Meet Me in St. Louis!
Champaign is an interesting city. Three hours to the north, we have Chicago, Illinois. Three hours to the east is Indianapolis, Indiana. Three hours to the south is Louisville, Kentucky. And three hours to the west is St. Louis, Missouri. We have friends in Chicago, so we've been there from time to time since we got married. We've never gone to the east or the south as a couple. But we have two things in St. Louis that bring us to the west several times a year: one of our church's temples, which we are encouraged to visit frequently in order to worship and contemplate, and one of my older brothers, who lives there with his wife and children.
We are always meaning to visit St. Louis more often than we do. It is hard to get away, and it is hard to spend the money for gas. So we are also always looking for a good reason to make sure our birds have plenty of food and water and hit the open road.
Earlier this week, I got a call from my brother wanting to know what we were doing this weekend. Neither Gretch nor I had anything pressing in the calendar, and so he asked if we'd be interested in coming down for a visit. He and his wife had a graduation party they had been invited to, but they needed a babysitter for Saturday night. Now, yeah, they could have asked some of their usual babysitters from church to do it, but it was going to be one of those late-night affairs and they don't like to keep teenagers out that late. And besides, my brother's kids love us. So he asked if we'd be interested in coming down for a visit. We gladly accepted the offer. Like I said, we're always looking for a good reason to visit!
We left after work on Friday and got there in time for dinner and then my brother and I went to play geeky card games with some of his buddies while Gretch stayed with our sister-in-law and the kids. I was introduced to two card games: Galactic Encounters and Citadels. I would have jointly won the first game with my brother if I'd remembered a card I had in my hand before he beat me, but I won the second by working my magic as a merchant. (At least, I think I did--it was late and we were tired.) I texted Gretch and told her that we needed to get more of these geeky card games, since Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot is the only one currently in our collection.
We spent Saturday hanging out with the family, just chilling and talking. My brother and I went to a local costume store because we'd heard rumours of a steampunk section and I wanted to check it out. It was decent, but not quite what I had hoped for. Then Gretch and I spent all of Saturday evening with the kids while their parents went to their friends' graduation party. We watched Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace while eating rice crispy treats. This did not have quite the same effect as the time I babysat another brother's children by watching X-Men and eating caramel popcorn, but it seems to be the thing I do. (No wonder I am the favourite uncle--I give them sugar and let them watch awesome movies!)
After church on Sunday, we spent the afternoon napping and playing games on my phone with my nephew. I tried to teach him how to play Yahtzee. He got the idea of the upper section down (getting as many ones, twos, threes, fours, fives, or sixes as possible), but he didn't quite get the idea of the lower section (especially the full house, small straight, and the large straight). However, since he is not-quite-four-years-old, I think I've made good progress. I also entertained my niece by wearing her froggy blankie on my head while trying to get her to walk; she still prefers crawling, though.
On the drive home, we ran into some seriously nasty weather. Huge bolts of lightning, insanely strong winds, and rains so heavy we could barely see in front of the car. Fortunately, the storm passed quickly and we made it home in good time. To cap off an excellent weekend, my new Doctor Who shirt from woot.com was waiting for me in the mailbox! I'd say it would be quite hard to find a better way to spend one's time.
We are always meaning to visit St. Louis more often than we do. It is hard to get away, and it is hard to spend the money for gas. So we are also always looking for a good reason to make sure our birds have plenty of food and water and hit the open road.
Earlier this week, I got a call from my brother wanting to know what we were doing this weekend. Neither Gretch nor I had anything pressing in the calendar, and so he asked if we'd be interested in coming down for a visit. He and his wife had a graduation party they had been invited to, but they needed a babysitter for Saturday night. Now, yeah, they could have asked some of their usual babysitters from church to do it, but it was going to be one of those late-night affairs and they don't like to keep teenagers out that late. And besides, my brother's kids love us. So he asked if we'd be interested in coming down for a visit. We gladly accepted the offer. Like I said, we're always looking for a good reason to visit!
We left after work on Friday and got there in time for dinner and then my brother and I went to play geeky card games with some of his buddies while Gretch stayed with our sister-in-law and the kids. I was introduced to two card games: Galactic Encounters and Citadels. I would have jointly won the first game with my brother if I'd remembered a card I had in my hand before he beat me, but I won the second by working my magic as a merchant. (At least, I think I did--it was late and we were tired.) I texted Gretch and told her that we needed to get more of these geeky card games, since Killer Bunnies and the Quest for the Magic Carrot is the only one currently in our collection.
We spent Saturday hanging out with the family, just chilling and talking. My brother and I went to a local costume store because we'd heard rumours of a steampunk section and I wanted to check it out. It was decent, but not quite what I had hoped for. Then Gretch and I spent all of Saturday evening with the kids while their parents went to their friends' graduation party. We watched Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace while eating rice crispy treats. This did not have quite the same effect as the time I babysat another brother's children by watching X-Men and eating caramel popcorn, but it seems to be the thing I do. (No wonder I am the favourite uncle--I give them sugar and let them watch awesome movies!)
After church on Sunday, we spent the afternoon napping and playing games on my phone with my nephew. I tried to teach him how to play Yahtzee. He got the idea of the upper section down (getting as many ones, twos, threes, fours, fives, or sixes as possible), but he didn't quite get the idea of the lower section (especially the full house, small straight, and the large straight). However, since he is not-quite-four-years-old, I think I've made good progress. I also entertained my niece by wearing her froggy blankie on my head while trying to get her to walk; she still prefers crawling, though.
On the drive home, we ran into some seriously nasty weather. Huge bolts of lightning, insanely strong winds, and rains so heavy we could barely see in front of the car. Fortunately, the storm passed quickly and we made it home in good time. To cap off an excellent weekend, my new Doctor Who shirt from woot.com was waiting for me in the mailbox! I'd say it would be quite hard to find a better way to spend one's time.
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