St. Louis with my Lindsey

On December 5th, Lindsey and I boarded a train that took us to St. Louis.  We easily could have just taken our car on the 4-hour drive, but the train was much more fun!  I didn't have to worry about driving on bad roads and it actually cost less to ride the train than it would have to drive the big Sequoia.  I love spending individual time with my kids, so this mini-vacation was the perfect chance to get to know my Lindsey better.  

I won't deny that I was exhausted as we embarked on this adventure.  I had been volunteering with the Kearney Family Foundation for the previous month, but the days leading up to this trip had been "go time."  On November 29 - December 4, I had worked on Foundation from about 7 am until midnight each day, so by Friday I was really missing my kids and desperately needed some R&R.  

I had no idea the train would have outlets for all our electronics, free WiFi, and an on-board cafe.  We watched The Polar Express while sipping hot cocoa and pretended we were headed to the North Pole.  Lindsey showed me her yarn tricks, we giggled every time the guy behind us snored loudly and I even finished my online Christmas shopping.

We stayed at a Marriott hotel using points Ryan has accrued on business trips.  The hotel had the longest couch I'd ever seen!  It also had a yummy bistro and Starbucks right in the lobby . . . a necessity for my winter traveling.

This was the beautiful view outside our window.  We never went to the arch because Lindsey was afraid of taking the ride to the top.

On Saturday morning we started getting dressed-up to see a Broadway play, but Lindsey realized she hadn't brought leggings to wear with her sweater dress.  I knew her legs would freeze without them, so she wore a casual "traveling outfit" on our fancy excursion.

Lindsey was very excited about all the taxis we rode around town on our trip.  I enjoyed not having to deal with traffic and parking, and she pretended to be terrified every time the taxi driver drove like a madman.  She held up two fingers in this picture because it was her second ride in a taxi.

After lunch at Chipotle, we walked past St. Louis University on our way to the famous Fox Theater.  These pictures don't come close to showing how gorgeous the theater looks inside.  While watching the Broadway production of Little Orphan Annie, I could barely keep myself from jumping on stage to sing with the performers.  I love the Annie soundtrack, and it's fun that my 10-year-old listens to the same songs I loved as a 10-year-old!

After spending two nights in the hotel, we boarded another train to head home.  I will never forget some of the fun moments we had together.  Although there were two beds in our room, Lindsey was adamant that we sleep next to each other and cuddle all night.  Don't ever grow up, Baby Girl.

Here are a few things that made us snort with laughter on our trip:

While asking Siri a question on my phone, I realized Lindsey had changed my phone name to "My Moms Poop."

While playing Akinator on the iPad together, we were asked if our secret character has small breasts.  We were trying to make the Akinator guess the actor Will Smith, so we weren't quite sure how to answer.  We laughed so hard we almost peed ourselves.

And as we were walking through the University campus, Lindsey said, "Mom, is that a statue of a naked man holding a naked women?"  Why yes, it is.  Art can be interesting sometimes.  And 10-year-olds think nakedness is the funniest thing ever.

As a side note, Brynlie went on her own mini-vacation to St. Louis last month with Ryan.  They ate expensive food, rode the tram to the top of the arch, watched movies in their hotel room and went on late-night ice cream raids.  And didn't take one photo of themselves.  How dare they?!