There's more than corn in Indiana...

This weekend we got to see just how much Indiana has to offer, or at least Indianapolis. We went to watch the Supercross races at the Dome and in addition to a GREAT race by James "Bubba" Stewart, we were rewarded with unbelievably good weather and a beautiful downtown to hang out in. While I had seen Stewart in a few races on tv and knew that he was good, it was exciting to see his talent in person. He started out towards the end of the pack, with Chad Reed getting the hole shot and maintaining the lead through about the 8th lap. From the 1st to the 8th lap we got to watch as Stewart used every possible opportunity to move up one spot after another. The bumps (or "whoops", thanks to wikipedia) and one particular curve on this track were his strong passing points. And when he passed Reed, the crowd went wild. There was a fairly even mix of Reed and Stewart fans, so some of the screaming was not so happy. I just like to see a good race, so all in all I was pleased. Then when we walked outside of the dome we were welcomed with the most unbelievably nice weather. It was 10 p.m. and it was balmy and clear. We took the opportunity to walk around the downtown, scoped out some good coffee and then headed toward the center of the city. All the streets converged in a circle and there was a huge memorial statue in the middle. The turnabout wrapped around and cars were just driving around in circles, kind of "scooping the loop". The city was lit up beautifully and there were lots of people walking, driving and riding around but it didn't feel crowded at all. I tried to capture it all in pics but my nightime photo taking knowledge is limited to one semester of photography that I did not give my best effort to...live and learn.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

I realized a few weeks ago that I had not watched the Star Wars trilogy in quite some time and even more importantly, that I had not sat down with my son and had the all too important Star Wars trilogy marathon. Yes, he has been exposed to what they have tried to pass off as the "newer, better" Star Wars and sadly, I have allowed him to think that those were good enough to give him the true Star Wars experience. So this past Friday, we had our first Star Wars marathon (hopefully not our last). While Return of the Jedi is my favorite, he, like a lot of people, liked Empire Strikes Back the most. He did request that we watch Return of the Jedi again. I think I can do that. It was great fun and he has been talking about Darth Vader and Luke the whole weekend. Quoting parts and reliving his favorite scenes. And then to top our weekend off, I took him to his first live coffeehouse concert. There really is nothing better than coffee and live music. The group, Small Potatoes, was going to be in the area and I thought they would be a great way to introduce him to that whole experience. My sister, a friend and I used to love going to see them play about 12 years ago and they were still just as great. He started out a little antsy and I was worried that he would spend the entire time wanting to know when we could leave but he slowly warmed up and they are such great musicians and entertainers that he couldn't help but enjoy it. And while it did make me miss my sister even more than I already do, it was good to just sit back and enjoy the acoustic guitar and awesome singing with my son right there listening and enjoying it with me.

I'm gonna get medieval on you...

Yes, the above quote has been slightly edited for general audience viewing but its the only quote that came to mind. Yesterday, we ended the week long birthday celebration with a medieval extravaganza! It was a great time and despite fears of a huge group ordeal, it worked out great. We even had a connection who made sure our knight won (pictured below). How cool is that?! Logan was very excited. Wish there was a way to capture his bouncing up and down in his seat with anticipation. It was so much fun to watch! It was so great to be able to have Abbie there too. Sorry you didn't catch a kissed carnation, Abbie! I can definitely say that is the first time I've eaten dinner while smelling horse urine and crap. Who could ask for a better combination.

Happy 8th Birthday!

Growing up

Good Things

Have had a really good day today. I love being able to forget about problems and concerns and just enjoy my time with my son. I am easily distracted by the cares and worries in my life and often waste my time doing unnecessary things. But not today. Had a visit to one of his favorite places, the pet store. Where we counted the fish, tried to remember all the cool names of animals we had never seen before, saw a zebra finch that reminded us of a puffin we had seen in Alaska, thought about adopting a greyhound : 0 , and watched as a sad little fluffy dog got all its fur cut off. And for lunch I gladly gave in to a request for Red Lobster, where we ate pounds and pounds of crab legs. Actually a pound and a half but thought you would enjoy that, Abbie. And as if time with my son was not enjoyable enough, I also received a spontaneous "thank you" for his birthday cake and time with his friends and for the yummy lunch. That's what its all about.