On our way to the rehearsal dinner last weekend…

Ellie: Dad, why are we going into this heynormous hotel?

Dad: Because we’re going to have dinner here.

Ellie:  But why are we going to eat in this heynormous hotel?

At lunch this week…

Ellie: May I have some fruit?

Mom: Sure thing, babe.  What kind of fruit do you want?

Ellie: Applecots.  I LOVE Applecots!

During a snuggle…

Mom: Ellie, what do you think of Tessa? [new puppy...more on this later!]

Ellie: I’m WILD that she is sleeping in my room!!!

Mom: You’re wild, huh?

Ellie: Yes!  VEEEEEERY HAPPY!!!!

(seriously, who needs prepositions?)

Ellie wanted me to take some pictures this morning with her new favorite playmate…her Papa’s tiger, Hobbes.

Dad, Hobbes says he’s in good hands.  The tuna is abundant and the smoochies are plentiful.

The JAKE and I were discussing Winnie the Pooh during a recent Walmart run.  We were talking specifically about the incident when Tigger tries out carrots and honey and haycorns and decides that none of them are what Tigger likes best.  I love how even the big kids remember reading these aloud and to themselves. I love that it’s something we have shared together.

Then the conversation shifted a bit as Andy recalled that Winnie the Pooh was one of his all-time favorite videos when he was very young (I leaned on those quite a bit when Katie was new and Andy was only 18 months older!), and what a shame it was that we don’t have a viewable copy anymore since we had to pitch the old VCR.

Andy: We really should buy the DVD, Mom.  It’s a classic!

Mom: You think so?

Andy:  Of course!  Like The Godfather and Toy Story!  A classic!

I’m sure Michael Corleone would feel right at home with Pooh Bear and Buzz Lightyear, don’t you?

A friend shared this link…here’s what I did! Click to embiggen.

Ellie: I can’t wait until I’m bigger than Katie.

Mom: Well, that may not happen for a while.  She’s older, so she’ll be bigger for a few more years.  But when you’re older, it’s possible that you will be taller than Katie.

Ellie: (pauses, thinking) or FATTER!!!

I felt duty-bound to share with you what I am sure is going to be a big trend in the gift-giving department.  We recently had dinner with Sean’s mother for her birthday, and Ellie presented her very own gift to her Nana: a Bug Killer.

It was a large piece of bark.

Ellie explained very carefully to me that a certain part was the handle and another part was for doing the squishing.  She thought Nana might need it for when she goes out into her yard for gardening.

You might want to stock up now, before this stellar gift goes the way of Tickle Me Elmo.

Here are a few pictures of our St. Louis getaway…

We planned the trip around a Cardinals and Phillies game.  Views from our seats:

We sat in the very top row of seats on the right field side.  This view was directly behind us.  The stadium is beautiful, and I love how it is right downtown.  We parked for the day and walked to our destinations.

We had fans…

…and hot dogs…

…and fun with the zoom on the camera.  See the ball?

This looks so painful…

The game was exciting!  It went into extra innings, tied at 6 runs. We even saw a collision at the plate.  Drama, drama, drama!

After the game, we walked down to the Gateway Arch.

Every single person under the age of 15 (and some over) felt the need to throw themselves against the base of the Arch with great dramatic flair.  This is a phenomenon worth studying, I think…what causes them to do that?

The JAKE.

The flooding…

…the Mississippi River was cooking, too…I don’t remember ever seeing it flow so quickly.

After the Arch and a lovely dinner at Hannigan’s Pub, we drove around the city admiring church architecture.  My pictures could not do these buildings justice, and the light was failing, so I only took a few.  This spontaneous excursion might have been the highlight of the trip, not only because we got to see beautiful church buildings, but because of the conversation with the children about the “worth” of beauty, and what it means to spend the time and money to build something so beautiful that is meant to endure.

This church had a sign that declared it the first Catholic Czech church in America.

No idea, but I thought it was cool.  Translation, anyone?

…to anyone who had to see the “related links” that WordPress generated on one of my recent posts. 

Yowza.

Thankfully, it’s disabled now.  In case you’re a WordPress blogger and you don’t know how to disable, go to design, then extras, then unclick the correct box.

Yowza.

We are home from our little trip to St. Louis.  It was a lot of fun and I have many pictures to post, but for now, let me just share two helpful tidbits of information about choosing restaurants in unfamiliar territory.

1. Boys of the 12-year-old persuasion are convinced that “British Food” is a common fast food variety, and it is served at a place called “White Castle”.

2. When attempting to decide whether you are dressed appropriately for a restaurant, it is a good idea to look for statues in front of the building.  The fancier the establishment, the fewer clothes on the statues. Nekkie statues mean no shorts and t-shirts.

Katie was our photographer again in tonight’s game.  The team is really making improvements and this game was really fun to watch, even though we lost 10-11.  The boys are learning how to make those basic fielding & throwing plays, and the hitting and pitching have really come along. 

Katie snapped pictures the whole time.  Here are some of my favorites.

Mr. Left Field…made a TERRIFIC stop over there tonight. (Somebody needs to feed this kid, don’t you think?)

Jonathan also played first base for a while, and his Dad the Coach did what Dads the Coach do…put him in to pitch in the last inning with the score tied 10-10 and the bases loaded.  No pressure or anything, dude.

Sorry, Andy…looks like the youngest kid on the team doesn’t get a seat on the bench.

Jonathan had a sweet hit tonight…a double that knocked in 2 runs!

The coaches. I love seeing them work together to help these boys.  I love seeing them try really hard to not call our boys “honey” or “sweetie” during the game.

“Andy!  How ’bout you run through the bag next time?”

Summer baseball in Kansas.  Life is good.

Andy was a brick wall tonight.  He made some great stops, including handling several throws from the catcher to try and catch a runner stealing second base.  I think he picked up some pointers when he watched the goalies during the Stanley Cup.

I love this picture.  I don’t know why Katie wanted to get a close up of Andy’s head, but I think it’s sweet. 

I’m really enjoying discovering what pictures she has taken during the game. I like seeing what draws her eye.

She might still need a little practice, though.