Day 42

**Clearly we are back home by now as I have NO time to write! There are only a few days left that I hope to get to finishing today.***





We knew we wanted to get back downtown pretty early so Grammie had waffles all ready for us before she left to walk Lola and shower. The kids were up pretty early and easy to motivate to get ready because they knew the plan for the day was to visit one of their all-time favorite museums and the Arch.

It was Sunday morning so there wasn't an issue parking downtown and we were at the Arch within a few minute walk. It is currently under construction so pictures were challenging but I did make sure to try to get the same picture as I'd gotten 5 years earlier on our very first trip!

That year we hadn't had time to go up in the arch so we made sure we made time this year. Our first stop of course was grabbing junior ranger books. This would be our last national park for this trip. And our second stop was the movie about the creation of the arch. We were all once again blown away by the ingenuity, creativity, and sheer bravery in the creation of this marvel, especially more than 50 years ago!

After the movie the kids had a little time to work on their books then we headed to the elevator to head 600-ft up to the top. We were all a little curious as to how the ride up would be. Grammie and I were teasing the kids that by the top of the arch we would be laying down and have to roll out! It was actually much easier being lifted in our own little private car that adjusted beautifully to the angle as we climbed.

Just as expected the view at the top was wonderful! The kids spent time spotting different landmarks and watching the cars and boats go by. There are about 10 different windows so we all popped back and forth checking out the different views.

We made our way back down to chat with the park ranger and were on our way. There was a museum that was currently under construction that looks like it's going to be pretty awesome once it's finished next year so we'll have to return to St Louis again real soon.

Dave had another stop for us on the list today - Ted Drewes. We arrived there around 11:30 and smiled as there was quite a line for their famous custard.  This store had been open since the 1930s and was a popular stop along the historic Route 66. We'd all never had custard before and were very pleased with our decision to stop here!



Once we were all satisfied with a little sugar we headed to the place the kids had been waiting for - Magic House. We'd been 5 years earlier and spent so much time there but only experienced about 75% of the museum in 4 hours! I knew this time the kids would be too old for some of the exhibits so we would be able to see the whole museum. There also wasn't a traveling exhibit right now which was where we'd spent our first 2 hours then playing in the Magic Treehouse books.

It was fun to see the looks on their faces when they saw very familiar exhibits. It was also interesting to see the same exhibits updated with technology in the last 5 years. Those of you that know how my children love the grocery stories with working registers also know the top museum on their list in that category had actual register tape. Well, this one went even further knocking that one into second place with touch-screen registers and credit card machines!

 The kids ran around this area of the museum remembering all the places they'd spend so much time the last time. They played a little bit in each place but moved on quickly to keep exploring.

 We did spend quite awhile in the art area of the museum which I'm pretty sure we didn't even get to during our last visit.  My favorite was the interactive exhibit where the kids could draw a vehicle or building, scan it in, the instantly see it driving or built in the town on the giant screens in the room. It was such a cool and creative idea!






















We spent a little bit longer in another art area but I could tell Ryan was fading and needed real food soon.  She wanted to keep going but tempers were flaring so we kept kids separated and went downstairs to the America exhibit. The kids sat in the oval office, made a speech in front of congress and decided a case in court before it was very obvious we needed to head back.

Ryan had been asking for quesadillas for days so I made them as quickly as possible and they were devoured practically before I sat down! I made 3 more for the hungry monsters and we enjoyed talking about our very full day. While I wrote for a little while Dave made a fire and we roasted some cinnamon rolls for dessert - gooey and delicious!

I popped our last load of laundry on the road to keep us clothed on the way home and we enjoyed the quiet of the campground. There were only a few campers left since it was a school night! I stayed up tending to the laundry and writing as I'd be driving the last few days while Dave worked. We were leaving the next day for a couple of quick overnight stops then we'd be home.

Day 41

I do believe once we made it into Missouri, we also made it past the invisible line of humidity. We were all pretty warm all night and I have moved all the cold weather clothes back up into the roof cargo carrier and exchanged them for tank tops and short pjs.

I woke up this morning and immediately got on my phone to check out the riot situation. There were a couple dozen arrests and there wasn't any news of anything happening this morning, so I chatted with the other adults and we decided to go into the city.  Ever since our first trip in 2012 I wanted to go to this museum but I knew there was no way I would be able to do it by myself with 3 kids. Now each kid had an adult and I was just hoping we could keep up!

We arrived at City Museum a few minutes after they opened and were in awe of everything we saw. We decided to go outside first in the cooler part of the day to climb and explore.  Our first stop was a giant ball pit!

Ryan was my partner for the first few hours and she must of lost me about 43 times.

I found Laney climbing toward me and Grammie and Brayden climbing above me!

We found a bunch of slides and things to climb through. After all the adults started complaining of painful tunnels Dave found easier ways around just about all the fun stuff.  We were all sweating within about 45 minutes so we headed inside to explore.

The girls were the most adventurous taking Grammie on underground tunnels and exploring above us in the ceiling.  Brayden found Laney, Ryan, and Grammie in the tunnel underneath him!

We decided to head to the roof next for more slides, the ferris wheel, and the bus hanging off the side of the roof!

All three kids even opened the door of the bus to look out! Although I'm not sure Brayden actually looked out.

 

This was by far my favorite slide!

Next we went to what looked like an indoor skate park where the kids tried a 9-foot version of a warp wall. All of them made it up after quite a bit of frustration and practice!

By this point the kids all needed a break so Dave found a fascinating little room where people were cutting extremely intricate snowflakes. Every year the kids decorate our house with at least 100 snowflakes so this was right up their alley. 

By the time they were finished we were all starving. Fortunately on the way into the museum we noticed a pizza and beer place just across the street so we headed there to refuel and catch some college football. Dave and I added a few beers in hopes it would numb our already throbbing knees! The vegetarian pizza there was outstanding and one more thing to add to our list to make once we got back home. 

We had about 45 minutes until the next project from the snowflake lady - this time native american dolls with real bows, arrows, and birchbark quivers - so we all switched partners and explored a bit more. Brayden and I headed back outside for my other favorite slide and what became his favorite slide once he actually tried it. My slide was the long one, his was the deceptively short but crazy fast one!

We spent about an hour crafting then we switched partners once again for the last 45 minutes. I had planned 3-4 hours here and already we'd been there 6!  My partner this time was Laney and we headed back up to the roof! We found a new slide that was super fast and rode the ferris wheel again. I may have also made her go down favorite slide one more time!  Here are her feet on the ferris wheel and a fun selfie to see the city behing us!

We met everyone in the gift shop for post cards and t-shirts. The kids were exhausted so you know the adults were about to pass out! I was incredibly impressed with Grammie's perseverance to hang with each of her partners all day! I do believe the kids would have stayed until closing, but there was no way these adults would make it to midnight!

We made it known we would be attending the nocturnal animals program at the campground that evening. Once we made it back to the campground, we had a quick dinner and joined everyone for the program. The naturalist speaking appeared very young so I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was seriously impressed with her animal knowledge. All the kids at the program enjoyed it and we all learned at least a few things!

We watched a little bit more football they retired for the night. I wouldn't recommend sleeping on the ground after a day at City Museum. It was going to be a long night of flipping and flopping with all our emerging bruises! Ouch.

Day 40

We were up early yet again but the kids were actually excited about it. Today we would all be splitting up. After breakfast we left Grammie to a day of retired leisure and headed to Kansas City. We try to give our kids experiences for their birthdays. After about an hour drive, we dropped the boys off for Dave's present to Brayden this year - a day at the College Basketball Experience.

The girls decided to go to the Lego Discovery Center which we found out was just down the road. We had to search quite a while for parking to accomodate my car with the roof carrier, but we finally were able to park in the shade for $10 and walk to the building.

I don't know too much about the basketball museum since I wasn't there, but the boys seemed to have an awesome time. Dave said within 20 minutes Brayden was dripping with sweat he was having so much fun. They basically had the place to themselves since it was a Friday so they played hard. They played against each other and against the clock. They dunked and passed and shot until their arms were about to fall off.

The Lego place wasn't much different - we were going full speed the moment we went through the doors. The girls created a few of their own creations, we shot some bad guys on a ride, they built a master builder dinosaur, and served me some delicious Lego pizza..

Laney wanted to build a tile with 1-bricks so Ryan and I built cars and raced. Check out my awesome tricycle that I assumed ownership of after a kid left. Ryan still screamed by me as my wheels fell off.

Last we visited Miniland which always seems to be our kids' favorite part. They had a Wizard of Oz area that was incredible and downtown Kansas City. We also enjoyed looking at the Chiefs stadium and the Sporting soccer stadium. But most of all the girls loved racing cars at the Kansas Speedway. We were all surprised when Miniland started to get dark all the building lit up and crickets started chirping!

Dave sent me a text letting me know they were finished and exhausted so we wrapped up our stay with Laney purchasing a small set in the store and went back to get them. A Trader Joe's stop was up next to stock up for the rest of the trip as well as all those wonderful things we can't get at home. If they knew what was good for them, they would just hurry up at build one of these in Pensacola!

We settled in for the 4 hour drive it would take to get to our next spot. By the time we got there Grammie was finishing setting up and ready to start dinner. So nice! We had three nights at this spot for some time in St. Louis. We were very excited about our plans until the camp host said places were closing early because of the riots in the city. Of course we didn't know much about it so I fell asleep around midnight researching the area around the museums to see if we would still be able to go. I didn't really get my answer before resolving to check again in the morning and decided.