St. Louis part 2 (Magic House)

In addition to the arch, Ashlynn and Caroline really were talking up the "Magic House" for Lucy.  There was a lot of mention of Alice in Wonderland, but I didn't really have a good idea of what the Magic House was.  Indoor playground?  Kid's cafe?  It turned out to be a huge and amazing children's museum, which was FANTASTIC.  Though the Science Center of Des Moines was fun, it doesn't even begin to compare to this Magic House.

Surprised?  Believe it or not, Jamie did wake up for a few minutes, in which I turned him around in the carrier to get a better look at the events.  I didn't realize he'd gone back to sleep facing out until a woman said "What an adorable sleeping baby!" 

We spent a lot of time in the section for kids under 6, which was just perfect for Lucy.  Fun slides and places to climb, tunnels, interactive art and music, plus sand and water tables (wow!).

 

 

The bubble room.  Admittedly, this is the one display that I liked better at the science center as the kids got to use bubble wands themselves and this was more about how bubbles form, etc.  A & C were in the tube that was supposed to raise a bubble around you, trying to skinny up so the bubble didn't pop on anyone's clothes.  It didn't work but it's always nice to get a hug from your favorite sister.

And the tea room, one of the places we had to see at the Magic House.  It's tucked into an attic nook that's a perfect size for little ones with mirrors, old pictures, and this great little table with the tea set.  Lucy enjoyed her tea party with the girls and put her mouth all over those little cups, yum.  Who doesn't like some pretend tea with a generous helping of germs?

Even baby J got in on the action here with some tea from Ash.

Then on to the electrically charged ball.  I don't think Lucy was quite as unimpressed as she looks here;  Brandy is a great sport.

Some discovery fun before riding the 3-story slide.  I didn't get any good pictures of the girls on the slide - by the time we got there my camera batteries were almost dead, and it was taking so long to snap a picture that I was never going to get a cutie flying down the slide.  It was funny waiting at the bottom for the kids to come down, though, because Lucy would start yelling at the top and I could hear her voice get louder and louder as she wound down toward the end.

The last peek at Goodnight Moon before we left the museum.  Think pink.

And yes, on the way out the door, both Brandy and I found ourselves saying "Stop reading!" to try and get our crew on the move.  What a fabulous day and what a fabulous trip.  We're looking forward to going back to St. Louis really soon, by way of the most direct route this time.  Thanks cousins!

St. Louis part 1 (the arch)

Since we now live so stinking far away from our Maine family and friends, having Missouri cousins a mere 400 miles away seems like it's practically next door.  So this weekend, kids and I hopped in the car and drove to St. Louis.  Unfortunately, we took a bit of a detour (about 80 miles) to see the sights of western Illinois, but we made it.

While there, of course we needed to see the arch.  I didn't really know too much about it, except for having seen all the pictures.  It's one of those thing I had to see, even if it was going to disappoint.  I'm thinking back to Mount Rushmore - we got out of the car and, yup, it looked like Mount Rushmore.  Thankfully, the arch was way more impressive in person than in pictures.  It's was bigger than I thought it would be, and had a great museum to visit underneath.  I also love the equations I came across that represent the structure.  Almost makes me wish I'd kept up on my geometry.  Who am I kidding, really, I didn't get far enough in math to make sense of this.

with the constants



Lu wanted to ride with the big girls.  The last time we saw Ashlynn & Caroline was Thanksgiving.  Lucy has grown up so much since then; there is a huge difference between just 2 and 5 but much less between almost 3 and 6.  It's always cooler to hang with the big girls than with your mom and baby J.

 Mama Ash here, taking care of my kids.  She desperately wants to be a big sister, and played with and helped Lucy and Jamie all weekend.  I think it's possible that Lucy could cure her of that ambition.

Aaannnnddd .... asleep.  Again.  Brandy kept on saying "is this baby for real?"  1st time in the pack-n-play and he had no problems.  Just wait until he's sleepy and put him down and he's out.  It's magic.

The big girls riding the metro.  Pretty exciting!

This is the arch from the metro station.  It's the historic section of St. Louis and there's some pretty neat brick and cobblestone work around the area.

Who knew Rob would be such a ladies man?

And here it is.  Like I said, really, really impressive.  Also impressive, the Sponge Bob ice pop that Lucy ate, or at least tried to eat.  A portion ended up in her belly, a portion in mine, some on the ground, and a good quantity landed on Jamie's head and dripped down his face and onto his shirt.  Did he scream?  Cry?  Fuss?  No, just licked his lips.

At the Museum of Westward Expansion.  I didn't (can you believe it?) get to enjoy this one at a leisurely pace and read all the exhibits, but Rob said they do a decent job of incorporating the native history and talking about the treatment of American Indians, etc.  Sometime I'd love to come back to the arch and go through the museum and look at everything plus take the egg to the top to see.  And no, mom, you will not scare me away from this one!

On the train on the way home this is Ashlynn teaching Lucy how to meditate.  It was hysterical to see the two of them bobbing around on the train with palms together and eyes closed.  Also, every person around us told me how much my daughter looked like me.  Problem is, they were referring to Ash.  Um, no, the one who doesn't look like me is actually mine!

The meditation must have worked.

And .... awake!  Just as our excursion ended, baby J woke up and was all smiles.  (Here's where you can see the red ice pop all over his shirt).  Always nice to be so happy at the end of a trip!

Who?

We're working on it.  This was totally independent, so I'm pretty proud.

Introducing my beautiful prodigy, Cyul.  (In addition to the shower cap she is also wearing crocs here.)  She's not Hollywood, so it's good we've got writing to fall back on.

The Gardens

This week we got a chance to finally visit Reiman Gardens, a beautiful indoor and outdoor botanical garden that boasts a fabulous butterfly wing (my favorite) and a current "big bugs" outdoor art exhibit.  We went with our friends Ann, Carson (3) and Hayden (6 mo) and had a great time.  Carson is a new playmate for Lucy, expanding her pool of eligible bachelors, and is as loving and huggy as Lucy is.  Though we love playing with Silas and Gabe, they often refuse her advances of hugs and love pats, but not Carson.  Actually, I think my little lover might have even brushed him off once or twice.  Ann and I spotted them holding hands walking and in several spontaneous hugs.  It's adorable now, but talk to me again in 10 years.

Warning, there are approximately one million pictures here.

 Part of the Big Bugs exhibit was indoors, these stone-and-metal picnic ants.  The kids were SO excited when they spotted a real ant crawling on the conservatory floor.

 Some of the outdoor Big Bugs.  These sculptures (?) were a little different, mostly wood, and really interesting to see.  You can get an idea of the size of some of them by the picture of the kids by the giant ant.  I'd like to know how one starts on being the creator of giant bugs.  And how I can get one for my front lawn.

 Watch out Lucy!  You're about to be bitten by the world's largest mosquito!

 Us by the spider web.  Per usual, Baby J's sleeping in the sling.  We were both pretty sweaty when I took him out of there at the end of the afternoon, but he didn't seem to mind, even when I kept a little blanket wrapped around us to block his poor little arms and legs from the sun.

 The kids had a great time smelling flowers ...

 ... running around ...

 ... stopping to relax with a beverage ...

 ... and even got a chance to cool off in the pool.

 Sorry Ann, I'm a picture sneaker.  Lucy and Carson shared the footrest of Ann's double stroller.  If you look closely, you can see baby Hayden peeking out from behind Lucy.  He also was a great sport.  What you can't see here is that Lu's not wearing any shoes.  She wore pair of sandals that are now in the "hurts-me" pile.  She has requested socks with these sandals a number of times, and now I know it's because they're not comfortable, not because she has no fashion sense.

 And finally, though we had already gone through the Butterfly Wing on our way into the gardens, it made impression enough on the kids that they asked to go through again on our way out.  It's an amazing place, with hundreds of species of butterflies.  We had visited the Butterfly Kingdom at the York Zoo when we went last summer, and sorry Aunt Grace, but the BK doesn't hold a candle to this place.  It's a much smaller room, probably has tons more money, and definitely doesn't have the crowds of sweaty kids that the zoo does.

 Lucy and Carson checking out the butterfly on Ann's shoe.  He probably liked her pink laces.

 The volunteer who gave Lucy the magnifying glass to use tried also to show her how to use it with no luck.

 The close up look at these butterflies was just amazing.

 It was a wonderful day!

Grandma Goes Global

My parents recently went to Costa Rica for a wedding, and we're mildly jealous.

So we colored our bath water blue and used our imagination.  Ahhh, smell that salty ocean air as we splash in the surf.

 

 In other vacation news: on skype Grandma told Lucy a story about being on a boat, seeing monkeys, and one actually eating a banana out of her hand.  Lucy's take?  "A monkey ate Grandma!"