Apr 18, 2013 | Missouri, Travel, Uncategorized, United States
Part 2 of our Spring Break…
Thursday of our week off we drove to St. Louis, MO.
(It’s about a six hour drive from here.)
What is fun to do in St. Louis for families? (Just for you, Kelly!)
Our top picks:
1. City Museum
(This is honestly the main reason we go to St. Louis.)
An old shoe factory that’s been converted into the most awesome artist colony you’ve ever
seen. Artists have turned empty spaces into a magical wonderland for both children and adults.
Your imagination can go crazy (and so can the kids!) Plan to spend an entire day here. This is the most expensive thing we do in STL and it’s around $13 a head I think.
There are lots of clubs and restaurants in this area also so you won’t be bored!
 |
| My kids want to live here! |
 |
| Inside the “caves” 15 story slide! |
 |
| Opera Poster exhibit I adored |
 |
| Waiting to hear it play |
2. Forest Park (Home of the 1904 World’s Fair)
So many things to do IN the park (and many for FREE)- We’ve been in the summer and rented bikes there- that way you can explore the park and go from attraction to attraction.
- St. Louis Zoo (FREE, and as my happy husband said “They have BEER!” If you park in the zoo’s lot it costs $10, but you can also park along streets in park for free.)
 |
| Beautiful butterflies |
- St. Louis Science Center (free)
- Grand Basin (or the grounds where you can fly kites, picnic, or just let the kids run- and free)
We happened upon a nice guy flying a kite so high up you could barely see it. He let us all “fly” it for a bit and talked about the science of kite flying.
 |
| My family visiting the second silver tree in a week- second state! |
- St. Louis Art Museum (free)
 |
| Dear Old St. Louis |
3. Fitz’s American Restaurant
In the DelMar loop- A fun family place to go after the park, Fitz’s makes their own Root Beer and soda right there. You can see the bottling plant working while you eat.
 |
| Be warned- This is a float SPLIT in 1/2! |
4. The Gateway Arch (This was the first time we didn’t stop to see it. You can ride up to the top, or just explore the park and the Museum of Westward Expansion under the arch which is free.)
5. Anheuser-Busch Brewery
(We didn’t visit the brewery this time either. It’s a neat FREE tour of the factories and stables for the Clydesdale horses. I find the history and actual factory very interesting. Some like the free sampling and snacks at the end of the tour… Kids like the horses the best I think.) Grant’s Farm is also supposed to be a really neat place to visit but it wasn’t open this trip due to weather.
My honey had to work the next week so our plan was for us to drive up and stay til Sunday morning, and he’d fly back the following week after working at his company’s office there.
However, Mother Nature had other plans! Snow started Saturday night and by Sunday morning this was our view from the hotel…
 |
| Snow Dancers Outside the hotel |
12 inches of snow by the time it was over!
Another day of vacation is never a bad thing, right?
On the way back we stopped at Lambert’s Cafe “Home of the Throwed Rolls” in Sikeston, MO.
Really a fun place for kids- they actually yell “ROLLS?” and if you want one you raise your hands and have to catch them. Really hot, good, homemade rolls. Wish the butter was real…
The kids liked the giant drinks and all through the meal they come around asking if you want this or that. Make sure you’re hungry or share a meal. We shared and still had leftovers for days. Oh, and they don’t take credit cards…(this is when a teenage daughter who doesn’t spend money comes in handy- Thank You, E.)
For more fun in St. Louis check this out:
They have a great food festival Labor Day weekend that’s FREE and fun!
St. Louis in Fall
*If you’re driving up from LR, also check out Blue Owl Bakery in Kimmswick, MO (fun!), Mastodon State Park and Museum of Transportation right before you get to St. Louis. REALLY fun with kids!
Aug 20, 2012 | Arkansas, Travel, Uncategorized, United States
This coming weekend I’m heading to the hills!
Arkansas Women Bloggers is having an “Unplugged” Conference in Mountain View, Arkansas at the lovely Ozark Folk Center!
Reasons why I’m so excited?
- I can’t even remember when I ever went on a girls’ only weekend!
- Mountain View is such a neat town!
- I get to learn how to photograph food better (something I really need!)
- Getting to hang out with old and new friends!
- Needle Felting, beadmaking classes!
- Dancing a jig!
- Great blogging tips from the pros!
- Watching the craftsmen at work in the Ozark Folk Center!
- and… FREE BOOTS from the conference’s sponsor, Country Outfitter!
 |
| Aren’t these beautiful! |
I’ve wanted a good pair of cowboy boots since my hubby got his Ariat’s a couple of years ago.
He adores his boots and wears them well, I must say. Country Outfitter has so many beautiful boots and at very reasonable prices. I think I’m going to get my youngest a new pair for Christmas- he’s outgrown his poor boots several times over and still tries to shove his feet into them!
Mountain View is a wonderful place for a mini-vacation right here in Arkansas. My family begs to go several times a year. Besides the Ozark folk center you have floating and fishing on the White River, great camping, Tommy’s Pizza, Blanchard Springs Caverns, Loco Ropes zipline center, free music on the square every night, horseback riding and so much more.
Jul 10, 2012 | Texas, Travel, United States
We ran to Dallas this past weekend-
Sort of a last minute mini-summer vacation for the boys
(who start back to school on Monday!)
 |
| Jac’s request- Lunch at the Rainforest Cafe |
 |
| Whappin’ Mon? |
 |
| Max’s Request- Lego Discovery Center |
 |
| Boys in Heaven |
We also got to visit with my family and some dear friends.
(And fulfill mom’s request- IKEA!)
Summer will be gone much too soon.
Jun 10, 2012 | Arkansas, Travel, United States
We went to the Crater of Diamond State Park with our Cub Scouts this weekend to camp and try our luck at mining diamonds. It’s a two hour drive there from Little Rock, and a beautiful drive. We ended up with just three families camping on Friday, but had four more join us to dig on Saturday. For those of you who don’t know, the park is the only place IN THE WORLD where diamond digging is open the the general public.
 |
| Searching for Diamonds |
Digging is much harder than you’d think. There is a lot of mica,
quartz, jasper, and calcite that confuses you and makes you think you’ve
struck it rich. I found some pretty green rocks I thought might be
jade, but were volcanic ash! It makes for great geology lessons and Cub
Scouts
can earn lots of goodies like: Geology beltloop and pin,
family travel requirements, Webelos Geology pin requirements, and lots
more.
 |
| Sifting and Washing |
The boys loved getting dirty (but not so much getting hot) so we treated them with a trip to the little water park right outside the digging field. I think that was the highlight for them!
 |
| Cooling Off in the Waterpark |
Some hints: If you go with a large group they give great rates. We only paid $1.81 for the kids and $3 for adults to dig. You can take wagons, tools, screens, coolers, from home. If you don’t want to cart all that they also rent everything you can hope for there and have a restaurant where you can rest. Take swimsuits if you want to get the kids clean before going home!
Jan 18, 2012 | Arkansas, Travel, United States
Sunday we drove up to N.W. Arkansas to check out Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. It’s a pretty drive through the Boston Mountains so no one complained about the 3 hrs each way in the car…(not too much anyway.)
 |
| Crystal Bridges Museum |
We planned on meeting my grandpa (aka Popie), mom, and aunt there but were really late getting on the road so we imagined they would be done by the time we got there. Funny thing was as I was calling them to see where in the museum they were we happened to look across the pond and see them looking out the window of another gallery!
 |
| Ceiling is a work of art |
 |
| My “artsy” guys |
The grounds and building alone are enough to warrant a trip to
Bentonville to see the museum. But the collection inside is also
amazing. One of the most comprehensive American art collections in the
world. Here are some highlights:
 |
| Can you imagine the dinner conversations with this family? |
 |
| Hi, George! |
 |
| Mary Cassatt is my favorite |
 |
| This reminded us of Scott’s grandma |
 |
| Maxfield Parrish’s “The Lantern Bearers” is so dreamy |
We met up with some friends for dinner in Fayetteville and drove the kids around on a mini- tour that sounded like this:
“See that- that’s where I had geography.” (Dad)
“That’s the dorm I used to live in.” (Mom)
“That’s the dorm I used to live in.” (Dad)
“They didn’t have this cool stuff when we went here.” (both of us)
“That’s where Grammy and your grandpa lived” (mom)
“That’s where mom and dad met.” (Mom)
“That’s where I took your mom on our first date.” (Dad)
“That’s where I used to eat tacos.” (Dad)
Don’t know if they heard us but it was fun anyway!
