Vacation: St. Louis style

We decided that our vacation wasn’t over until we said it was over and we weren’t ready for it to be over on Tuesday! Wednesday was our St. Louis day. We had a full day planned despite the yucky heat and humidity.

Emily actually slept in so we got a late start but after breakfast we headed over to the zoo. We got to see the baby giraffe, baby zebra and baby tiger cubs, among all the other animals. And of course, Emily got a ride on the carousel. Wouldn’t be a zoo trip without a ride on the horsies!
After lunch on the Hill, we headed over to the Magic House. Stephen had never been so it was a fun experience for him as well. Of course, Emily’s favorites were the slides and water tables. It was a real adventure! Everyone had fun!
And what’s a St. Louis day without Ted Drewe’s????? We had to cap our day off with a little frozen custard. I think Emily was more enthralled with the little water cups that you get there though. She loves her ice cream but it took a little coaxing for her to eat it.

Thursday. What can I say about Thursday. Grandma wanted to spend some time with Emily so she came and picked her up for lunch. So Stephen and I had the day to ourselves!!! We went to Nobu’s for lunch and had some yummy sushi! Then headed over to have some fun and look for a halloween costume for Emily. We had a great time- alone together. That doesn’t happen as much as it should. It was nice. And we did find the costume for Emily- after looking at 4 different stores and walking 3 malls!

I love this picture of Emily pointing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wheeee!Hello???

Vacation: Kansas City

We headed out Saturday morning and made good time to Kansas City. We had to leave fairly early to miss Mizzou game traffic. Emily only slept for a short time on the way there and then it was time to go to the Plaza Art fair. We walked around and looked at most of the exhibits. They also had a section for children. Emily got out of her stroller, played with chalk and danced! It was a good time. We had yummy BBQ for lunch and ate at a local place for dinner. If you are ever in Independence looking for a good place to eat, you must try the Rheinland Restaurant. Great German food! And you MUST try the homemade German Chocolate cake. DELISH!
Sunday was a day for Emily! After the longest, most boring mass, we went to The Deanna Rose Children’s Farmstead. That was lots of fun! We got to see pigs rolling in the mud, turkeys, cows, an Eagle, and goats among other animals. Emily and I fed the goats. Ok, I fed the goats. Emily was freaked out scared of the goats. They were baby goats so they were very eager to eat. They even tried eating her shirt. I thought Emily was going to climb up mine before we were done! It was a lot of fun though. They even had a playground there so she got to burn off energy.
Monday was a day for Daddy and Emily. We went to Crown Center in KC. It’s a dying little mall in my opinion. We went there mainly for the Crayola Store and Crayola Cafe. We got there shortly after they opened, thinking wouldn’t have too much problem killing time before lunch. Boy, were we wrong. We walked around the mall and then went to the Crayola store. Emily was in heaven! They had a table with crayons and paper. Immediately she said “I color! I color!!” So she did! She colored us a beautiful picture on the huge easel there. It STILL wasn’t time for lunch so we decided to go outside and look at the fountains. Very pretty. Finally we decided to eat an early lunch and blow that joint! The food was good and Emily enjoyed coloring while waiting for her lunch. She even got this cool crayon cup and a balloon!
Then we headed over to the Truman Museum. It was very enlightening and interesting. I learned a lot. Emily did really, really well considering that, to a toddler, we were in a boring, stinky place. I know Stephen had a really good time and could have spent even longer there. I know that after going there, I am going to raid Stephen’s library and read the biography of Harry S. Truman.

Sleep was an issue at the hotel for us. For Emily anyway. The last time we stayed at a Marriott property, they had metal folding cribs. Now we know that not all Marriott’s are the same. We already knew that but it was very evident when the brought us up a dinky pack n’ play. There was NO way Emily was going to sleep in that. We ended up at a few different stores looking for a toddler inflatable bed. No go. We settled on a Dora (shaking head) fold up bed. Emily loved it. Although she still calls Dora “Elmo”. We tried it on the floor, she cried. We tried it on the bed, she cried. Saturday she ended up with the Dora bed on the bed with the door open and the living room light on. After lots and lots of crying. (We got a good deal on a 2 bedroom suite.) Sunday was a little better. The door was cracked and the light was still on. Same for Monday. We were supposed to stay over in Columbia on Tuesday night and decided to change our plans and come home a day early. As we were putting Emily to bed on Monday, I asked her if she was ready to go home. Emphatic “YES”. I told her that she needed to go to sleep then and we would head home after breakfast.
5:45am Tuesday morning our bedroom door comes FLYING open. “UP MOMMY!!!!” “UP” I think she was ready to go home.

Look closely at Emily’s face. Does she look like she’s having a good time?

Check out the cow!