St. Louis Vacation: Part One

We finally made it to St. Louis for my very belated birthday celebration. We spent one night in Hannibal "on the way" so Jevon could work at our motel. The kids think Hannibal is a real treat but they had no idea what they were in for in St. Louis! I told them we'd be going to a way cooler place than Hannibal the next day (BIG mistake), and then they couldn't sleep. However, we did enjoy our day in Hannibal, running through the hallways, playing in our "suite," and reading stories. I sat on the couch and knitted and enjoyed the fact that I didn't have any dishes to do, or meals to make, or laundry, or anything else.

Everyone awoke bright and EARLY Thursday and eventually we made our way down to St. Louis. Our hotel was right downtown with a view of the Arch! (I highly recommend the Hampton Inn on 4th and Washington!) The City Museum was only a few blocks away. And man, I had no idea what to expect. It was amazing! The first thing that caught my eye was the bus on the rooftop and then the airplanes and all of the other crazy stuff out front. I love that everything there was recycled! And the sculptor who came up with this idea really has an amazing mind to be able to envision these slides, caves, jungle gyms, etc. Kai was a little hesitant at first, but even though the 10 story slide scared him, he went down it two more times!

Poor Tea was super sleepy and not so excited about the museum, but I think she enjoyed watching Kai. She mostly hung out in the stroller and took it all in. She'll be old enough and brave enough to crawl around and go down the big slides soon. I think she liked the aquarium and seeing the adopted animals, especially the ferrets.

I bought each of the kids a disposable camera before the trip so they could document their experience. I think Tea will have a lot of pictures of the floor! (She looked adorable trying to take the pictures, though. They were both very excited to have cameras). I can't wait to see how/if they turned out!

What I loved was how this place made people (including us) a little more fearless. We couldn't help but loosen up and act like kids. And I even went down the 10 story slide and ruined my Danskos in the process (I'm sure some polish will fix them!).

We can't wait to go back this summer!

Check out their site: http://www.citymuseum.org/