St. Louis Trip 2011 Part 2: Cardinals Game!

Are we brave or slightly insane? That was the question that we asked ourselves when we decided to take both boys to a Cardinals game while in St. Louis in August. Holden was pumped about it, and we figured we drag Hunter along to everything else, why not a baseball game? We took Holden to his first game at the same age, but we had both grandparents with us then. And....let's just say Hunter is of a slightly different variety of toddler than Holden was!

Here are the boys at the hotel before the game. In the pics with Holden in the blue shirt, he was playing nicely with his trucks, and Hunter kept getting in his way. I love the top left pic. Holden had flung his arms out in the air in his usual, "I'm DONE with this baby!" pose. And there sits Hunter, giant baby, right in his way, grinning at him adoringly. He just has no concept of personal boundaries. And not only does he steal Holden's toys, but he drools on them. Unforgivable in big brother's eyes. :) After I got them both in their Cardinals outfits, they were hamming it up in the hotel lobby for me.

This pic is out of order because I loaded it from my phone. Love this of my 3 guys at the game.


We went to Calico's to eat before the game. Love that place! Love it more without kids! HA! Holden decided he didn't care for their pizza, and all Hunter wanted to do was eat ice cubes. Jay and I managed to scarf some food between the dramatic moments. Then we headed to the stadium.

As usual, the playground area at the stadium was a big hit. (No pun intended! Hee hee!)

"Take me out to the ballgame...take me out to the crowd..."

Family pic we had taken at the photography station. Little did we know then that the Brewers/Cards would be having quite the playoffs down the road!

And...as usual I had some random lady take this one. Just because Jay loves it SO much when I do that. HA!

I ended up walking back to the hotel to get Hunter ready for bed after about 2 hours. I was impressed that he made it that long. Holden and Jay stayed a bit longer, then watched the rest in the hotel lobby, where drinks were less than 5 bucks apiece. Lol. Holden thought it was very cool to hang out in the lobby at night "with the grown ups." The Cardinals lost that particular game, but we all know who won the WORLD SERIES this year! And they beat the Brewers when it counted, to get there.

St. Louis Trip Aug. 2011 Part 1

Happy turkey day, everyone! The Hobson family has so much to be thankful for. At some point I will be caught up on my blog and post Thanksgiving pics! Today I'm taking a walk down memory lane and working on our August St. Louis trip. I have to admit, it's fun to look back at the pics later and remember all of the special moments.

The prerequisite road trip pics. Aunt Allie gave Holden this hilarious monkey neck pillow that used to be hers when she was little. He loved that thing and insisted on wearing it the entire trip. It doesn't look all that comfy to me due to the fact that his booster seat back combined with it actually push his head forward! Hunter was happy as long as I kept a constant supply of snacks coming his way. He did nap for awhile, too. Jay also enjoyed the snacks. :)

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza in downtown St. Louis. We have stayed there on several occasions and really like it. I was cracking up at how much luggage we had for just 3 days! Holden was a good little helper, wearing his backpack and pulling his little suitcase through the parking garage. The boys had fun exploring our hotel room and looking at the arch out of our window.

We took the boys to Union Station for dinner the first night. We can't visit St. Louis without a stop at The Fudgery! This year, both boys liked listening to the workers sing and watching them make the fudge. We bought some peanut butter fudge. It was SO yummy! Hunter was a big fan, imagine that. Holden wouldn't touch it. :)

Union Station, St. Louis. The boys enjoyed throwing pennies in the fountains, stopping by the Cardinals shop, playing in the little vehicles, and eating pizza for dinner.

After dinner, we went to the outdoor area to feed the fish. I loved doing this as a little girl, and enjoy sharing it with the boys now. Hunter nearly gave me a heart attack a minimum of 20 times as he would have dove right into the water with the fish if we would have let him. Gotta love his enthusiasm!

We had beautiful weather while we were there! It is the first time I've been to St. Louis in the summer months and not been a sweaty mess. It was mid-70's and sunny, sooo nice. We were able to enjoy being outdoors.

The cooler weather did make our evening pool time a bit on the chilly side! That did not deter the boys so Jay and I put on our game faces. It wasn't too bad until we got OUT of the water, on the windy rooftop pool, and discovered they were out of towels! LOL. There was also the matter of our staircase experience...Jay decided the stairs would be faster than the elevator, slipped while carrying Holden, both of them got banged up and almost knocked Hunter and me over, and after that we used the elevator the rest of the entire trip! Ha!

We took an evening carriage ride, one of Holden's favorite things to do when we are in the city. The boys were actually in their pj's! The lady took us down by the riverfront, on the cobblestone streets. Both boys really enjoyed it.

On day 2, we went to another of our favorite spots, The Magic House. There is one area that has a different theme each time we are there. This time it was Alice in Wonderland. Holden had fun going through the rabbit hole and playing with all of the big objects. Hunter made me laugh because of all things he fixated on a tea set and played with it the entire time we were in that section. Daddy loved that. :)

Holden was so cute in the baby nursery area. He was "doctoring" this baby. Love how he was kissing his hand!

Both boys had a blast in the construction area, and made a visit to the "Oval Office."

There are so many neat things to see and do at The Magic House. We covered quite a bit but there's no way to get through it all in a day. Hunter discovered a wall of light switches and was in HEAVEN! He was obsessed with lights this summer. He'd have a little tantrum and point and squeal at the light switches until someone picked him up so that he could flip them. I started dying when I saw this wall. I wish I could have them install these in his room at home! Right at his height level. There was also another wall with doorbells that he loved, too. Holden loved playing in the village...hospital, library, pizza parlor, grocery store, "fishing" area, etc. He is really into imaginary play.

Hunter enjoyed the grocery store with all of the "balls." That is what all of the fruit and the potatoes looked like to him. I spent a lot of time doing damage control.

Love this pic!



We had a great day!

Before we left, we let the boys enjoy the outdoor area. I remembered the water from the previous year and brought extra clothes so that it didn't matter if the boys got soaked. Good thing! Hunter also decided to have a little action in the fountain. Lol!

This pic is out of order; it was actually after our carriage ride. I only remember this because they are in the same matching pj's that they are wearing in the pics on the carriage. ;) I love watching my babies sleep. No matter how old they get, they will always be my babies, especially in their sweet and innocent slumber time. They were WIPED each day of our trip and slept awesome! We got to sleep in until around 8 each morning, which is amazing for us! Love how little Hunter is laying in a puddle of his own drool in the pack n' play.

Part 2 coming soon. :)