where I talk with my inside voice
Today we witnessed quite a spectacle, along with millions of other Americans. I’ve been waiting since 1979 to see a total solar eclipse, and my opportunity to see one in 1999 was thwarted by overcast skies, so I was overjoyed to actually see the awe-inspiring show in the sky. Dixie was pretty excited to see it too, as were the...
We spent Friday afternoon at the St. Louis Foodbank boxing up over 13,000 meals to be shipped to senior citizens across Missouri. The kids did an awesome job and we are so proud of them!
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 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...
Noah’s first visit to see the St. Louis Symphony was, appropriately, to hear the music of John Williams, complete with characters from Star Wars in the lobby of Powell Hall. We’ve been talking about the instruments of the symphony in his music class, but he really enjoyed seeing them in real life. And I enjoyed watching his reaction. I also...
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...
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.
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...
I still can’t figure out how St. Louis was lucky enough to be selected as the location for Marine Week 2011, but I’m not complaining. It was a great way to spend a father/son afternoon. Noah got a big kick out of the helicopters, the weapons, and the tank. Here’s a short video of our adventure:
I took Noah to Powell Hall tonight for their Sound of Music Sing-a-Long. They showed the movie complete with lyrics in the subtitles and everyone had a blast singing along. Before the movie started, they had a costume contest, so a lot of people dressed up as characters, including an adorable pair of little twin girls dressed as nuns (who...
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...
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...
We took the kids to the St. Louis City Museum today, and it was amazing. If you’ve never been, you really need to go — at least once. But if you go once, you’ll most likely want to go back. I know I do. The kids can’t wait to go back either. It’s a giant playground for kids and adults...
We took Noah and Josie to the circus today. Noah got the biggest kick out of it, he was so charged up during the show. He kept clapping and bouncing up and down in his seat. Josie, of course, slept through it. The circus has really gone high-tech. The lighting and sound was really excellent, and the special effects (pyrotechnics...
