where I talk with my inside voice
My goddaughter Abby Zyk got married at the St. Louis Basilica. It was a beautiful ceremony and a great reception at Twisted Tree. We are grateful for being a part of their special day and we wish her and Joe all the happiness in the world.
We just got back from our loop around the Great Lakes. We drove 1,600 miles, with stops in Mackinac Island, Ottawa, Montreal, and Niagara Falls, among others. We took almost 2,000 photos, some of which are now in my photo album. We saw a lot of stuff and made some great memories. See the video below.
The musical Jesus Christ Superstar is currently touring to celebrate its 50th anniversary and it made a stop at the Fox, so I took the kids to see it. They really liked it, and now I’m hearing the songs coming out of Alexa.
As part of art this year, I signed us all up for a six-week pottery class at Lamplight Studio in Overland. We had a good time learning to throw pots on the wheel as well as hand-building some other creations. The kids had fun and now we have a bunch of candy dishes that need to be filled up with...
Noah ran his first half-marathon today after several weeks of training. He finished in two hours, twenty-two minutes. He was pretty wiped out at the end – tired and hungry. But we’re proud of him for challenging himself and finishing!
Josie’s rock-climbing class just happened to be on her birthday this week, so I went along to get some photos of her bouldering. She’s really enjoying this hobby, and getting better every week.
For her birthday this year, Josie chose to return to the Mastermind Escape Room in St. Charles. We had to find the Mona Lisa in DaVinci’s workshop and we completed it with 13 minutes to spare! Way to go, Pipes family!
Noah completed his last merit badge and has his Eagle Project scheduled for next month, so we are nearing the end of his Scouting career. We went on our last campout this weekend to S-F scout ranch and climbed the Castle Rock formation. The weather was pretty miserable, but we still had a good time. I’m glad I’ve gotten to...
Part of art class this year is a six-week pottery class at Lamplight Studios. After our first class tonight, it appears to be more challenging than we expected, but we’ll see how we do by the end.
Noah has been practicing since he got his permit in April last year, and after more than 40 hours behind the wheel, he passed his test on the first try! Way to go, Noah! We’re proud of you.
I started my current job at Boeing in Sep and our group’s new director was named in Nov. He invited the members of his leadership team to meet in Huntington Beach for an off-site meeting which was an opportunity for all of us to meet one another in person.
Once again, here is our video Christmas card to all of our friends and family.
We missed a couple of years due to COVID, but we headed down to Powell Hall today to see and hear the SLSO and get into the Christmas spirit. They were pretty heavy on the jazz this year, which is okay, but sometimes I just want to hear the traditional arrangements. Still a great show and they played for almost...
When we went to Meert Tree Farm last year to get our tree, Josie saw this ugly little bush and fell in love with it. It took me a year to adjust to the idea, but when we went back today, it was still there (no surprise). Dixie and Josie both think it’s adorable. My only requirement was a red...
We just couldn’t take the look of the hardwood floors anymore so the time had come to refinish the living room and dining room. We ended up going with a company called CleanRecoat, because they offer a service that doesn’t require sanding. So it takes half as long, and costs half as much. The floors look great, so I’m very...
