If you imagine legendary St. Louis Blue Keith Tkachuk’s family spending all their free time huddled by an ice rink, you'd only be partly right. While Keith's wife Chantal admits that, with two of the couple's three children involved in competitive hockey, they do log a fair amount of ice time, she had plenty of other things to share about what the Tkachuks do off the ice. Read on to see how she, Keith, Chantal, and their three children Matthew, 12, Brady, 10 and Taryn, 7, enjoy St. Louis.

Pictured (L-R): Taryn, Keith, Chantal and Brady, Matthew in front

How long have you lived in St. Louis?
We have been here since 2001, so the things we like to do have changed as our children have gotten older.  But we continue to love it here and find new things to enjoy. It’s such a cliché, but it really is such a great place to raise a family—great schools, great attractions and great people. So many wonderful people took us under our wing when we arrived. We have no plans of moving!

So are there any things you still like to do that are holdovers from when your children were smaller?
Our kids still love The Magic House, City Museum and the St. Louis Zoo —the attractions all St. Louis families treasure.

Any special traditions your children look forward to?
We hit Six Flags each summer and always have a great time. And every year at Christmas we visit Tilles Park to see the light display—how can you not have fun doing that? Some years we even go all out and get a carriage ride, too!

You have an athletic bunch—how prominently do sports figure in to your family time?
Sometimes it seems like sports is our family time! My sons play hockey, lacrosse, soccer and basketball, and my daughter dabbles in everything from field hockey to figure skating. We spend lots of time at games and practices, but my kids have always loved it. We have tickets for the Cardinals and Blues games, which we enjoy taking in as a family.

Do you ever play as a family?
We belong to the Missouri Athletic Club, and it has really become a way to spend time together. The boys like to play in the gym, my daughter likes to play tennis, and we all like to have dinner together.  When Keith was still playing hockey, it was something fun we could do together whether he was traveling or home with us. We also spend a lot of time playing at home—basketball in the yard or street hockey. We even have a serious whiffle ball tournament at Thanksgiving.

So surely you work up an appetite! Where does your family like to eat around town?
We love Scape in the Central West End for brunch. It’s great food with a unique atmosphere, and since we live in Creve Coeur, it’s a treat to go to the Central West End every now and then. Another favorite breakfast spot is Schneithorst. Our favorites for dinner are Paul Manno’s, The Melting Pot, Morton’s and Stir Crazy.  Because we’re so busy, we don’t often have time to go out for a dinner as a family, so when we do, we try and make it special!

The Tkachuk Family Picks:

City Museum, 701 North 15th St., St. Louis, MO 63103, 314-231-2489

The Magic House, 516 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO 63122, 314-822-8900

Missouri Athletic Club, Two Locations, 405 Washington Ave., St. Louis, MO 63102, 314-231-7220
1777 Des Peres Road, Town & Country, MO 63131, 314-539-4444

St. Louis Blues, Scottrade Center, 1401 Clark Ave., St. Louis, MO 63103, 314-622-2500

Saint Louis Cardinals, Busch Stadium, 700 Clark St., St. Louis, MO 63102, 314-345-9600

Saint Louis Zoo, 1 Government Drive, St Louis, MO 63110, 314-781-0900

Six Flags St. Louis, 4900 Six Flags Road, Eureka, MO 63025, 636-938-4800

Tilles Park, 9551 Litzsinger Road, St. Louis, MO 63124

Restaurants

The Melting Pot, Two Locations, 6683 Delmar Blvd., University City, MO‎ 63130, 314-725-4141‎
294 Lamp and Lantern Village, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 636-207-6358

Morton’s, 7822 Bonhomme Ave., Clayton, MO 63105, 314-725-4008

Paul Manno’s, 75 Forum Shopping Center, Chesterfield, MO 63017, 314-878-1274

Schneithorst's, 1600 S. Lindbergh Road, St. Louis, MO 63124, 314-993-4100

Scape, 48 Maryland Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63108, 314-361-7227

 Stir Crazy, 10598 Old Olive Street Road, St Louis, MO 63141, 314-569-9300

Celebrity Sprouting is an occasional column that features local personalities and their favorite family-friendly St. Louis destinations. Published June 4, 2010

After living and writing in St. Louis for almost 15 years, Meredith Boggess has plenty of good things to share about her adopted hometown. She and her husband recently welcomed their first daughter into their home on The Hill, and, despite the sleepless nights, they are still awash in that new parent glow. Contact Meredith at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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