Alabama Road Trip Part 1: St. Louis

Yesterday we took off on our big road trip to the South. We woke the kids up at 4:00 am, they slumbered excitedly out to the car, and we started driving away from the snow in 32° weather.

This is what we left behind:

The kids were well prepared for the 12-hour car ride to our first destination, St. Louis. It was a grueling drive, but they were absolute troopers. Not a single complaint. Of course, the calisthenics we did at each break seemed to help take the edge off their restlessness. ("Ok, let's do some jumping jacks! Now stand up on your tippy toes and reach high while you turn in circles! Now run to the car!")

We got to St. Louis a couple hours before dinnertime. We knew we wanted to visit the City Museum, which is a crazy madhouse of fun for kids and adults alike. We also knew that last night was probably our only chance to go, so Laura and Karl spent the evening climbing through tunnels, watching acrobats, playing on a huge outdoor sculpture of a playground, and walking 10-flights of spiral staircases through a cave in order to slide down a 10-story slide (I chickened out about halfway down and made my way back down).


By the end, Karl's energy had plum worn out and he crashed. Hard. Unfortunately our visit ended on a bad note with exhausted kids, so I'm not sure how they'll remember the visit to the City Museum. They'll either remember the super fun they had playing, or the scary cave excursion and playground mishaps. Either way, it was a very interesting place to visit. And both kids overcame their fear of heights and conquered the huge slide!


After a great night's sleep (those kids fell asleep FAST) and a maple syrup-filled breakfast, we were ready for the highlight: the Gateway Arch.


The kids were very excited to actually TOUCH the arch.

We took a tram inside the arch to the very top. Matt was not so sure (we all have this fear of heights issue), but we made him go. He and Laura closed their eyes all the way to the top (even though the little pods just had tiny windows that looked out into the inside of the arch so you couldn't even tell how high you were). At the top, we got out of the tram and got to look out the small windows that overlook St. Louis. Laura and Karl would like to inform you that they were higher than the Statue of Liberty and the Washington Monument!


Here are some views from the top of the Arch:


Matt didn't actually see any of these views, because he refused to look out the windows. In fact, he said just seeing those pictures made him sick. He sure looked sick while we were up there...

After our ride, we went back outside into the beautiful spring weather. Laura had had enough running by then, and decided to take a break in the arch's shadow.

We continued our journey by driving on to Memphis, where we are right now. Tomorrow promises to be another exciting day, so stay tuned for updates!

Readers’ Theater

This morning, Karl's first grade class presented “Readers’ Theater”—short plays, but since the kids are newly minted readers, they read from a script rather than memorizing their lines.

Karl played the part of the Big Bad Wolf in “Little Red Riding Hood,” and he did an OUTSTANDING job. See for yourself:



Karl was justifiably proud after his performance.


Grandma was there to watch Karl...


...and she snapped this picture of the two of us.


You did a great job Karl!

Water Blasters

Karl had another Science Museum class this past weeked, so we trekked down to Saint Paul on Saturday afternoon.

This class was called "Water Blasters," though Karl said they really didn't do much blasting. But he came away with a cool experiment made up of syringes, plastic tubing, and a stop sign...



While Karl was at class, Laura enjoyed her favorite downtown location — the Library.



Afterward, we headed out to visit Deborah in Saint Louis Park. Deborah presented Laura with the stocking cap she had just finished knitting!

Lighten Up!

Tonight was the third and fourth grade music program. The theme this year was "Lighten Up!" and the show was full of silly, light-hearted songs with plenty of goofy jokes and a few crazy skits too. Laura looked like she had a blast.

The fourth graders dressed as cowboys and cowgirls. Laura wore the sequined pink hat that she got in San Antonio a few years ago, and even though you can't see them, her back pockets were studded with rhinestones.


Grandma and Grandpa joined us for the ice cream social that preceded the program. We decided to get there early in order to beat the crowds. We certainly succeeded—we were the first ones to get any ice cream, and we had almost an hour to kill before the big show.


But it was worth the wait! Laura had a few moments to shine: she was in the small group that opened the concert, she was one of three kids that played the xylophone on one song, and she recited a tongue-twister in a "Peter Piper" song. Here are a few highlights…


Laura and Mrs. Holmstrom, her music teacher. I think Laura has grown a little bit since last year's program.


Excellent job Laura, you were great!

Mall of America Play-A-Thon 2011

Yesterday we headed down to the Mall of America so Laura could play the piano at the Minnesota Music Teachers Association's "Play-a-Thon," which is a fundraiser to collect money for music scholarships. Laura jumps at the chance to go to the Mall of America, so having to play on stage in the middle of a huge, busy, noisy shopping mall was absolutely no problem.


With the performance out of the way, it was time to shop. We discovered the Hello Kitty store. Being in it makes you want to cover your eyes and run away screaming, "Ahhh, no more girly pink trinkets! I can't take any more expressionless Japanese cuteness!"

Laura likes Hello Kitty, but not so much that she was in awe of the vast, endless selection. She was happy to get a Hello Kitty charm for her charm bracelet. Whew.

We also made the obligatory visit to the Lego Store, which makes you want to close your eyes and scream for a different reason: all the crying little boys clutching $100 Lego sets that their parents won't buy for them. Karl and Laura were happy filling a small plastic tub with assorted loose Legos. Whew again!

Blow it Up!

Yesterday we spent the day in St. Paul because Karl had a class at the Science Museum. It was called "Blow it Up!" and was exactly what it sounds like: a group of 1st and 2nd grade boys (and one brave girl) who spent three hours learning about the physics of explosion. Karl came bouncing out of that class with a huge smile on his face!


The grand finale was making a dry ice bomb. You'll have to ask Karl about the chemistry of how that works, because I don't remember. I do know that it's illegal in many jurisdictions.


Meanwhile, Matt, Laura, and I went back to Matt's office to hang out. First we stopped at the St. Paul Public Library, which always sucks us inside when we try to pass by.

Once in Matt's office building, Matt went to work (geek) and Laura and I found an empty conference room. We brought the new iPad, so Laura got to watch movies and play the new "Plants vs. Zombies" game. Yes, we are parenting gurus.

I sat and read in front of this lovely view of St. Paul.

After Karl's class it was LeeAnn Chin time! Karl takes time-tests in his math class, and had been struggling with one for a long time without passing. His spirits were lagging, so I had mentioned that when he passed, he could choose whatever he wanted for dinner. I was thinking I'd be making pancakes or something, but Karl had grander plans. He rocked that test and then announced he wanted dinner at LeeAnn Chin! I had no idea he had such a thing for Americanized Chinese food, but luckily he was willing to wait until this weekend to cash in his dream dinner. It was pretty tasty...

I'll leave you with this awesome picture Karl made of Humpty Dumpty. It's too cool not to share.

The Elm Creek Tubing Tradition

Since we still have tons of snow around, we figured we might as well enjoy it, so we went snow tubing today. Of course the Elliotts were there, and this year we recruited a new member in our snow tubing club--Bryan. We knew Uncle Bryan is an enthusiastic snow lover, and since he lives right by the park reserve, he joined us and found out how fun it is to fly down the hills in an innertube. This year there were even bigger and badder runs, to which the boys were drawn right away. Laura was a little hesitant to go down the bigger hills (ok, she flat out refused), but when I went down them I knew she would love it if she just tried it. Nope, still wouldn't do it. When I told her I wouldn't take her to any water parks if she couldn't do this (I can be really tough when I have to be), she reluctantly agreed, and quickly decided the faster, higher hills were the best! So, we had fabulous sunny weather, there weren't many people there, and everyone had a blast, so it was another great day at Elm Creek!