as a G.I. Joe or the like. Instead, he can be found, "sword" in hand, warding off a make-believe mouse.

This year, MY favorite christmas present was from my big sister. It did not cost her a dime but it was invaluable to Little Mister and I. Aunt J gave us 2 tickets to watch the St. Louis Ballet perform The Nutcracker. She'd received them from an event that she attended.

When I asked him if he's like to watch the ballet on stage, Little Mister told me yes, "but don't say it's a date, Mom."

On the night of the performance, we arrived at the performing arts center and picked out ornaments to take back to the girls, met a couple mice who were greeting the kids, and found our amazing seats! I knew one of two things would happen when the curtain opened. Either he'd be completely amazed or he'd be throwing a fit and demanding that this was NOT the real Nutcracker! Praise the Lord, he was enthralled. He sat, motionless, on the edge of his seat for the entire first act, whispering to me what was happening as the ballet progressed. I was impressed that he was able to follow the plot so easily!

After the final curtain call, Little Mister got to meet Clara and Nutcracker.

I must've shown him a pretty good time, because on the way home, he said, "Mommy, will you be my date again someday?" Ah... Heaven to my heart!

Thanks for stopping by,

A Little More Girl Time

Before my hubby leaves for 2 weeks with the military, he let me have one last night to savor adult conversation.  Yesterday was a blast, full of good food, good laughs, good conversation, and a fantastic friend!  

A visit to Kimswick, MO treated us to the best salad ever at The Blue Owl.  I had taken Little Miss along, and I realized while we were eating how limited my one-on-one time with her is.  She was more conversational and sweeter than normal.  Sharing my salad with her was such a simple moment, but one that I made sure to record the details of into my heart.

We traveled downtown to drop my daughter off with Daddy, and we had just enough time to hit a couple stores before heading to the theatre for Dr. Laura's show.  What a great 90 minutes!  I wasn't sure what to expect from her one woman show, but it was a balance of silliness, humor, advice, relating with a dash of sadness.  The show left me feeling content which, I'm sure, was the intention behind it.  

To wrap up the night, we split a delicious dish at the Cheesecake Factory and gabbed over coffee and cheesecake.  I think I'll always feel happy after a late-night visit with a friend.  Some schoolgirl memories are worth repeating.

Eureka!

Yesterday, we had a slow start to our day, but what I thought I was "settling" for turned out to be one of my new favorite St. Louis secrets!

I had planned to take my kids to Cahokia Mounds, but when I found out that they had guided tours during the summer, I decided to postpone that destination until after school is out. Knowing that my kids were expecting something fantastic, I turned to my mother for some fresh ideas. The typical St. Louis attractions were mentioned: City Museum, The Magic House, The Zoo, Purina Farms, The Arch, and Grant's Farm. I was in no mood to take the kids to the same exhibits they've seen multiple times. I wanted to introduce something new to them, so we kept brainstorming. Eventually, we decided it would be fun to take the kids on a train ride, just for the heck of it. We looked up the Amtrak schedule hoping to take a ride from Kirksville to Herman and back again. Unfortunately, we were about an hour too late for the morning train, and the afternoon train would not allow us to return until close to midnight.

Driving down I-270 to meet my sister for lunch, we saw a sign for the National Transportation Museum. My mom had taken my brother decades ago, so I hoped it would be entertaining enough to pass for a day trip! It exceeded my expectations. Kids 4 and under are free, and prices are $4 for kids and $6 for adults with a military price of $4. The grounds included an indoor exhibit of classic cars and fun models of how cars run. For kids 5 and under, there's a creativity center available for $1.50/session. Outside, there are tons of trains, many which can be explored. The kids were able to ring the bell of one of the trains. Train rides being in April, so we will absolutely be looking for some friends to invite back with us soon!