Memphis Monday: THE PLEASANT EFFECTS OF HURRICANES

Hurricanes are horrible, no debate there. Memphis, however, is fortunate to be happily situated far enough away from the coast to miss the storms, but close enough to enjoy the pleasant rain they bring. This morning was such, and it left the rest of the day breezy and cool. Addie and I enjoyed a porch swing for nearly an hour with a new friend, and we talked about how nice it was to be in Memphis on days such as these. Thank you, Gustav.

the debate can now rest

We have been surprised by how many of you actually did look for Jason's head in the picture from our last post. Well, yes, it really was there. Here is the answer so many of you seek! He was that white little blip on the red pole. I know it is nearly impossible to see, but there nonetheless!

And here he is waving at us all!

Memphis Monday: PROXIMITY TO NEW PLACES TO VISIT

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS JASON???

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI!

Last Monday Jason, Adelyn and I drove 4.5 hours to spend three fun-filled days in St. Louis, MO. The first day we met up with my sister, Kari, and her family and went to the zoo (which, might I add, was FREE). The zoo was spectacular! Every habitat (for the main animals, anyhow) was well done. The penguin house was amazing (just like being in Antarctica), the elephant habitat was HUGE, and the hippos had their own underwater viewing area with tons and tons of fish. We loved it, and were plenty tired by the end of the day. It was also great spending time with Kari, Eric and Noah. We're glad they're closer now!

Addie and cousin Noah with a Mexistache

We're twins!

Tuesday morning we went to the St. Louis Science Center (ahem, ahem...also FREE) and learned about building structures, space, the body, dinosaurs and computers. Addie had fun with legos and Jason and I had fun watching them use liquid nitrogen on Peeps candies.

Under the St. Louis arch that we built!

Addie absolutely LOVED this lego wall. She played with it forever.

Our hands. How tender.

For lunch we walked around downtown St. Louis (which we have since learned is the nation's second most dangerous city, glad we didn't know that then) and spent time under the famous arch and played in one of the cities numerous park fountains.

A cool shot of the arch, by Jason.

Addie's cute little toes and pudgy knees, playing in a fountain.Whew! We're finally heading back to the car!

That afternoon we went to the Anheuser-Busch headquarters for a FREE tour. For two non-drinking Mormons and a one-year-old, we realize this is not what you would expect, but we had a great time! They took us into the famous Budweiser Clydesdale stables (more elegant than many a hotel I've visited, trimmed with gold) and into the brewery to learn about the process of making a Budweiser. The most interesting part to me was the packaging plant. I only counted five people in the room with the packaging machines, nearly everything is done remotely from a control room. It was amazing. Fun fact: they have a machine that filles 1200 bottles per minute. Whoa. Afterwards, in the hospitality room, visitors are given any kind of two free drinks they want. Jason and I had lemonade. Mmmmm...

The gold trimmed stable.

Fun fact #1: Budweiser owns 250 Clydesdales in all, 50 are in St. Louis.

Fun fact #2: To be a Budweiser horse, it must have a tan coat with a black tail and mane, four white socks, and a white blaze on it's face.

Fun fact #3: The horses live like kings. The phenomenal packaging plant.

That night we crashed at our hotel. It had been a long day.

Wednesday morning we visited Laumeier Sculpture Park (free, free, free). We didn't have enough time to see it all, and we didn't wear the right kind of shoes, but even with those set backs, we had a great time. The sculptures were amazing, and some of them large enough to physically explore. It was interesting, I wish we lived near a park as cool as that. We want to buy this sculpture one day and put it in the lobby of Jason's practice. What do you think?Can you find Jason's head in this picture?

After lunch, we ventured over to The Magic House, one of the nation's premier children's museums. This, sadly, was the only thing we spent money to do, but it was well worth it! There were plenty of things targeted towards very young children, so that kept Addie busy, and plenty of other stuff to keep Jason and I entertained as well. We had a great time.

Addie shopping at Schnuck's Market.

I love this picture, it is so sweet.

Now this is truly one unruly perm!

On our way home that evening we stopped at Lambert's Cafe, recommended to me by several friends. It was an experience not to be missed! They are famous for their signature "throwed rolls" which they toss across the dining room at the customers (and boy, were they delicious!). The waiters also walk around the dining room hollering at you, wondering if you'd like any of their pass-around side dishes (fried ocra, fried potatoes, macaroni and tomatoes, etc). Everything there is all you can eat, so if you want more, feel free! Not that anyone could actually order more, Jason's piece of ham was bigger than his head, much much bigger! Lambert's is loud and crazy, and we loved every minute of it.

What a ham!

So, that's it. We really jam-packed as much into this little vacation as we could and had a fabulous time. Jason starts school again tomorrow, so this was our last hurrah before he gets his nose back in the books. St. Louis is a great (and inexpensive!) place for families to visit, it comes highly recommended! Hope you enjoyed the bazillion pictures!

Squinty Eyes

Here is a video of Addie doing "Squinty Eyes." It's one of her new favorite things. She also LOVES apples, but she prefers eating them whole so we have to watch her carefully.

Memphis Monday: LIGHT RAIN

Yeah, yeah, I know it's Wednesday.

I just got back from my longest jog yet (a little over 6 miles!) and it drizzled/rained the entire time. It was WONDERFUL. Ah, the joys of living here definitely include the fantastic rain.

By the way, the name Renesmee is RIDICULOUS. I will withhold all further comments until I finish the book.

Happy Little Hair (and other not quite as interesting stuff)

Our Happy Little Hair is walking around like crazy! Addie can turn corners, squat, cruise, and fall down really well! She's figured out that she can hold our hands and lead us to what it is she wants, and now knows to go to the front door when we say "outside." She'll also bring us her shoes! This is my favorite age yet, she learns new things every day and it is so exciting to watch her figure things out. She likes to color on her magnadoodle (but doesn't like to share it with other kids) and knows what her belly button is! It is so cute to watch her lift up her shirt and stick her pudgy little finger into its depths, all with a huge smile on her face. Jason is enjoying the last few weeks of his summer break. After this summer, he doesn't have an extended break until he graduates in three years! We've tried to make the most of it by spending plenty of time together and getting out and enjoying Memphis (well, as much as you can in 100 degree weather). He has the week off of work before school starts and we'll most likely go on a three day vacation somewhere close. Any suggestions? I'm still doing running in the mornings with my friend and have really enjoyed the break in the heat the last week or so. Unfortunately it seemed to be back today in full force. I hope to run a half marathon in December, and am really praying that I make it. I also have LOVED watching the Olympics recently, but will be glad when they're over as well. I'm hoping my house will be more clean! (Does anyone feel the same way that I do about Michael Phelps? I'm happy for him, but very very sad for all his opponents. It's almost like all their time and training doesn't even matter because they don't have a shot against him! Anyhow...)

We're happy over here. Sad that summer is coming to a close because it's been WONDERFUL to have Jason home so much, but then again, we're one year closer to being done! I mean, look at this picture, what will Addie do without him??

Memphis Monday: FRIENDLY JOGGERS

My friend Corrine and I have been going jogging in the wee hours of the morning (4:45 am!!) the past two weeks. Because of the terrible Memphis heat, we have to go that early. While it's extremely difficult to get out of bed, I have enjoyed spending more time with Corrine, getting my exercising done before my day really starts, but most of all I've enjoyed seeing the same faces every time we go.

Corrine and I have started to recognize the stalwart few: "The Kenyan" who walks the track but somehow keeps pace with our jog; the woman who goes alone every morning and always has a friendly word for us as we go by; two middle-aged men, one always wearing a baseball hat, who banter and chuckle along the path. There are others, but those are the regulars. We look for their cars and are always grateful when they show up, feeling more confident when we aren't alone. Memphis gets a bad rap, if you don't think there are friendly people in this city, you aren't waking up early enough! Come and join us any morning at Freeman Park!

Hopefully I'll someday look like the woman in this picture, keep your fingers crossed!