For Father's Day, Noah and I took Cody to St. Louis to watch his favorite major league baseball team play. We made the 7 hour trip to see the Cardinals and boy, was it worth it!
We cut the drive into two days with Noah on the downhill side of potty training. We knew we'd need to make frequent stops. So Thursday afternoon we left at nap time so Noah could catch a snooze in the car. Our destination was Springfield, MO. We made it just in time for dinner at the Steak and Shake which we aren't real sure we'll ever go back to one. (The lobby smelled of b.o. which isn't a good first impression smell to a food joint if you know what I mean.)
We cut the drive into two days with Noah on the downhill side of potty training. We knew we'd need to make frequent stops. So Thursday afternoon we left at nap time so Noah could catch a snooze in the car. Our destination was Springfield, MO. We made it just in time for dinner at the Steak and Shake which we aren't real sure we'll ever go back to one. (The lobby smelled of b.o. which isn't a good first impression smell to a food joint if you know what I mean.)
We tucked ourselves in for the night. Noah in his own bed and us in ours. Cody and I were a little anxious about sleeping in the same room with Noah. (We'd had a bad experience when he was a baby during a 4th of July trip to Arkansas.) Noah did really well once he stopped talking to himself and fell asleep. The next day we were in no hurry; which was nice to cuddle in bed and just piddle around the hotel room. We loaded up; our bellies growling for breakfast and to our surprise found a flat tire after we checked out of the hotel! Great. What to do now? Cody is a fast thinker on his feet. It must be all that emergency responder stuff built into him...Cody changed the tire and drove to a Wal-Mart. Instead of us being 'screwed', the tire got unscrewed and plugged while we enjoyed pancakes at I-Hop. We even picked up a few Cardinals shirts for the game back at Wal-Mart while they put the tire back on! Then we were on the road again. Three hours to St. Louis!!
Driving into St. Louis is pretty cool seeing the skyline and the Arch - The Gateway to the West -on the horizon!! We stayed at the Westin hotel which is literally right across the street from the stadium...I mean right across the street. It was extremely convenient! After we checked in, we took a family nap to get rested up for the game. Noah was very excited about having his very own bed, too! If Cody or I sat on his bed, he would point at us and say, "Get down. That's my bed!"
We got to the stadium about an hour and a half before game time - plenty of time to explore, peruse the gift shop (twice) and grab a hot dog or two. 
It was extremely humid. I grabbed a carrying tray from the concessions to use as a fan. That's why we hit the gift shop twice...for the ac. And Cody got a hat and shirt and Noah got a red bat with matching ball.
We got to our seats - about ten rows up from 1st base. Noah got in for free, so he was going to have to sit in our laps, but the people in the seats next to us never showed. We had plenty of room to spread out and keep Noah occupied. He loved watching the players, but gave up quickly on that. Thank goodness we bought a Woody and Bullseye toy at Wal-Mart back in Springfield! Plus a child's glove. And our i-Phones. (Is it normal for a two-year-old to know how to complete work the photo album and several games on an i-Phone???) Noah was occupied. He even did a great job pottying during the game which gave him a chance to stretch his legs and run around a bit. (And he only had two accidents the whole trip! Noah is in big boy underwear, too! Woo Hoo!)
It was extremely humid. I grabbed a carrying tray from the concessions to use as a fan. That's why we hit the gift shop twice...for the ac. And Cody got a hat and shirt and Noah got a red bat with matching ball.We got to our seats - about ten rows up from 1st base. Noah got in for free, so he was going to have to sit in our laps, but the people in the seats next to us never showed. We had plenty of room to spread out and keep Noah occupied. He loved watching the players, but gave up quickly on that. Thank goodness we bought a Woody and Bullseye toy at Wal-Mart back in Springfield! Plus a child's glove. And our i-Phones. (Is it normal for a two-year-old to know how to complete work the photo album and several games on an i-Phone???) Noah was occupied. He even did a great job pottying during the game which gave him a chance to stretch his legs and run around a bit. (And he only had two accidents the whole trip! Noah is in big boy underwear, too! Woo Hoo!)
Noah took this one himself. Cute.<-----
The very first bat was a homerun knocked out of the park by Oklahoma's own Matt Holliday! It was really exciting! For most of the game the Cardinals were either behind or tied with the A's, but pulled one out in the end for the icing on the cake to this Father's Day trip. The Cardinals won 6-4!
