where I talk with my inside voice
The kids (and Dixie) have a new obsession: geocaching. While we were in Kansas City last weekend, we did our first geocaching as a family. Our goal now is 100 geocaches and then maybe hide our own. If you don’t know what geocaching is, you can learn more here.
We spent a long weekend in Kansas City seeing the sights. We went to Moon Marble, the Fed, and the National WWI Memorial on Friday. On Saturday, we spent the day at the Renaissance Festival and got to see some jousting among many other things. And a couple members of the family got up on stage and stole the show!
Sometimes you just have to go out and play in the rain. I am very grateful that the kids have had so many opportunities to do this. To learn that going out in the rain and getting wet is okay, and it’s not something to be avoided at all costs. It is if you’re a teacher, and for good reason...
We just got back today from a weekend camping and the first float trip for the kids. We stayed at Ozark Outdoors Resort in Leasburg, MO. We should have trusted the weather report for Friday night and waited until Saturday to show up to our campsite. But instead we spent a miserable night in the tent, listening to the thunder...
We like our quiet neighborhood. We like our quiet street. We like that nothing ever happens here. Which is why it was such a shock this past Thursday when a gas leak at the empty house two doors down from us caused not only an evacuation of everyone who lives on our street, but the closure of I-270 for a...
We were lucky to get some great seats to watch the Cardinals beat up on the Mets on Wednesday night. They won 8-1 and Randal Grichuk helped with this home run in the 4th inning. You can hear Josie squealing with delight during the subsequent fireworks. That was the best part for her (and me).
We made a trip to the World Bird Sanctuary today mainly to see our new “brick” that was just installed, but also to see the Amazing Animal Encounters where they fly the birds back and forth over the audience’s heads. The eagles, hawks, and owls all fly so close you can feel the wind on your face. It’s pretty cool and...
It is hard to believe it’s been four years since our little man was a Tiger Cub. He has grown so much, in every way that one can measure. He had outgrown his original Cub Scout uniform, so we went yesterday to get him a new one that will hopefully last him a couple of years as he transitions to...
The weather was nice today. Not your typical August day in St. Louis. Dixie and I played Bird Bingo with the kids; I had lunch with a college buddy whom I’ve not seen in 20 years; and I took this picture of our little man reading his book in the shade of the ash tree. It was a good day.
I’ve been trying to keep up with my New Year’s resolution this year to spend more time writing. That included a commitment to update this blog once a week. I’ve done pretty well so far – I’ve only missed a couple of weeks. But I think I have a good excuse: On June 1 I finished the first draft of...
As I mentioned earlier this year, I am building a scale replica of the Paris Notre Dame cathedral in our Minecraft world. I thought I would provide a little progress check. After five months, and maybe really only 10-12 hours of work, here is a screenshot of where I am. Still a long way to go. But they just released...
Dixie’s grandparents visited us from Orlando this week. We haven’t seen them since 2014 the last time we were down there. They had a good time seeing the kids and how big they’ve grown since then. I wish the weather had not been so darn hot!
After church, we went to see the updated version of The Jungle Book at the AMC dine-in theater. The story is quite different from the animated classic, but still good, and the CG is amazing.
As I mentioned back in January, we have been planning a trip to California to drive the PCH and see some of the other sights. We just got back, and what a trip it was. We drove 1300 miles, took over 2000 photos, and shot over 4 hours of video. A small sample of the photos is now available in...
Dixie wanted to celebrate Mother’s Day this year with a simple picnic at Forest Park, so we happily obliged her. Two ducks also invited themselves to the festivities. Photos are up in my album.
Well, okay, it might not be our last one. But our piano teacher is getting married next month and moving away, so it will be the last one with her. The kids both did very well, considering the difficulty of the pieces and the fact that they both memorized them and didn’t use their music while playing. We are going...
