Husband, Dad, Mechanical Engineer, Bass
Player ...
Obsessed with all things Engineering.
AMY
Wife, Homeschool Mom, Webmaster ...
Obsessed with all things Political.
RACHAEL
Daughter, Sister, Sophomore ...
Obsessed with all things Geological.
NICHOLAS
Son, Brother, 8 year old ...
Obsessed with all things Historical.
(especially Egyptian!)
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The Well-Trained Mind Singapore Math Greenleaf Guides Apologia Science AIG Science curriculum Story of the World
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Day 271 - Jim Gaffigan & The Science Center
Monday, September 29, 2008
After a brunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, we went to the St. Louis Science Center this morning for their Engineering Day. We definitely need to bring the kids back for it next year. They had all kids of cool robots, engineering schools, and engineering companies displaying some of their most innovative products. While at a math booth, I also met another homeschool mom who has a math whiz like Rachael. She, too, used Singapore and loved it.
For dinner, we found a Persian restaurant that was only about 2 miles from the Fox Theater. My dinner was awesome! I had the joojeh (jujeh) chicken kabobs with saffron basmati rice. Jeff usually gets the kubideh (ground beef) kabobs, but instead chose ground chicken which had sort of a potted meat consistency. We left the restaurant with about 40 minutes to spare, yet were 15 minutes late. We got stuck in a huge traffic jam. There was an environmental "go green" street fair which ironically caused a huge bottleneck and greenhouse gases galore!
Jim Gaffigan was so funny! He's Jeff's favorite comedian, and he didn't disappoint. The photo above is the only one that I was able to take before I was banned. (apparently no photography is allowed) Jeff laughed at the photo because Jim does a comedy bit about being so pale. As a matter of fact, one of his cds is entitled "Beyond the Pale." I guess the photo was fitting since he's glowing!
After the show, we were stuck in the parking garage for so long that as soon as we got out, we went to the nearest drugstore to use the restroom. When we returned to our car, it wouldn't start. Fortunately, we were able to start it again after several minutes. We drove straight back to the hotel, shut it off, and tried unsuccessfully to start it again...
The photos above are of our hotel room and the lobby.
Jeff & I dropped the kids off at my mom's house this afternoon and traveled to St. Louis for a weekend getaway. Jeff's favorite comedian is Jim Gaffigan. Since he's having a concert at the Fabulous Fox Theatre tomorrow, I decided to surprise Jeff with tickets. Fortunately, I bought them months ago, since the concert is now sold out. I also booked us a room at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at Union Station. This was another Priceline bargain at $45/night! My initial goal was to get the kids dropped off early so that we could spend the whole day together, but we didn't get going until late. Had we gone straight into St. Louis, we would have hit the traffic jam (the Cardinals & Blues both had a game). Instead, we decided to hang out in Fairview Heights, IL for a few hours. We ate dinner and visited the cemetery where my dad and Jeff's uncle & grandparents are buried.
After checking into our hotel, we walked down to the "Taste of St. Louis" festival which was being held just down the street. I ate some Gooey Butter Coffee Cake from Gooey Louie's. I do believe that it was the best that I've ever eaten! We decided to stay long enough to hear the band Everclear. We both remembered that we liked one of their songs when it was popular, but neither of us could remember the name of it or anything about it. We listened to the first song (which was pretty awful), but decided that we'd stick it out until we heard the song we recognized. Then the political rant happened... Of course, (like pretty much all of pop-culture), they were vocal Obama fans. At that point we walked back to the hotel...we were willing to listen to bad music for awhile, but we didn't sign on to an impromptu Obama rally...
My in-laws agreed to watch both kids this afternoon so that Jeff & I could eat dinner & see a movie. We saw Ghost Town (Good Movie!) and ate at Shyler's. I didn't take my camera, so I'm posting pictures from Chuck E. Cheese's. We ate there last night after the museum...
I dropped the kids off at my mom's house this morning to head to a used curriculum sale. I was able to go to a couple of garage sales (one of which was falsely advertised as having lots of homeschool materials... ) and a thrift store before hitting the Steak 'n Shake drive through. As luck would have it, the lady forgot to give me my Sweet 'n Low for my tea, so I had to go into the restaurant. As I was walking back to my car, some crazy person was honking and waving my way. It was my friend Heather and her husband (Nathan)! Nathan's medical test had taken less time than anticipated. I took my bag and drink back into Steak 'n Shake and ate lunch with them. Afterwards, we went to the curriculum sale where we both got A LOT of great deals (see my bargains in the picture above!)
Since my mom had taken the kids to the movies, I decided to hang out until Jeff got there. I went to Wal-Mart and a used bookstore, taking my time in each place. Wow! I had forgotten how relaxing it could be just to browse at my own snail's pace! When Jeff finished his trek from work (a 2 hour drive to E'ville), we ate at our favorite Indian restaurant, then hit the movies. What an awesome day!!!
The first picture is of The Old Post Office in Evansville. On September 2nd, 1992, Jeff took me to dinner in a restaurant that was housed in this building. "Greeley's" no longer exists, but was a really nice restaurant with great architecture. It was an extravagant expense for us at the time. (We were both struggling college students!) After dinner, we took a walk to the Riverfront. Jeff timed it just perfectly so that the sun was just setting as he got down on one knee and proposed. Sadly, they've done a major overhaul on the Riverfront, so the original bench where he proposed no longer exists, either!) Ahh, memories!
When we lived in California and Michigan, one of our favorite things to do was to go to all of the local festivals. We love to sample different foods, hear exotic music, and learn the native customs. When we read in the paper that Evansville was having their own Multi-cultural Fest, we thought we'd check it out. Sadly, their idea of a festival is about 10 tables set up in the middle of the street! The only highlight was the Mariachi band. Oh well, we got a few laughs and were able to walk around downtown a bit before heading to another movie...
Fourteen years ago today, at 7:30 in the evening, Jeff and I became husband & wife. We were married at the Old Cathedral in Vincennes, IN. (Yes, I was Catholic in my former life, but I digress...) We had been dating for four years prior, so in essence, I have been with this amazing man for over half my life. The happiest years of my life, I might add! The preceding pictures are of this fateful event.
On a side note...Oh, what I wouldn't give to be that skinny again!
Jeff took this picture of the church where we were married. It was dark and freezing cold, but I wanted a picture, so he braved it for me!
It's called The Old Cathedral in Vincennes, Indiana. It's the oldest church in the state and is attached to the oldest library in the state. On the grounds, there is also a cemetery full of Revolutionary War veterans & an amazing George Rogers Clark Memorial, along with a beautiful bridge overlooking the river. During the siege of Fort Sackville (February 23–24, 1779), Clark’s men took up positions at the church and cemetery. It was at the church that Colonel Clark and the British commander, Lieutenant Governor Henry Hamilton, negotiated terms of surrender on February 24. The surrender of Fort Sackville occurred the next day, February 25, 1779. As a result, Hamilton’s plan to crush the Revolution in the West was checked and a basis was laid for the United Sates to later claim the area northwest of the Ohio River from which were eventually formed the states of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and part of Minnesota.
Of course, kids' favorite part of the church's history is that there are "dead guys buried underneath!" (it's a Catholic church and it has 4 Bishops buried there)
Although I'm no longer Catholic, I still love this church! Maybe it's the history buff in me or maybe it's because of the wonderful memories that were created here. After all, for our family ... it's where it all began!
Name: Amy Home: Indiana, United States About Me: I am a Homeschool Mom of 2 awesome children. This is my attempt at Project 365 - to chronicle our world through daily photos... See my complete profile
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