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st louis

Blog, city garden, Family, st. louis, summer

St. Louis night life


That blog title drew you in, didn’t it? Well, if you have kids and you’re looking for something fun to do in St. Louis, maybe it will be relevant.
 
I should be a spokesperson for the Citygarden. The two times we’ve visited this year have been two of my favorite outings with the kids. This time I really wanted to be there after the sun set so we could also see the fountains all lit up.
boy playing in water
young boy having fun at splashpad
dad and daughter
reflection in the water

We got there a couple of hours before sunset so we could swim in the pools. The splash pad was pretty crowded when we got there but was pretty much cleared out by the time the pool closed at 8. 
(the only pool open that night was a pool for kids 5 and under. If you are wanting to swim in the other one, you may want to check to see if it’ll be open)

fun kids activities for summer

 

this kind of has an Olympic gold medalist vibe, eh?
smiling boy at city garden

 

young girl having fun at water park
wet hair

 

liam at city garden
mom and daughter

 

If you ignore the fact that my arm kind of looks like a nub, I sort of love this picture of Evangeline saying “hi” to Kingston.
mommy and little girl

 

boy with strong pose

 

young brothers running

 

boy watching colorful lights at city garden

Also ignore the giant water spot on my stomach, left by a little girl who shall not be named 😉 I really wanted a shot with the fountains. But I think there was some sign posted somewhere that stated “if you see this family trying to take a picture, do whatever is necessary to photobomb it.” 
We had almost the whole place to ourselves at this point. But there always happened to be oblivious kids jumping in all of our shots.

pregnancy picture

Even though we had been playing there for 2 hours already, the boys went crazy once the lights were more apparent. Liam declared it “so much more fun than playing video games.” How’s that for a review?

colorful changing lights at splash pad

 

lights changing colors at water park

 

light display at st louis splashpad

 

The darker it got, the harder it was to photograph. So you’ll just have to trust me when I say how awesome it is at night. The kids said they had even more fun than our last visit–which of course made me decide that we have to visit one more time before this baby is born. And of course, after he makes his appearance. 

And that appearance? Hopefully that will promptly follow my best friend’s wedding on July 4th. The weeks leading up to the wedding will be filled with many events, extreme nesting, and a waddling pregnant woman with rapidly dying brain cells. 
Thanks for reading along 🙂

 

Blog, city garden, Family, st. louis

St. Louis City Garden


This past week we were able to make it out to the City Garden on the perfect day. I have been wanting to cram all the fun St. Louis activities in before it starts getting too hot outside and I start getting too uncomfortable to do much walking. An added plus is that kids are not on summer break yet, giving us the chance to avoid the crowds.
 
Have you been to the City Garden before? I have decided, after this past visit, that this is one of my favorite things to do in the city. I only wish it was closer so we could visit more often! It is, quite literally, a garden that is tucked in the midst of a busy city. It is so much fun to see the city buildings and the Arch while playing in the park!
 
little girl at city garden

Of course the main attraction for us is the splash pad. All four of the kids love anything to do with water. And when the kids are happy, mommy is happy. 
I think we’re destined to live close by the beach/ocean. Our family is always happier when there is sand and water involved. Need proof?

girl running at water park

 

dad and boy playing in water
kids activities
We were there to celebrate Evangeline’s birthday and I think it’s safe to say that she enjoyed her birthday celebration. I mean, that face!! 
birthday girl

 

birthday girl

 

Part of the fun of the day was getting the chance to play around with the camera. “Freezing” the water with a high shutter speed made for some really neat pictures. And then there are all the genuine smiles that I caught that make me super happy.
big family

kids splashing water

family fun
boy at splash pad

 

cool water freeze frame

 

boy smacking water
city garden giant head statue

 

st louis city garden

 

boy and st louis arch in background

 

evangeline running by head statue

 

photo credit: Liam
married couple

 

photobomb: Kingston
married couple kissing
In case I haven’t talked it up enough, make sure you visit the City Garden! It’s a fun place to go, day or night. If you do happen to visit at night, all the fountains in the splash pad are all lit up different colors. There are also small pools for the kids to swim once they open after Memorial Day. 
 
We will be visiting again very soon 🙂