We had a great time in St. Louis. The weather could not have been better. We left Friday morning at 9:00 and stopped at Deanna Rose's Children's Farm in Kansas City. We were just getting there when I said, "I think this is the suburb where Amy Pulk lives." Amy and I were good friends in high school and haven't seen each other since about 1996. We were at this Farm for about 10 minutes when I hear, "Heather?!?!" I turn around and there is Amy Pulk and her two kids! How crazy is that?! I still can't get over that. So, Deanna Rose's Children's Farm. It's this beautiful 12 acre park full of farm animals and playground equipment and flowers and exhibits. And it's FREE. You can pay $3 here and there to do things like fish or take a wagon or pony ride. We just did the free stuff since we were on a schedule. Amy said she had never seen it so crowded. Again, the weather was amazing. We've been having 100 degree days for a while so a sudden day in the 70's is a big treat.
We got to St. Louis at about 5:30. We spent Friday night just catching up with our friends and their boys. Saturday morning we got up and went to the St. Louis Zoo. This was also free. It's probably as big or bigger than the MN Zoo but Anheuser Busch is in St. Louis and funds all these things for the city to enjoy - very cool. It was another gorgeous day (73 and mostly sunny) and apparently the entire city of St. Louis had the same idea we had. It was a little too crowded to really enjoy the zoo (took 45 minutes to just get into the park area and find a place to park) but it seemed really neat and we'd definitely go back again. On a weekday! On Sunday we took our kids to see the Arch by the Mississippi River. It was beautiful. We wanted to ride up the Arch but Jackson was not in the mood so we opted to just walk around it. We stopped at Trader Joe's on the way back, went for a quick swim with our friends, and then it was time to get back to Manhattan. The kids had so much fun with Eli and Ezra. We will look forward to having them visit us in Manhattan.
Our challenge over the weekend, and actually it continues now, was Jackson's attitude. It seemed to come out of nowhere. I've never seen him so sassy and crabby. He was fine towards the other kids, but he seemed to be just pissed and Brian and I. It did not help that Andrew was just an angel for the whole trip. Well, it totally helped Brian and I, but it did not help Jackson. :) By the time Sunday came around, we were all ready to lose it. I'm not sure what's going on with him. I suppose it's a stage and he's just testing, but it's really out of character for him. He's talking back a lot and not listening, crying out of nowhere if he's not getting what he wants -flexing his independence muscle. He is so cautious about most things so it makes me feel good to see that kind of confidence in him, but not when he's rude about it. It's challenging to remember to try and redirect his behavior when he gets like that. I just want to yell even though I know it's so much more effective to just redirect. He really responds to that.
The boys had haircuts this morning at my salon. It's a nice Aveda salon and they actually have rules about children there - they should only be there if they have an appointment, not just hanging out while Mom gets a haircut - so I was nervous that Andrew would scream like he did during his last haircut in Winona. Last time I made the mistake of trying to give him juice and a sucker while he was already upset. He was too far gone to soothe with a treat. This time I gave him a sucker before the haircut started and he did so much better. He wasn't perfect, but he was very good. He didn't cry at all and sat pretty still. It helps that the girl who cuts their hair is so sweet and really beautiful. Last time Jackson told me he loved her and this time he told me he'd like to invite her to his birthday party.
That's all for now. Lessons this afternoon and then I'd like to get out for a walk. I need to take advantage of these mild temps while we have them. This weekend is the Riley County Fair so I expect the temps will be back up near 100 where they belong. A county fair isn't a fair until you want to throw up from the heat.
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