Meet Me In St. Louis Roadtrip - Last Day!

Our last day was filled with a few final fun things to do.....like visiting with my childhood friend, Hannah and her 2 girls!  My parents dropped Madden and I off for a few hours so that we could "visit".  I use the term "visit" loosely, because with a 4 year old, 2 year old, and a 1 year old - "visiting" is kind of hard to do!  I'm not sure we ever completed a full conversaton.....but it was still SO SO good to see her and SEE her girls (that I hadn't seen before!)  Madden enjoyed playing with some other kiddos, too!  

Esther and Madden - Vivian was already napping... :( 

Hannah and I with 2 out of 3 of our children...

After our visit, we had an hour or so before we needed to go to the airport (Madden and I FLEW back home!) - so we headed to the candy shop in downtown Kirkwood.  Such a cute little shop with old time candies and we even got to see cotton candy be made!



We drove by our Kirkwood homes.  This one is the one where I lived from age 2-16.  WONDERFUL memories in this house - 224 Huntleigh Drive.  It was a 3 bedroom, ONE bath house - but was perfect for our family (at least before Ben came along!).  Lots of memories of neighborhood parades, lemonade stands, learning to ride my bike, playing school in the basement, swinging in the backyard, holidays together, all getting ready together in the 1 bathroom and MUCH more!  It was home.

Ben came along when I was 13 and after a few years as a family of 5, we were starting to feel cramped....so we moved less than a mile away to 647 N. Taylor.  This was a historic 2 story home on a wonderful street in Kirkwood.  It had 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a wrap around driveway and a huge yard to play in.  We lived here until we moved to San Antonio (I was already in college).  It was a really nice home and a place that Ben enjoyed a lot of his early childhood in. 



After reminicing about our childhood homes, we headed to the airport.  Madden and I flew home and were happily greeted by daddy! 

It was a really special roadtrip - Madden was at a perfect age to really enjoy some of the neat things St. Louis has to offer.  He still talks about it and wants to go back!  It was also neat for them to be with Madden for an extended period of time - they got to see the good, bad and ugly!  Ha!  But, really, they got to enjoy all the cute things he says and does at this age.  He is growing up so fast and they miss out on the day-to-day happenings.....and I think they all thoroughly enjoyed some of his many antics! :)

St. Louis will always be home to me - it's where I grew up and lived for the first 20 years of my life.  Many, many special memories and people there.  Thanks, mom and dad for taking us back and reliving some fun places with us (and with Madden).  Definitely something we will cherish forever!

Meet Me In St. Louis Roadtrip - Day 5: St. Louis ZOO

I believe we got a late start on Day 5 - but we met Caroline's friend, Ellen at Jilly's for lunch.  Jilly's is known for their fabulous cupcakes.  This was my first time to try one and it did not disappoint!  YUM!

After lunch, we headed to the St. Louis Zoo.  Again, a favorite place of ours growing up.  It is a FREE zoo and has much to offer.  The only downside was that it was over 100 degrees and we were hot and tired....so we didn't stay too long.

The train is always a big hit and allows a break to cool down a bit!

Madden thought the flamingos were really cool - and thought he could try to stand like one!  :)

Push pops were discovered on this trip - Madden loves them and now our freezer at home is stocked with them!

Trying to stay cool....

After about 2 hours in the heat, we were DONE!  We decided to head to Cunettos for an early dinner.  Amazing italian food on The Hill.  Ben happened to be wearing a tank top that day - and tank tops were not allowed at Cunettos.....so he had to put on a white XXL t-shirt....wish I had taken a picture!  At least we got to stay and eat there.

After dinner, we dropped Ben/Dad off to watch another Cardinal game and then Madden crashed in the car for the evening, so we drove around a bit - before ending with one last Ted Drewes treat!  :)

 

Meet Me In St. Louis Roadtrip - Day 4: Cardinal Game

After a late lunch and a little rest time, we somehow managed to get enough strength to head downtown to a St. Louis Cardinal game.  Whew!  We grew up cheering for the Cardinals and we wanted Madden to experience a game.  We sat in the bleachers - which was PERFECT!  Cheap and easy to get up/down with a certain 4 year old!

Enjoying a pre-game hot dog!



Love this picture of Pops and Madden!  My dad loves the Cardinals and I know he enjoyed sharing a game with his grandson.



Luckily, the kids area was next to the bleachers - so we played there quite a bit!



We did manage to sit and watch parts of the game.  Madden kept telling everyone that "Josh Hamilton doesn't play for the Cardinals!"  Ha!  We do watch a lot of Ranger games in our house....



It turned out to be a beautiful evening.  The Cards won and Madden got a Fredbird card on the way out - his favorite part of being at the game!

Then, we headed to Ted Drewes before crashing at the hotel.

 

Meet Me In St. Louis Roadtrip: Day 4 - Magic House

We headed to The Magic House on Day 4.  The Magic House is a MAGIC place - it was around when I was a kid, but was MUCH smaller.  It has expanded in so many ways and we could've spent days there!  Basically it is a really cool children's museum - and it was a highlight of the trip for Madden!
Checking out life on the prairie....

This was the COOLEST thing ever!  A beanstalk for the kids to climb in - it was 3 stories high and so neat!



The construction site was the highlight for Madden....



Then, we headed to the presidential area - it was really neat - a replica of the Oval Office, etc....



The "President" taking a few calls.... :)

Next up - the Bubble Room...

More construction areas....

Pretending to be a mechanic and working on a car..

Fishing...

They had little areas set up litle a small town - a marketplace, a bank, vet clinic, ice cream shop, etc....Madden had fun exploring....



This slide was here when I was a kid - it's a 3 story slide - too fun!



This electricity thing was also here when I was a kid - Madden didn't want to try it, but Caroline did!  You put your hand on the ball and it makes your hair stand up in all directions!  

The craziest thing happened while we were at the Magic House - I ran into one of my elementary school aide's - Mrs. Barcus (or Mommy Barcus as we used to call her!)  She is just the sweetest person and I love that we have kept in touch after all these years!  It's funny because I usually run into her when we are in town visiting.  She happened to be there with her grandkids that day!  Glad I got to hug her neck...



After SEVERAL hours of Magic House fun, we had lunch at Mike Duffy's and enjoyed looking around a few shops in downtown Kirkwood....then, it was time to get ready for a Cardinal game!