Busy weekend!

These are some flowers that Liisa and Jesse sent to me for my birthday. They are so pretty, and still quite robust, even today, almost a week later! Eric and I spent a wonderful day on my birthday: we went out to eat, we wandered around some garden centers, we explored Mascoutah a bit, and we bought a tree! A 7 - 8 year old maple that is taller than the tree in our front yard, and will be delivered tomorrow! Then we came home, we had a nice evening with the kids, and we played some everquest.


Thursday, the 21st, we took a day trip to Quincy, IL and Hannibal, MO. We initially took the trip to Quincy because my engagement ring needed to be cleaned and inspected (we didn't want to invalidate the warranty) and discovered the nearest Fred Meyer's Jeweler's is in Quincy. I came home feeling naked because we left it there to get resized; it will be fed-exed back to me any day now (insured), because of the distance we drove to get there. I had to include this photo of the Mississippi River as it overcame it's banks and flooded out the river road--if you look carefully at the fenceline and the tree tops you can see where the road was supposed to be...


After leaving Quincy's mall, which wasn't very big, we decided to wander around the Historic Hannibal, home to Mark Twain and the wonderful Tom Sawyer/Huckleberry Finn stories. I hadn't been to Quincy or Hannibal in many years, like 14.5, and I had fond memories of it. I was a little disappointed to see that many of the historic buildings that I had really enjoyed touring were looking quite tired and run down; there looked like there were some renovations under way in some places, but they were not as I remembered them. We also got there too late to take a ride on the riverboat, but I did really enjoy standing and watching the river flow by, something I have been missing, and Eric is so sweet to have recognized. We found the most amazing quilt shop there, and while I made no purchases, we did enjoy browsing their offerings. We also found an antique's shop we really liked: reasonable prices, good selections, and it was just fun to be in there! While looking for a place to have a cold beer we met a female vet who was power washing a fence, and we had a wonderful conversation with her about some of her life experiences and places she and Eric held in common (like a post in Alabama); she was quite an interesting person, and it was fun to chat with her!


While we were wandering around the gift shop, I got a phone call from Andrea letting me know she was enroute to IL to come visit us with the babies. She ended up having quite the drive to come down here! She had a negative reaction to an energy drink she tried that left her with an upset stomach and dizziness, and she was scared to drive. I encouraged her to drink some cold water, walk around a bit, and relax (they were at a walmart somewhere in Iowa). She got back onto the road after she felt better, but eventually hit (and killed) a raccoon, got pulled over by a state trooper for speeding, and, had her battery die on her cell phone, so she couldn't contact anyone. She got here at 2 a.m., 14 hours after leaving MN, and she was exhausted and frazzled! The kids, however, were very excited to be here and see me, and it was after 2:30 that we got everyone into bed.

Friday morning we went to Toys R Us and I bought the little ones their birthday present, a Radio Flyer wagon, complete with adjustable seats (and seatbelts!), a canopy for the top of it, and a small collapsible cooler for packing juiceboxes, sandwiches, or treats in. We brought it home, and Eric had more than enough help and supervision to put it together for them. Alexis was excited sit in it even without tires on it, and Justin quickly joined her.

Eric kicked them out so he could get the tires on it, and Alexis sat on his lap to help him, then stood across from him asking "Grampa Eric, is it ready yet?" "Please is it ready yet?" "We go riding yet?" As soon as it was finished the kids eagerly loaded in, and we took them for a walk around the neighborhood.

We went to the commisary after our walk to get some groceries, as we planned to grill that night (Justin's idea), and we had to get Aurora to the high school for graduation; we spent a quiet evening at home, watching TV, cooking, and just hanging out with the kids who were home, then Eric's ex picked up Patrick and Aurora to go to IN and Rei and Kimmie headed off with Cliff for an evening of entertainment--a concert being given by a friend of Cliff's, then to spend the night at a friend's, before heading to Pointfest at the Verizon Ampitheater for the day on Saturday. We made it an early night for all of us, and after baths, we all headed to bed at a relatively early night--given it was just Eric, me, Andrea, and the kids here, it was even peaceful before 11 p.m..

Saturday morning Eric had class, so Andrea, the kids, and I went to the park for part of the morning. Justin remembered my "really cool park" from their last visit, and I have to say we really missed not having some of the older kids there with us! Last time we were there, Rei and Aurora chased "Little Miss", while Tony and I followed Justin, making it safe for them to be at the top of the slide and still have a catcher at the bottom... Both little ones are monkeys of the first order, and man are they quick! After Eric got home we had lunch, packed up the pilot, and went to the St Louis Zoo.

Finding parking at the zoo was nuts! It is in a huge park bounded by a golf course, many museums, and an assortment of picinic areas (and the John F. Kennedy National Forest), and I had never been there before. The zoo itself was lovely, massive, and very tiring to wander. We brought the wagon with us, and it garnered much positive attention from kids and adults alike. The kids spent as much time out of it as in it so they could see everything.

A few highlights for me included when the hippo pressed it's face against the glass in front of Alexis, startling her, Justin laughing at the baby elephant having hay all over the top of it's head, and, the Chimp sitting against the window in front of them (both kids started petting the glass, with Alexis stating "I petting the puppy gram!" and Justin noting that the chimp had peed while he sat there in front of them!

We basically stayed until the zoo was ready to close, then made the long trek back to where the car was parked. I was quite proud of myself: I had been ready to give up and have Eric bring the car back to get me as my feel and legs were tiring dreadfully and I was huffing and puffing my way up the slight inclines we were traversing... What a sad reminder that I need to be in better shape, heehee. When we got home it was time for baths, and we ordered pizza a pasta for dinner as we were all too tired to cook!

Sunday dawned a beautiful day, and Eric had to work an 8 hour shift. Andrea needed to head for home, and I too had to work, from 10-2, so Andrea hit the road about 9:30, leaving just ahead of me and hoping to get home shortly before bedtime for the kids. I got a call from her just after 2, and she proudly announced she was still on 70W and had not yet seen 27, her turn off. I took a deep breath, then told her she was on the wrong route: she should have turned north onto 61 about an hour or so after getting onto 70, NOT 27. (27 is the highway needed in Iowa). Liisa looked her location up on the map and discovered that Andrea was nearing Kansas City, about 5 hours west of where she needed to be. Liisa got her routed onto 435, then 35 N, which would take her directly to Minneapolis, but Andrea got all upset and frustrated. She didn't get home until almost 12:30 a.m., a 15 hour drive instead of a 10 hour one. I don't think this poor girl will ever drive down here again by herself, but I was so proud of her for making the trip, and I so enjoyed having the kids and her here! We had a wonderful visit!

Monday we got up early, and Eric headed off to IN to go pick up Aurora and Patrick. There was constant rain, given we were under a stalled tropical storm system, and it was a yucky day all around. Eric had a safe drive though, and the kids had an "okay" time in IN. Eric and I spent the evening playing Everquest, and we again made it an early night. Reimond is having a hard time with his asthma these past few days, needing his nebulizer treatments every 4 hours. He seems to be doing better tonight, but we will continue doing them until he is feeling better. My guess is that all the cigarette smoke he was around at pointfest set the trigger for it, and the humidity we have had hasn't helped at all. Between showers, Eric got the hole dug for our tree, which will be delivered tomorrow, and we will plant it after he gets home from court tomorrow afternoon.

That should bring everyone up to date on what we are up to. Liisa thanks everyone for their condolences on Max, and she is doing better, although she still has her moments. Rei and I are planning a trip to MN for the 5 days between school ending and summer school starting, so we hope to see everyone then, and Aurora and Patrick will be headed back to IN as well over those same dates. Aurora made dinner, so I guess I should go eat, but I just wanted to post this so I could update everyone!