Chicago Auto Show Photos

As promised, I've posted some of my photos from the Chicago Auto Show:

(click on the picture above)

*Thanks to brother Spam and JAlbum for making the slide show possible.

(More) Winter Camping

I just received some more pictures from our camping trip a couple of weeks ago. Eldon and Brenda were here today for lunch and Eldon mentioned making this an annual tradition. Our wives think we're crazy. Anybody else interested?


Thermal Turtleneck + Fleece Sweater + Down Jacket + Down Sleeping Bag = Big Smile

Breakfast was eggs in bacon. Yum!

Happy Birthday Kenrick

Today is Kenrick's birthday. It's kind of hard to believe our little boy is growing up, but it's happening. There were some important milestones this year; Kenrick started kindergarten, piano lessons, swim lessons. He rode on his first roller coaster. He's learning how to read and write. He's as silly as ever.

We had an early party for him in Chicago when Grandpa and Grandma came to visit. Tristan came along too, and the boys had a grand time together. Mom made fancy cupcakes and a few presents were dismantled to finish things off.

We went to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry earlier in the day. Admission was free that day, so everyone else in Chicago was there too. It's a fantastic museum, and even though it was a bit crowded a fun time was had by all.

One of the displays that was new from the last time we'd been there was a model train setup that has got to hold some kind of record for size and detail. On one end they've modeled the city of Chicago, complete with drawbridges, the 'L', and a subway:

And on the other end, with prairie and mountains between them, the city of Seattle, complete with the Space Needle and the fish market:

I don't know how many trains there were running around the multiple tracks, but some of the freight trains had 100 cars. Seriously.

Anyway, we saw lots of other neat things but didn't get too many more pictures. The kids were pretty much worn out when we were done.

Today we celebrated Kenrick's birthday quietly; mom sang "Happy Birthday" when she woke him up, he took some treats in to his class, and he got to pick out what we had for supper (kind of). This evening when I tucked him in to bed I asked him, "Can you believe you're six?" I can't.

Chicago Auto Show

Mom and Dad-in-law flew to Chicago for the long weekend. More about that later.

Steve and I went to the Chicago Auto Show. I'll post some of my better pics in a day or two. For now a teaser ...

Anthony

Isn't this just the face of mischief?

Snow Day

A blizzard all day has made things a general mess. Not the kind of mess they have right now in northern New York, but enough to shut down the schools and keep people from getting to work. I braved the elements and went in this morning, then left early and enjoyed a little four-wheel-drive action on the way home.

This picture is kind of lame, sorry. I've got to get a better phone for my camera. I mean a better camera in my phone. A new phone with a better camera, that's what I was trying to say!

Camping?

Last night a couple of us went down south of here a ways and went camping. It was cold.

We had a good time. Really. Thank goodness for fleece and down.

Eldon's grocery list probably sums up the whole adventure:

"a couple pounds of bacon, some eggs, and some potatoes."

Witless Wandering

wit·less (wĭt'lĭs) adj. Lacking intelligence or wit; foolish.

Such was the case last Saturday morning when I and a guy from work participated in the first orienteering event of the year. You don't know what orienteering is? Well then I'll have to explain it to you.

1. Get a small topographic map from the event organizers
2. Draw a route on your map that goes through some specified way-points
3. Look at your compass
4. Wait for the official time-keeper to tell you to go
5. Start running like mad through the woods towards the first target
6. Stop running because the first target is on top of the tallest hill in the park
7. Try to find the little orange and white flag that is supposed to be by the fallen tree on the south side of the hill, according to the clues on the map.
8. Find the target on the next hill over from where you originally thought it should be
9. Mark your score card with the little punch that's hanging from the target to prove you really did find it
10. Congratulate yourselves on only being a little bit lost
11. Argue about whether to take the trail here or go straight through the brush to get to the second target
12. Start running again because the team behind you is starting to catch up
13. And so on, zig-zagging through the forest in the most inconvenient ways until you've found all the targets and you can return to the starting point.

It's kind of fun really. The events, organized by a local club, IRVOC, are more for exercise and fresh air than competition, although they do keep track of your times. I did one of these last fall, and the guy I went with has done a couple, never in the winter. Did I mention that it's the dead of winter?

It was 7 degrees. Which brings me back to the beginning of this post...

*witless, Dictionary.com. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004.

The President Visits Peoria

The big news last week was a visit by a very distinguished guest, the President of the United States. Mr Bush flew into Peoria, ate breakfast at a local diner, then toured the Caterpillar Track-Type Tractor (Bulldozer) factory before giving a speech about the economy, or energy, or education, or possibly all three. I didn't get to see him personally, but it was kind of cool anyway to see pictures and video of this unusual entourage in OUR TOWN!

The local news station took some video of the President saying goodbye to some of the National Guard folks at the airport just before he gets on his plane. Check out how closely the Secret Service guys are watching the crowd.

http://www.week.com/Archives/Default.aspx?PageID=ln&StoryID=56562

And is his plane big or what?

If you want to see his speech, the news site has that too.

http://www.week.com/Archives/Default.aspx?PageID=ln&StoryID=56558

(Is the word "president" supposed to be capitalized?)

Hello...

I've wanted to get this started for a couple of weeks now, but had a hard time deciding on a name. Pandemonium is a good description for what has become the normal state of affairs around here, so "Pandemonium" it is.