Chicago 2015
We spent a long weekend in Chicago doing all the touristy things. Photos are available in my album, but here’s a quick video of the highlights. The kids had a blast, and keep asking when we’re going to go back.
Tagged: Josie
The Family That Crafts Together
What started out as an impulsive addition to my son’s list of Christmas presents, has morphed into an addictive and all-consuming passion for crafting. I’m of course talking about the insanely popular video game for the PC called Minecraft. I must admit I didn’t fully grasp what the game was all about before I bought it. But after watching my...
Merry Christmas 2013
This is our eighth annual Pipes Family Christmas card! Can you believe it? We let the kids take over this year, and they want to wish you the merriest of Christmases and the happiest of New Years!
Great Britain
We just got back from two weeks in Great Britain. We took a Trafalgar tour that took us from London, through southern England, northern Wales, the Lake District, and finally to Edinburgh, Scotland. We saw some amazing sights and some truly beautiful scenery. The weather was perfect and the people we met on tour were great. It was an awesome...
Birthday Girl Grabs Magic Ticket
There’s only one magic ticket swirling around in the booth — and it’s worth 1,000 tickets — but Josie made it look easy, snatching it within seconds. She was so thrilled, and just as surprised as the rest of us!
Merry Christmas 2011
Six years running, here is our annual Pipes family christmas card. Best holiday wishes to all of our friends and family!
Staycation Day 6
Although many people are unaware of it, St. Louis County boasts a world-class wolf sanctuary. Originally founded by Marlin Perkins, the Endangered Wolf Center in Eureka houses several species of endangered wolves and foxes from around the world. We spent the final day of our staycation on a tour of the facility. I guess we had pretty good luck because...
Staycation Day 5
It’s not often that you get a St. Louis weather forecast in August that calls for highs in the low 80s, so when you get one, you have to take advantage of it. Day 5 of our staycation found us enjoying a day at Six Flags. Here are the video highlights of our day.
Staycation Day 4
Day four of our staycation took us to see the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica, a rather incongruous blend of Romanesque architecture and Byzantine art that took almost 70 years to complete. It houses one of the largest collections of mosaics in the world, all of which are stunning. The kids were impressed with the size of the space inside, and...
White Castle
Josie’s castle / play table is almost done. In just a couple of hours this morning I was able to get a coat of primer on everything and assemble it in her room. She can’t wait to start playing with it, but I think I may need to take it back apart in order to finish painting it. I attached...
Josie’s Play Table
If I haven’t mentioned it before, I really like Sketchup. Yesterday I spent less than an hour designing a new play table for my daughter Josie, and tonight I spent about an hour cutting out the pieces. Talk about rapid prototyping! If it’s not obvious from the image, this table will sit in the corner of her room and be...
This Is The Part Where I Go To Lowes
In almost every project around our house, we invariably reach the point where this phrase is uttered. It happens so often that it’s a running joke. Today, Father’s Day, was no exception. It began with us simply wanting to swap out the hangers in both of the kids’ closets. Noah’s clothes have gotten big enough that they don’t stay on...
Water Dog
It’s a typical St. Louis summer. We are barely into June and it’s already into the 90s, with a heat index above 100. So to beat the heat, it’s time to fill the pool (and upgrade our slide, thanks to Craigslist). Our humble little pool is barely big enough for the kids but this year we have another family member...
Staycation Day 2
Day two of our staycation took us to see the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. We watched Albert Pujols et al finish a three-game sweep of their long-time rivals the Chicago Cubs, defeating them 3-2 in the 10th inning. It turned out to be a beautiful day despite the forecasts of record heat and humidity, and though we were...
Staycation Day 1
As a consequence of our canine commitments, an extended vacation this summer was not in the cards, so we decided to do a “staycation” this year. And since the kids haven’t seen many of the St. Louis landmarks, we figured this would be a good option for us. First up: a trip to the Arch. But we started with breakfast...
