The Rest of St. Louis

I have three more things to report on from our St. Louis vacation.  First, I'll talk about swimming.  Aria enjoyed pretty much everything we did in St. Louis, but she was thrilled to go swimming every day.  Our hotel had a pretty small pool, but Aria didn't mind.  She gained so much confidence by swimming every day for a week.  She couldn't touch in the pool, so she constantly had her tube or arm floaties.  This was her first time using arm floaties and she did really great!  She also learned to jump in without holding our hands and she enjoyed floating on her back, which she has never been real fond of in the past.  Our daily schedule was usually get up and go out to see the sights, come back for a nap, then swim in the late afternoon/early evening.  One of the days we went to a local public pool instead of the hotel pool.  That was really fun because they had a great kid area with 18 inches of water, a playground in the water with a fun slide, a lazy river, and a separate splash pad.  It was similar to the pools in our area, but a bit smaller, less crowded, and just better! 

In general, staying in the hotel was just awesome!  Aria did fantastic sleeping in a big bed and going to sleep for both naps and at bedtime.  She loved staying at the hotel and having a swimming pool just down the hall!

Another activity we did in St. Louis was a Mississippi Riverboat cruise.  It was just an hour-long sightseeing cruise, so we didn't get too far from the arch.  We thought Aria would really love going on the boat on the river because she loves rivers and crossing over them on bridges.  I think she enjoyed the trip, but was a bit confused because the boat was so big.  She couldn't see the water real well and of course, it was really hot.  I just had to buy the picture they took of us since we are all looking at the camera and smiling.  It makes me think of our whole trip, not just the boat ride.

And last, but certainly not least, we went to a Cardinals/Dodgers baseball game.  The whole reason we took this trip in July and risked sweltering heat was to see Mommy's team (Cardinals) beat Daddy's team (Dodgers)!  Oops!  I mean, we wanted to go when the Dodgers were in town since you don't often get to see an LA team, even on tv around here.  We were excited to see another round of our little family rivalry (and I'd like to point out that we have never seen the Dodgers beat the Cardinals) and Aria was excited to see Fred Bird.  We had excellent seats just behind the Cardinals dugout, but back far enough we were in the shade.  And, it was the coolest day at only 95 degrees!  It is awesome that Busch Stadium lets you bring in your own soft coolers, so we had plenty of water, snacks, and washcloths to keep cool without spending a fortune.  Aria is also still young enough to not need a ticket, so we got quite the deal!  Aria did phenomenal during the game and didn't really complain at all.  We kept her entertained and were able to enjoy the game ourselves.  When Fred Bird (aka Red Bird to Aria) was a couple sections over, Aria and I raced over to see him.  She went right up and gave him a high five.  She wanted him to hold her, but he just kind of helped her turn around for a picture.

Definitely the highlight of her day!  She loves mascots!  Overall, it was an excellent vacation!  We all had a blast every day.  I truly can't wait to do it again!