Missouri Vacation | St. Louis

June marked our first vacation of the summer -- a Missouri road trip, consisting of three different legs:
1) four nights in St. Louis to visit a college friend and meet my boss for the first time
2) nine nights in Jefferson City at our family's farmhouse, country living at its finest!
3) one night in Kansas City to visit another college friend

Working as an Executive Assistant for a St. Louis nonprofit, I've become very familiar with the city via Google maps, street names, restaurants, and coffee shops. It was so fun to be there in person -- get a feel for the neighborhoods (there's so much brick!), eat at some of the local spots, and see the city to scale :) The fact that one of my bridesmaids now lives in St. Louis made the visit all the better -- catching up with her and her husband was such a treat. Even the part where we get absolutely drenched in a pouring rainstorm in Forest Park! Plus, they graciously put our children to bed one evening so we could go on a double date with my boss and his husband. What a luxury!

While I squeezed in a work day, Mr. Fleece took the children to the STL Zoo and made the visit extra special by purchasing stuffed animals -- a coral snake (NLW), a black footed-penguin (CCW), and a llama (EDW). The zoo was such a hit that we went back as a family on our last day! We also got to celebrate Father's Day together at Winslow's Table and Mr. Fleece took NLW to see his first live performance at the Fox Theater "Bluey's Big Play," with characters we're familiar with from the beloved show, Bluey. 

More Highlights:
- Wandering through The Novel Neighbor
- Walking Lafayette Square
- Clementine's Ice Cream
- Hanging out with K&C
- Touring the office and grabbing lunch with a coworker
- Staying at the "Zoo Bungalow" Airbnb
- Playing at Turtle Playground
- Getting take-out at Revel Kitchen (twice!)
- Shopping at Schultz
- Magic House Children's Museum 

We'll be back to the Lou,

-SJW