The Magic House

On day 2 of our St. Louis trip we went to The Magic House children's museum.  What a place!  It is the largest and coolest children's museum I have ever been to and Aria had an absolute blast.  I don't think I can begin to describe it all, so I will use some pictures to show our favorites.

 This was just one of some very large musical instruments.  Aria loves to sing and play music, so she was fascinated by these!

 This is "Jack and the Beanstalk" to climb up and down between the levels of the museum.  As soon as Aria saw it she was so excited to climb, but once she got in she was a little unsure.  There were a ton of kids going both directions, mostly bigger than her, so I think that caused a little nerves. 

This was a part of a "construction zone."  This part had a big rock pit with toys to scoop, dig, and dump.  It was outside (in the shade thankfully) otherwise I'm not sure how we would have got her away.

 This picture is mostly for Papa.  I called these lunimotors when I was little and loved riding in it with my dad!  I figured he would love seeing a picture of Aria in it.  And, she declared it was "just her size."

 Water tables are always a hit for my child.  This one almost wasn't because the floor was so slippery she took a big spill.  She slipped so much she slammed her face on the floor, but through the tears she told me she wanted to play.  It was in an area designated for kids 1-6, which I thought was pretty awesome!

I didn't get many good tunnels, bridges, and slides pictures, but they were very fun to play on in the younger kids area, too!

 I loved the "wood chips" in this area.  They were actually rubber, so no mess!  Aria enjoyed playing with the dump trucks!

 This was so cute I had to post it.  The area was a Magic Treehouse books exhibit and maybe just a bit beyond Aria, but she did like playing on this cot inside a tent!

 Here we've come to Aria's favorite part, the hospital nursery.  It was absolutely adorable to watch her play with the babies and know exactly what to do!  She is going to be such a great mommy someday!

Diapering...

 Bathing...

 And listening to hearts!  You know who has captured that guy's in this picture!

This was another big hit, the play pizza parlor!  Justin sat down at a table while Aria was playing and random kids kept coming up to him to take his order.  It was great!  Aria enjoyed pouring drinks, but also brought us some pizza and then put it back in the oven to "cool it off."

There were several play areas like the above two, a bank, a post office, a library, a vet's office, a garage to work on a car, and more.  This place was just so amazing!  It had things for kids of all ages.  One thing I really liked was an area in the upstairs that had a mystery to solve with clues, a secret passageway, and codes to figure out.  It would be a neat activity for kids 10+ to do while their little siblings play elsewhere!  If you are in St. Louis, The Magic House, is definitely worth it!  As soon as we left, Aria said, "I want to do that again!"

St. Louis Vacation Day 1

This past week we ventured into the extreme southern heat and vacationed in St. Louis!  We spent five days and four nights away, our longest trip with Aria!  Everything was an absolute blast except for the heat.  All but one of the days the temperature was between 105 and 110 with even higher heat indices.  I don't think we ever saw a temperature below 90, even in the early morning or late evening.  But, we didn't let it hinder our fun.  Our only outdoor activities were the zoo, a swimming pool, and a baseball game.  We got to the zoo a little before it opened at 8:00 and left when we got too hot about 1:00.  The swimming pool felt amazing and the baseball game was on the one day where the high only reached about 95 and we were in the shade. 

I was going to try to put our whole vacation in one post, but since this is my digital scrapbook for Aria to look back on someday, I figured I could highlight each day.  We left by 9:00 on Sunday morning and stopped at Tom Sawyer's Landing in Hannibal for lunch.  The food was pretty good, but the fun activities were a disappointment because of the heat and lack of updated information on their website.  The web told me they had an indoor soft play place for kids along with mini golf, bumper boats, and other rides outdoors.  I knew it would be hot, but I was looking forward to Aria burning some energy in the soft play place.  Well, it wasn't there.  But, Justin and Aria did brave one ride with an extra non-used diaper under Aria's bottom to shield the heat.

 And, we also enjoyed some indoor arcade games. 

The location of the place was also pretty cool, right next to the Mississippi River.  Aria loves rivers and enjoyed eating next to it!

When we arrived in St. Louis, we immediately had to swim in the hotel's pool.  It was an activity we repeated every day.  Then, we went to visit my former student, Madhana, who is going to school in St. Louis.  We went to an awesome place to enjoy some mini golf, bumper boats, go-karts, and bouncing in the milder evening heat (mid 90s). 

 I must say, Madhana has some mad photography skills because this is the best family picture we've taken in quite awhile! 

Aria was a fabulous golfer.  She usually hit the ball once or twice, not generally in the right direction, then picked up the ball, put it in the whole, and said, "I'm a winner!"  It might have been the cutest thing ever!  She was a little unsure of the bumper boats only because of a big fountain in the middle of the pond that she didn't want to get too close to.  But she did like using the squirt guns to squirt Madhana and I.  Aria didn't get to do the go-karts because we felt she just wasn't quite ready.  She was actually tall enough to go as a passenger, but it was a little too bumpy and fast for a 2-year-old. 

Overall, it was a really fun night!  It was fun to finally get to our vacation destination.  It was fun to reconnect with Madhana and see her university campus.  It was really fun to give Aria some first experiences like bumper boats and mini golf.  Some of my favorite vacation memories growing up come from places just like this one and I hope to do it many times again with Aria in the future!

My Husband is a Hall of Famer!

Before September 2, 2001 I liked baseball.  I liked all sports.  Basketball always has and always will be my favorite, but starting on that date, baseball began to grow on me.  That day in September is when my relationship with Justin Pegump began.  And Justin Pegump loves baseball.  He loves baseball so much he worked his entire young life to become a great pitcher.  What a great pitcher he became!  So great that he recently found out he will be inducted into the Mount Mercy University Athletics Hall of Fame in October! 

The highlight of Justin's career was definitely his senior year when he broke 5 Mount Mercy baseball records and still holds each one today, 8 years later.  His records are:

278 Career Strikeouts
82 Single Season Strikeouts
14 Single Game Strikeouts
18 2/3 Consecutive Scoreless Innings
5 Career Shutouts

He also has the most starts in a career, the most batters faced, and is second in wins.  He was a go-to pitcher for Mount Mercy all four years. 

There are several things that brought Justin's success.  First of all, he was extremely coachable.  He was willing to learn and do what his coach said, and he had a fantastic coach!  Justin was focused, he worked hard, and he knew his capabilities.  Justin generally threw in the mid-80s for his fastball.  But he prided himself in hitting his spots and throwing the correct pitches to get batters out.  He didn't just try to over-power hitters.  Justin was very passionate about pitching and took it very seriously.  I used to tease him about hiding behind his glove out on the mound and how quickly he kept the game moving, but those things are part of the reason he was successful. 

As I said before, his senior year was definitely his best.  It was very memorable with all the records he broke and because it was the most successful for the team.  Justin was always a huge team player and never wanted credit for his success.  He did it for the team and just wanted to be successful as a team.  A big part of his senior year was his catcher, Troy.  Troy transferred in that year and he and Justin were instant friends.  They share the same pure passion for baseball and made a great battery for Mt. Mercy. 

I have so many awesome memories of following Justin's baseball career.  I missed his freshman year because we didn't really know each other then, but I followed the other three years very closely.  I went on weekend trips with his family all over the Midwest to watch games in snowfall and in blistering heat.  I went on all three spring break trips, getting to see Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana.  One of the best games Justin pitched was on the "spring" trip his senior year in Kentucky.  I sat through the game in my snow pants and winter coat because it was about 40 degrees and snowing.  It didn't seem to bother Justin because he gave up an infield single in the first inning and a bloop hit in the seventh inning (they only play 7) to throw a two-hit, complete game shutout.  He pitched a fabulous game that day and his best friend and catcher, Troy, saved the ball for him.  It is still on display in our basement. 

My favorite memory is actually very bittersweet.  It was in Justin's last game for Mount Mercy.  They were playing in the regional tournament.  He pitched the first game of the regional tournament and beat the #1 seed in the tournament.  They won two other games in the tournament, but were getting killed in the game to go to the championship.  These games were nine innings and in the eighth inning, Justin's coach asked him if he wanted to pitch one more time for his career.  Of course he did, so Justin went out there for the ninth.  I was at the game with Justin's family and my parents.  My mom, Justin's mom, Justin's sister, and I were all crying as he went out there.  Justin struck out the first two batters he faced.  Then, his coach went out to the mound.  We were really sobbing then.  Justin later told us his coach came out to tell him what a pleasure it was to coach him the past four years and seemed a little choked up.  I'm not sure how Justin pitched to that last batter, but he struck him out, too and those three strikeouts gave him the single season record.  We didn't know about the record at the time.  We just all appreciated the special moment he got with his coach who molded him into such an amazing pitcher. 

Justin is a super humble guy.  You will never, ever hear him brag about his accomplishments or even really mention them.  He loved what he did and has many fond memories.  The teammates, the competition, the baseball were the things that meant the most to him.  I am so happy he is being rewarded with the greatest honor from Mount Mercy because he really deserves it.  He was the kind of athlete Mount Mercy wanted to represent their school.  Congratulations, Justin!  I loved watching you pitch.  I could see your dedication, work ethic, and character way back then and it is those same things that make you a wonderful husband and father today!      

Augie's Birthday

Yesterday was Augie's birthday!  Yes, our first 'child' turned 8 already.

We got her about three weeks after we got married when she was six weeks old and six pounds.  I can still remember the first night with her in our bed and numerous trips outside to pee about one ounce.  We love our dog and spoil her a lot!  She had to take a back seat to another little girl about two and a half years ago, but we do still like to spoil her.  She got a couple bones for her birthday and we took her to do one of her favorite activities...swimming in the creek!

Obviously, because of the dry weather, the creek is pretty low so we put some old clothes and water shoes on Aria and let her play, too! 

I really can't say who had more fun.  Aria got a big kick out of Augie splashing around and chasing her ball.  She didn't mind when Augie shook the water off and got her all wet.  We splashed and stomped up and down the creek and got all wet and muddy.  It was so fun!

And Augie smiled her biggest smiles and wagged her tail constantly!  When we got home, she didn't move for the rest of the night and I thought Justin was going to have to carry her upstairs to go to bed.  I guess old age catches up to dogs, too. 

Thoughts from the Mercy Me Concert

Amazing.

The whole thing was just amazing.  I got to go on a date with my husband.  One of my favorite groups was playing right here in town.  It was a beautiful evening.  We saw lots of people we know.  I heard about the birth of a good friend's baby during the concert--during Amazing Grace!  I got to eat some ice cream. 

Powerful.

Bart, the lead singer of Mercy Me, preached the gospel the best I have ever heard it.  It came straight from his heart and was incredibly passionate.  He stripped it all down to one simple message.  God can't love me any more.  It doesn't matter what sin I've done.  It doesn't matter what sin I'll do in the future.  It doesn't matter how much I go to church, how much I sing, how many good works I do.  God loves me.  To the very end.  Man it was powerful!  I hope people who haven't received Christ were listening very closely because it was a captivating message.  Just absolutely awesome!

Emotional.

I didn't even know there was an opening act until I looked at my ticket today.  They are Bobby Colquhoun and No Longer Bound.  They are a local group that includes a former student of mine.  It was so incredibly cool to see her up there singing!  Even more incredible was the amount of praise and love for God that poured out of her while she sang.  Three months ago her dad had a heart attack and passed away.  I don't know exactly what that feels like, but I'm sure her grief is very great.  Yet she praised God with everything she had and her love and trust in Him was very clear. 

Inspirational.

Bobby Colquhoun had an exceptional story of his own.  He was an alcohol, drug, and weapon addict.  He sold drugs, went to prison, abandoned his family.  But Jesus saved him.  It was really inspiring to hear his testimony. 

Phenomenal.

I love music.  It beats inside of me all the time.  It isn't just background noise for me.  Songs have very deep meanings to me.  A lot of times I associate songs to a specific memory while listening to that song.  Sometimes the lyrics speak to me.  Sometimes I just enjoy the beat and rhythm so much I get lost.  This music was phenomenal.  It's funny.  I used to know who sang every song I listened to.  When I started listening to a Christian radio station, I kind of stopped paying attention to who it was by and just paid attention to the message.  Mercy Me sang a few songs tonight that I didn't realize were theirs.  It was a nice surprise!

Personal.

Then there is the greatest reason I went.  Mercy Me's signature song, I Can Only Imagine.  Aria Jackie Pegump is named after my grandma Jackie.  The link takes you to a post I wrote about her a long time ago.  If you don't want to read the whole thing, here is the part that fits with this concert...

I had never heard the song, "I Can Only Imagine" until my grandma died and we were planning her funeral. We found the lyrics written in her handwriting on some scrap piece of paper and knew the song was a perfect fit for her. It took me a long time before I could listen to that song without crying. Sometimes I still cry because it reminds me of her. And, I do cry a lot. But really, think about it. Can you imagine what it will be like when you walk by His side? What will you do? Will you dance or be still? Will you stand or fall to your knees? Will you sing Hallelujah? Will you be able to speak at all? I still can't figure it out. Our Savior...meeting Him face to face...holy cow. How amazing will that be? 

I don't cry every time I hear that song anymore, but I sobbed tonight.  There was just something about hearing it in person.  I cried because I miss her.  I cried because I want her to meet Aria.  I cried because her death brought me so much closer to Christ and catapulted me ahead on my faith journey.  I love that song and it was indescribable to hear it in person.

Go.

If you ever have a chance to go to a Mercy Me concert, GO!  They were more than I can ever do justice in writing.  It was more than a concert.  It was a powerful message and wonderful praise to our Saviour!

Childlike Faith

To begin our bedtime prayers, I always ask Aria what she wants to thank Jesus for.  The answers are random and often have to do with our activities that day.  But tonight she was quiet for awhile.  Then she said,

"Jesus died on the cross.  I want to die on the cross.  I want to be like Jesus."

I think my heart skipped a beat.  I think I was just given a glimpse of what Jesus meant when he said, "Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Mark 10:15

Her wheels are turning.  I pray they keep on turning and that she wants to be like Jesus for the rest of her life.

The Letter W

Bible: I thought about reading stories about wise people, but it just didn't happen.  Ugh!  Where has my motivation and creativity gone.

Activities: We played in the water!  One day, Aria was doing a favorite activity of hers, playing with water in her sink which consists of pretty harmless cup filling and dumping.  Then it gets quiet.  I yell from the kitchen to see what she is doing.  "I'm just putting on some lotion."

It is a bit hard to see the gobs of lotion all over her face and hands, but trust me it is there.  I just laughed.  What else was there to do?  And, water doesn't wash off lotion.  Besides playing with water in the sink, we played at the beach, too.

We also went to Wal-Mart.  Does that count?  And, she is quite fond of her whistle.  I meant to go for a wagon ride, but it was too darn hot.

People We Know: Whitney, Winnie the Pooh

Foods We Ate: waffles, watermelon, water, wheat bread

Pictures to Color: wagon, window, whale, walrus, worm

Books: My 'w' Sound Box, Walruses, It's a Baby Gray Wolf, I Am A Whale, Watch Out Little Wombat

Songs: Winnie the Pooh, Who Built the Ark?, Who Did Swallow Jonah

Ranch

If you ask Aria her favorite food, her immediate response is mac 'n cheese.  If you are talking about any food in general, Aria will say, "I like mac 'n cheese."  There is no doubt, my daughter loves mac 'n cheese.  But I would like to challenge her claim of favorite with what I think it should be, ranch.  As in the salad dressing.  I don't know if it classifies as a food, but she eats it on anything.  Whenever we are eating something I know Aria will say she doesn't like, I put a little bit of ranch on her plate and she will use that to mask the taste of whatever it is she doesn't like.  It is pretty common on things like chicken, steak, vegetables (even if they are cooked), and potatoes.  She even has an aunt who likes to eat ranch on pizza with her.  The other night it was pineapple.  And I've seen her dip blueberries in it, too (even though she loves blueberries).  She'll often ask, "Can I dip my ________ in ranch?"  I used to hesitate when I thought it was gross, but now I say go ahead.  If it goes in her mouth, she has to chew and swallow so it is her problem if it is gross.  Never once has she complained.  Surprisingly, I don't think we've ever combined mac 'n cheese and ranch, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was requested.

The Letter V

Bible:  These dwindling letters of the alphabet are not very prevalent in the Bible without some creativity...which I'm short on in these summer months.  It doesn't mean we don't read the Bible, it just means I've been reading the "baby Jesus" story and Goliath a lot. 

Activities: Cue bad mom moment number 7021...

I definitely knew the reaction of diet pop and mentos.  It just didn't occur to me to have my daughter stand back a bit.  She loves to help so much, that I just wanted her to be able to be a part of it.  Needless to say, pop in the eyes was not the part she was looking for.  Now, whenever you say something about volcanoes, she says, "I don't like the pop!"

We also did a baking soda and vinegar volcano, which she liked better; less violence and pretty colors for the 'lava.'

People We Know: Vicki

Foods We Ate: vegetables, vanilla (dumped in a batch of cookies), Velveeta

Pictures to Color: van, vegetables, vacuum, volcano

Books: All About Vegetables, If I Were A Veterinarian, My 'v' Sound Box, Odd Velvet, Violet the Pilot, How Volcanoes Blow Their Tops (we just looked at the pictures because the words are way over Aria's head). 

Songs: I don't remember any!

"Just Like Jackie"

There was an article in the newspaper yesterday with the above title.  It was a story I found quite exceptional.  The Anderson Monarchs youth baseball team of inner-city Philadelphia is traveling on a 22-day 4,000 mile trip this summer in a 1947 touring bus to simulate the journey Jackie Robinson would have taken when he played in the Negro leagues in the 1940s.  (In case you don't know, Jackie Robinson is the first African American to play baseball in the major leagues.)  They are 15 boys and 1 girl who are 10- and 11-years-old.  First of all, I can't even imagine a 10- or 11-year-old on such a long trip!  And, they are on a bus without air conditioning, stopping everywhere to play baseball.  Major League Baseball has helped with some of the coordinating of the trip and they have been to several major and minor league parks along the way, meeting many famous baseball players.  They came to Cedar Rapids because their coach wanted to take them somewhere that was not a big city so they could see something different.  On one hand, I'm sure a person could take the approach that the coach is nuts and it is ridiculous to take such young kids on such a massive trip.  On the other hand, what an amazing opportunity for those kids!  The coach said he wanted to give inner city kids the kinds of opportunities other kids who live in more affluent areas.  There are several Philadelphia businesses who are sponsoring their trip.  Just to travel around the country and play a game you love would be cool enough, but to be representing such a significant historic event, I don't even have words for it.  I'm sure the kids are too young to completely grasp the significance, but they certainly won't ever forget it!  I really applaud all those involved with this trip, right down to the opponents who have welcomed them and learned from the experience, as well.  You can read about something in the history books, but to experience it, in a sense, is irreplaceable!

Road Closed

When you see a sign that says, "Road Closed Ahead" what do you do?  I assume the road is closed and turn around to follow the detour.  In terms of driving to the beach this weekend, we should have proceeded through the barricade and continued on our way.  But, we didn't.  Instead we took a one hour tour around the countryside trying to find the non-existent detour signs that would lead us to the beach.  Finally we picked up the detour signs again, which lead us right back to where we started.  So we stopped and asked in a gas station.  "Oh yeah!  You can drive through the sign and take the first left right after the railroad tracks and it will take you right there!"  Yeah.  Wish we would have asked the first time around.  All that frustration and we all handled it pretty well.  Aria pointed out all the things she saw in the countryside and only asked a few times if the beach was going to be open.  Justin and I only had one brief moment of frustration, but persevered.

More than an hour later than planned, we arrived at the beach.  And we did this:

Can't beat these smiles:

 And on the way home, our car said this:

Our hour long road trip did not deter our fun or Aria's immediate requests to do that again.  Now, if only I could remove the lake water smell from the swimsuits.  :)

Happy 4th of July

The Books of Pellinor

For the past couple weeks I have been hooked on a four book series called The Books of Pellinor by Alison Croggon.  I like to call it an Eragon-Lord of the Rings-Harry Potter mix.  The author created her own world, Edil-Amarandh, set in medieval-type times.  There are not quite the variety of characters, as in Lord of the Rings, but there are some interesting ones.  The main characters are Bards, humans who can do magic.  There are Hulls, who are Bards on the dark side, Wers, like werewolves, Elementals, which are earth creatures like trees and mountains that take on human-like semblances, and regular humans.  There are also other non-human creatures developed by "The Nameless One" who is the dark lord of the story.

The four books are, The Naming, The Riddle, The Crow, and The Singing.  The story revolves around Maerad, a young girl found in slavery who knew nothing of her Bardic powers.  She is rescued by Cadvan and brought to a school for Bards.  They soon learn she has interesting powers and will play a large role in taking down The Nameless One, who is the dark power trying to take over the world.  Having read all four books, I don't want to give away too many details because I will probably ruin surprises at least in the first book for those who want to read them. 

I call it the Eragon-Lord of the Rings-Harry Potter mix because those are my three favorite series and I can see elements of each one in these books.  This has easily become a part of my top five series (throwing The Hunger Games in to make five).  There is the strange, fantasy world with different creatures like Eragon and LotR.  There is good versus evil and a young "chosen one" character like all three.  The main characters are teens, which fills my love of young adult lit, and is much like Eragon and Harry.  I also really enjoyed that there was not really any romance.  I'm always glad to recommend books like this to young teens to read because I know their parents won't have to worry about any star-crossed lovers.  There is a ton of adventure, surprises around every corner, mystery in wondering how the characters will ever accomplish their goals, friendship, sorrow and death, joy, and growing up.  The characters really came to life for me and I couldn't wait to read on and on. 

If you enjoyed any of the series I mentioned above, I'm sure you would enjoy this, too.  I am thankful for Amazon's Daily Deals for having The Naming for $0.99 one day, otherwise I never would have known about them.  If you have a Kindle, I can loan them to you because they are a must read!

The Slide

Once upon a time, there was a little girl who would not go down the slide.  Her mother took her kicking and screaming down the slide on her lap just to give her the experience.  All it took was that one slide and the little girl was hooked, venturing down the slide time and time again.

Then, that little girl grew up and had a little girl of her own and the story repeats itself.  :)  Actually, all it took were some sunglasses to block the splash in her face and we had to stay at the pool another hour to go down that slide at least 50 times.

We've now been swimming (at a public/private pool) three times this summer.  That is the same number of times Aria had previously been to a pool in her past two summers.  Well, we did swimming lessons in an indoor pool in the winter, but I'm talking go to an outdoor pool just for fun in the summer.  Holy cow is it a blast!  She can reach in the shallow water and loves going down slides. She likes splashing people and squirting them with squirt guns.  She loves to blow bubbles and jump in.  She doesn't like to go under water, have big splashes in her face, have water dumped on her head, or the loud noises of waterfalls and fountains. 

I'm not a fan of the ridiculous price of our city's public pools and would much rather find the places where Aria is still free.  We aren't going to go enough to get a pass this summer, but I can see how much of a deal they are for families who go frequently.  It pays for itself very quickly.  Thank goodness for great friends who invited us to a private pool and for the pool near my parents' house!  Also, zero entry pools with the fun things like slides, awesome idea! 

Oh, and a random side note, this is my 300th blog post!  How crazy is that!

The Letter U

Our letter U was almost so non-existent that I didn't even post about it.  But, I am determined to have a record of all I have done(or not) with these letters of the week, so here is the short list.

Bible Stories---Nope. No U's that I know of.

Activities: Didn't do anything special.  I thought about making an upside down cake or going on an "under" adventure where we tried to go under many things, but we just didn't get around to it.  In all fairness, we did have something going on every day during U week, so it wasn't like we were sitting around twittling our thumbs.  And, my long ago hope was that Aria would magically decide to start wearing undies during U week, but it isn't time for that, either.

People We Know: No one here, either.

Foods: I was going to buy an ugli fruit, but they didn't have any.

Pictures to Color: Thanks to a print out not made by me, she did have this for the week.  The pictures were umbrella, urchin, uniform, and upside down.

Books: Up, Up, Down; Umpire's Adventure in Alphabet Town, My "u" Book

Songs: Didn't pursue one of these, either.

That's it.  Sorry, U, you've been the worst one yet.