Vacation Wrap-up

We went to Stonington and Decatur for the final few days of our vacation and had a really nice time. Jenny and I took Joey to Sullivan, Illinois to the little theater on the square to see "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" which she really enjoyed. Then we spent a couple of days hanging around with friends in Stonington where I emcee'd the little miss and little mister pageants again this year since I have been doing it for a long time for them. Jenny and I also took part in a "newlywed game" on the platform on Satuerday night and we came away with first prize and the knowledge taht we do know each other pretty well. It all came down to which direction we liked the toilet paper to be hanging on the holder (from the bottom) and what superhero I most related to (Batman).

Finally on Sunday Night Jenny and I went to Springfield where we had planned to see a show and the Muni... but with the weather being touch and go, we opted for the safety of seeing a movie (Get Smart) it was pretty good given our run of luck with movies recently. We also had gotten a hotel room at the Crowne Plaza for a REALLY good price... Hurray for Hotwire.com! It was nice to sleep in for the first time in a very long time. Then it was home to East Alton and getting settled back in here before I started back to work today.

Not a major vacation, but certainly not a bad time of simply relaxing and enjoying family time on somewhat of a budget! (Pictures of most of the events addressed here are on the flickr page)

vacation day 3

Today was a pretty laid back day. We finally decided to head out to St. Louis again for the day. We had read about this Miniature golf course in St. Louis that sounded really nice. We went and found it and played 18 holes. But, it was by far the most dilapidated miniature golf course I have ever seen! The water wasn't running, the carpet was torn in numerous places and the bricks were missing and loose all over the place. On top of all of that it was way over-priced! Joey had fun for a little while. But, even that didn't last too long. We finally gave up and headed back across the river. We went to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream, so the day wasn't a total bust ;-)

Tomorrow we are heading to Decatur and will be hanging out in our old stomping grounds for a few days. I actually got a really good deal on a hotel in Springfield for one night on hotwire.com. We are staying at one of Springfield's best hotels for $69! Thought we'd take advantage of being with Jenny's folks and leave the kids with them overnight on Sunday and take in the Muni in Springfield and have a "date night" just for ourselves while we are on vacation. Should be fun!

Well, the vacation is progressing, and we are doing some fun things and learning a lot about our new home area.

More to follow.

grant's farm family portrait 2

grant's farm family portrait 2
Originally uploaded by jwlohr

we are on vacation this week... today we went to the Gateway arch and to Grant's farm in St. Louis. Yes, I know it is less than 30 minutes from home. But we thought we could do this on a budget and see what is in our own backyard. It has been fun so far. Yesterday we went to the zoo and shopping a bit. Today, while leaving the arch and walking back to the metrolink station, I wasn't watching where I was going and pushed Joey off of a curb (in her stroller) and skinned up her knee pretty good. Man, did I feel like a jerk (and a horrible father to boot)! I think this is the mist blood she has shed yet in her 3 years of life. She is tough though and keeps telling me that "it'll be fine daddy"!

Asking her what her favorite part of the day was, she said it was going to the top of the arch with daddy... pretty cool!

Life is getting better now that we don't have the rest of the mess of the past two years hanging over our heads... it is great to just hang out with the family and have some fun together.

More good stuff to come!

The day we've been waiting for!

After over 2 years, we finally got Mom's estate closed and can put that ugly chapter of our lives behind us! It certainly didn't go the way mom would have wanted it with my father and one of my sisters hijacking the whole estate and forcing things to get tied up in court. There has been more pain and grief during these past two years than I thought was even possible. It has been like losing mom over and over and over again. And to hear one sister claiming to speak for mom when she didn't even see mom for 10 years before she died, nor could she even come to mom's funeral to say goodbye made me literally sick at times. Mom made her wishes very clear over the years to all of us and we didn't get to carry many of them out ultimately. However, a few of us maintained our sanity while going through this mess and we will make the very best of the legacy that she left to us that cannot be measured with dollar signs. Ultimately that is the only thing that mattered to mom and that is the only thing that matters to God... The rest really doesn't matter to anyone, so it's OK and we move on from here!

I still am not quite sure how all of this makes me feel... but I'll figure that out too!

More later ;-)