Kentcky and St. Louis

Well...as you already know, we will me moving to the St. Louis area next year about this time for Jay's 2nd year of residency.  We will be living there at least 4 years.  While Jay was on vacation, we went to visit and check out the area a little.  We started our trip on Saturday May 29th.  We stopped off in Monticello, Kentucky to visit with family...Uncle Dale, Aunt Jill, Cousins Allie, Grayson, and Alecia!!!  They hadn't gotten to meet Livy yet, so this was thier introduction!!!  Of course they thought she was precious!!  She was not in the best mood at first...but who can blame her after riding 7 hours in a car.  She was also in a new environment with people she hadn't seen before.  But she soon warmed up to everyone a little bit and became more playful!!  We spent the night at the Parker Hotel...and I highly recommend it!!!  We were taken out to a great mexican restaurant for dinner and had a homemade breakfast made for us in the morning!!!  The bed was soft and comfy, and the other guests were so friendly!!  We would gladly stay there again in the future. 

On May 30, we headed the rest of the way to St. Louis.  We got there a little after lunch time.  Our GPS was not updated and took us to a very bad part of St. Louis instead of our hotel...so we had a hard time at the beginning.  We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn.  It was pretty nice and in a good neighborhood.  When we got there, Jay had been driving for so long that he needed a nap and Livy needed a chance to play and stretch out.  So we just hung out in the room for a little while.  Then we went to get some yummy Sonic for a later lunch!!  After lunch, we took Livy down to the pool at the hotel.  This was her first time in a pool.  The regular pool was really cold so she started shivering, but her dad kept her out of the water for the most part. We decided to put her in the hot tub, which was reallyjust warm bath water.  She liked it better!!  She stayed in it a while until she put her hand in her mouth and tasted chlorine.  Yuck!!  She did it one more time and then started to cry.  She did not like that taste at all.  So, we had to get out of the pool!!  Everyone had a shower and then Jay and I walked downstairs to find something to have for dinner at the restaurant.  We didn't get anything yet, but on the way down, Livy fell asleep...she was so tired from the drive and swimming...too cute.  So we just got some take-out instead.  We chilled out in the room the rest of the night.  Livy did not sleep that well in the hotel so it was a long night...but we made it!!

The next day, May 31st, we contacted a real estate agent to look at some areas to live.  We were definitely looking for a good school district since Livy will probably start school while were are living there.  We also need a house that is not too far away from the hospital for Jay and that is SAFE!!  So, one of the agents took us around and showed us some neighborhoods and houses...only from the outside.  The neighborhoods don't look great...none of the ones we saw anyway.  The houses are all ugly on the outside...unless they are half a million dollars...and we can't afford that.  After visiting the houses, we were getting pretty nervous about our decision to go there.  At least we got a good laugh out of it!! haha
Later that day, we tried to go to one of St. Louis's tourist attractions - Laclead's Landing.  It is supposed to be shops and restaurants in this one area that you can walk around at.  We thought this sounded good bc then Livy could ride around in the stroller for a bit and get some fresh air.  When we got there, we realized this was not a place for a baby.  It was dirty and smelly and definitely for those people looking to celebrate at night...lots of bars. So, we left!!  We headed to a great place to eat...OLIVE GARDEN!!!!  Haha...Jay and I laugh bc we didn't eat any of the local food!!  But, we had a nice lunch and then headed back to the hotel.  Later that night, we went riding around a few more areas...which defnitely seemed nicer than the first areas we saw.  Then it was time to sleep.  Livy slept in the bed with me bc that is the only way she would sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time.  By the middle of the night, she had turned herself from the head of the bed to the side of the bed and was kicking me off!!  It was another long night!! 
The next morning, June 1st, we packed up and headed back to that wonderful hotel we first stayed at!!  We spent another night with Jill, Allie, and Alecia.  Dale was at the new house they just bought and Grayson was at work out of town.  We had a lot of fun though!!  They made us a great dinner!  Then we got to go see the house that Grayson might be buying!!  We just spent some time hanging out and relaxing together.  Livy was definitely in a better mood and even let other people hold her!!!  Later that night, we got an email from a different realtor with some much better houses...so we were a little bit less nervous about moving since there might be a descent house out there that is not 100 years old!!!
June 2nd, we headed out really early to go home!!!  It was another long trip but it was so nice to finally be back in our own house...and Livy was so so so happy!!! She slept pretty good that night...woke up a few times but nothing bad.  She did develop a runny nose and congestion...which we think came from the pool.  Other than that, she was back to her same happy self!!!
It was a long trip but it gave us some very valuable information!!!