Thursday 6:00 am
With the kids loaded snuggly into the back of the Fit, bellies full of dramamine we set off. We made it the 2+ hours to Nebraska City (the kids slept the whole time) for breakfast at McDonalds.
Thursday 3:30 pm
After a long drive with bickering children, one of whom tried to disembark while hurtling along at 77 mph and briefly reduced me to tears, we arrive at my mom and dad's house. Hooray! We hang out, watch cable, eat dinner, catch up, whathaveyou.
Friday 11:00 am
I head off to Music Folk and play baby Taylors and baby Martins for an hour. Delightful. I'm settled on the mahogany baby Taylor whenever I have an extra couple hundred dollars sitting around for another guitar. I really would like a small one for travel (I had to go guitar-less this trip) and for when the kids start to play (becasue they WILL play--we WILL have a family band).
Friday 12:30 pm
After getting my guitar jones taken care of, I drive downtown and proveI am NOT a country bumpkin. I meet the delightful Tim at Wasabi on Washington for some conversation and fantastic sushi--no restaurants like this in Hastings.
Friday 2:30 pm
I meet my parents and kids at the St. Louis Art Museum. The kids only last an hour, which is okay. We see the Egytian sarcophogi along with the African and Polynesian art--mostly masks and carvings which they are totally into--plus some unrelated suits of armor. Then we have our obligatory and delicious trip to Ted Drewes.
Friday 6:00 pm
Off to Doug & Sandy's for dinner. The kids have a ball. Phoebe spends the night for a little girl-time with her cousin Jordan. I fear the boys will be jealous and freak out. Even though they are all sharing a bedroom at my parents, they don't notice her absense until breakfast. The fact that my mom gave them their first Transformers has them distracted and blissfully occupied.
Saturday 11:00 am
Snows all day -- giant freak-of-nature flakes that have no choice but to melt on contact with the ground. I go to Target (ahhhh) then pick up Phoebe. We meet Mom, Dad & the boys at McDonalds for a late lunch and a little Playland excercise. We had planned to go to the park but then....snow.
Saturday 6:00 pm
Doug, Sandy, Jordan and Calvin come for dinner. Calvin keeps appearing upstairs with strange bleeding cuts. No one can explain. Monday night after cleaning up the basement I find a smashed coffee mug in the carpet. Apparently Ollie was throwing toys in the air and Calvin followed suit with the closest thing at hand--a porcelin coffee cup. I asked Ollie why he didn't tell me this when we were asking how Calvin cut himself. He forgot.
Sunday 11:00 am
Church. Lunch at PJ's.
Sunday 2:00 pm
Mom and I take the kids shopping for new Crocs and (why not?) Croc jewlery. Thanks, Mom. I drop them off and head to World Market, Old Navy, The Knowledge Store and Borders and only buy a cheap rug and a game called Bananagrams.
Sunday 6:30 pm
I drive over to Nate & Gina's new house for the grand tour. We have dinner at Dewey's Pizza in downtown Kirkwood, which is now strangely metroplitan, sophisticated, and full of restaurants. Nate & I each have a wild mushroom pie and Gina opts for pepperoni (which is given the misleading name X-pepperoni). Nate takes Gina home to finish a little school work and then comes over to see his godchild, Oliver. We play Bananagrams, Transformers and Nate times the children to see how long it takes them to run around the house.
Monday 10:30 am
Grandpa takes us to the St. Louis Zoo.
Monday 3:00 pm
Naptime for me.
Monday 4:30 pm
We drive to the Shrewsbury Metrolink Station and take the train down to Laclede's Landing to eat at the Old Spaghetti Factory. This makes me want to live in the city. I say this aloud and my parents say, yes, Kirkwood has a lot to offer. I say, "No, I mean in the CITY." Oh. Dinner is good and fun. We take the Metrolink back. Five minutes into the half-hour train ride Oliver has to pee--BAD. I keep him talking to distract him but he is squirming and pinching off (if you know what I mean) and near tears. I debate taking the souvenir Old Spagetti Factory plastic cups out of my purse for him to pee in. We make it to Shrewsbury--by now Mo is in a similar state--we run down the platform, down the stairs, half way down the parking lot where they drop trough and pee in the grass. We are one classy crew.
Tuesday 6:30 am
We pile back into the Fit. Stop at the St. Louis Bread Co (Panera Bread to some of you) for a Mocha for me and pumpkin Muffies all around. Then, we hit the highway.
Tuesday 3:30 pm
After a delightful day with nearly perfectly behaved children (much to my delight and all praise to God) we arrive home. Aaaaah. Home.
Things to note:
Every morning my parents made a Starbucks run. Every night I stayed up well past midnight watching Christina Aguilera: Behind the Music and Australia's Next Top Model. This is what happens when one who normally get five channels with questionable reception on their bunny ears enter a home with digital cable. The kids watched a Dirty Job's marathon on Sunday. I feel thoroughly vacationed. Also--Paul did the math when I got home. The Fit averaged ABOVE 30 mpg for the trip. One tank hit just above 37. I'm glad we packed in!
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1 comment:
I loved the story of the peeing in the grass. LOVED IT. Did I say I loved it?
Anyway, I love the Spaghetti Factory and I haven't been there in a long long time (the St. Louis one -- the only I've ever been to... I am denial that there are others). In fact, I think the last time I was at the Spaghetti Factory...I was a senior (maybe junior?) in high school and we went to St. Louis for a band trip. We ate and ate and ate and then my friend Joel and I thought it would be fun to roll down the hill on the river-side of the Arch. BAD IDEA.
Three cheers to the Dunbars for no cable!
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