Speed Bump

Our goal for our trip to St. Louis was to have kid-centered fun. Ryan and I love to travel, but we haven't done much traveling with the kids. In fact, until this weekend we had never traveled together as a four-some. In the past we have traveled with each child alone when they were really small (C went to Seattle with us at 3 months old and Izzy went to New Orleans with us also at 3 months old). Other trips to California and Colorado all involved Grandparents - built in help! To be honest, Ryan and I were a little nervous and afraid we would be worn out and impatient with the kids during the trip. But it went much better than we thought and everyone had a great time. Maybe because we didn't have our own 'adult agenda' of dining in great restaurants, fitting in an exploratory run, or sleeping late. We built our agenda around the kids (for the most part, see below) and it worked. Success! Outdoor dining played a big part in the success of our trip. We stopped in Co...

The City Museum in St. Louis is like nothing else. I used to visit with friends when I lived in the city and Ryan and I had both explored the slides and numerous climbs together once before. The roof attractions were all new since I'd last been - slides, a Ferris wheel, a school bus teetering on the edge of a 10 story drop. Is it for kids or adults? I think it is decidedly both. Difficult to describe in words, pictures tell this story. Charlie was nervous about this slide for exactly a half second. He went up and down this slide at least 20 times, until it started getting dark and we had to force him to stop. Sitting on top of a 10-story building, this Ferris wheel felt really high! Charlie and Ryan rode together, Iz rode with me. She was nervous for about the first two rotations - it goes pretty fast. She was smiling and chatting soon enough. Me? Not so much. Charlie tried anything and everything he could - there were a few th...