St. Louis, Part I

Last Wednesday, I drove Anna and Kyle up to St. Louis for my cousin's wedding. Thank heavens I had my parents caravan with me because it was a big help keeping up with kids at the stops. Anna ended up with a double ear infection the day before we left and then that afternoon and during the drive burned that infection up with a fever. I felt terrible for waking her up at 545am to put her in the car to leave. But, having never driven all that way with kids, I knew I needed to hit the road early. We (Blaire, Josh, Christian and the three of us) stayed in this awesome house near downtown St.Louis in Lafayette Square. This house was built in the late 1800's and I felt like I was in a movie! So. Cool.

The first thing we did when we got there was order Imo's pizza for dinner. If you are ever in St. Louis and are hungry, get pizza!!! It is amazing, different, but amazing. Thursday, we hit the ground running with a trip to see Grandma and Grandpa, my Great Uncle Bud who is 94 years young and told me that everyday is a good day (this is why he is 94), and Pam and Gus. And, guess who showed up to our little visit?? The BRIDE!!!! So, here are pictures with the family.

 Christian was loving touching the kids' noses. And, of course the kids would giggle which would encourage him to do it more! So cute.

 My Grandma and the bride. Kristen is the youngest grandchild. Grandma and Grandpa came to all of our high school graduations but told my mom and aunt that they wouldn't attend my college graduation in case they weren't around to see every grandchild graduate. Well, guess what, they have now seen 3/4 of us get married!!! They were unable to travel to Savannah for Jonathan's wedding but I would say this is quite remarkable!

I was very bummed that Brice and Justin could not make this trip because I just wanted all of us to take a family trip to my birthplace! Baseball cramped our schedule but Justin said that he and Brice have had quite the weekend together so I am happy for that. My grandparents LOVED seeing the kids in person and Grandma said to me, "All these grandkids and only ONE girl!". My Grandma was one of two girls, she had two girls and then my mom had two girls. They couldn't believe how big both Anna and Kyle were and of course they loved seeing Christian too.

After we wore them out with all of our endless energy, we headed to Grant's Farm. Yes, Ulysses S. Grant. Here is the link if you would like to learn more about the history of it. http://anheuser-busch.com/index.php/our-heritage/grants-farm/
Josh and Christian went back to the house to nap while Blaire came with the kids and me. Most of the experience was great except for the goat feeding. A very aggressive goat pinned Anna while she was trying to get through the turnstile to feed it. It was traumatic for both kids and there were tears.

 When you arrive at Grant's Farm, you have to take a tram ride through tons of land to get to the "zoo" part of it. During the tram ride, you see lots of animals though.

 I wish I could remember how old I was the last time I came here. I want to say around 10 or 11. Look at sweet Kyle below so anxious to feed the goats. Too bad one goat ruined it for my kids!

 You can see Anna crying below. I had even warned them that their suck would be strong and she still wasn't afraid until...

 So, one perk is that they give out beer samples during the day to guests of age. Blaire and I loved this new beer. It is a Stella Artois and is cider. If you see it in stores, buy it! If you don't like it, drop your leftovers off on my doorstep!

 "Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike" , Geico commercial.

We came upon the Elephant Education show right as it was about to start. The kids thought it was neat. Kyle had lots of questions.

 Below is a picture of me looking at a confused Kyle. Bud, the elephant relieved himself in the middle of the show. Kyle was very intrigued and concerned that Bud kept stepping in his own mess.

 A balancing elephant.

After Grant's Farm, we headed back to the house to rest a little before going to see the Cardinals play! This was Anna and Kyle's first MLB game. I was pumped too. I hadn't been to a game in the new Busch Stadium. It is a beautiful stadium and I think overall the kids had a great time. The hot dog, lemonade, and Dippin' Dots ice cream helped for sure. As well as a hair bow for Anna and and ice cream helmet for Kyle.

We stayed until the seventh inning stretch and some children were invited to come and sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". Kyle loved it! This is what I sing to him every night before bed so I loved that he was able to hear it at an actual baseball game. It was such a fun day!! Stay tuned for more of our trip!