Kickapoo and Jubilee

I have had some fun adventures this week! My favorite part about volunteering with Linda is that we get to travel around to state historic sites to help with artifact inventories. (The last time I volunteered with Linda in 2008, right before she was laid off, we traveled to the sites to help them close their doors--so it is much happier now, for the most part.) A few weeks ago on St. Patrick's Day we went up to Galesburg to the Carl Sandburg birthplace and had a good time there. Unfortunately they aren't open very often because their site manager also manages another site about 30 miles away, but at least they aren't totally closed like they used to be. On Tuesday and then again today, Linda and I went up to Jubilee College State Historic Site in Brimfield, Illinois (about 20 miles west of Peoria). Unfortunately they are currently closed due to lack of staff (they only have one employee), but at least they keep him there to maintain the place in hopes that it will open to the public again soon. It is a really cool site! Jubilee College was founded in 1839 by an Episcopal bishop named Philander Chase (cool name). The main building there served as a church, dormitory, and school. Incidentally, Philander Chase raised his nephew Salmon Chase, a future member of Lincoln's cabinet (it seems that everything in Illinois has a Lincoln connection). We had a few adventures while doing inventory. On Tuesday I discovered a dead bat! Then today we were going through all of the books in the library, and Linda found a really old book that was attached to this hidden box. We were hoping that we would open it and find some sort of treasure, but sadly it was empty. The best part of our trips to Jubilee College was having lunch at the Jubilee Cafe in the nearby town of Kickapoo (another cool name). Today I had some tasty homemade apple pie there. I love Kickapoo. Next week Linda and I will have more adventures when we head to Metamora Courthouse. And, Greg and I will have some adventures this weekend when we head to Atlanta for our friends David and Teal's wedding! They are getting married on Saturday at the Atlanta Zoo. Their wedding program includes a "Private Gorilla Feeding," so I'm sure I'll have some good stories to tell.

Fantastic Four!

On Saturday, Miss Eliza turned the big #4!!! Greg and I were lucky enough to get to join the birthday bonanza in St. Louis. I still remember the day Eliza was born--she was so tiny and so sweet, and she had cute spikey hair. She's not so tiny anymore, but she keeps getting sweeter! We met up with the Agates at the Build a Bear Workshop at the St. Louis Science Center. Eliza was SO EXCITED to build her pink teddy bear! She got to fill the bear with stuffing, choose a heart to go inside it, and even give it a bath after it was born.

Leo wasn't sure what he thought of all the commotion . . . but then he decided it was pretty fun.

After Eliza's teddy bear was "born," she got to accessorize, which she loved. As you can see, accessorizing is serious business. When all was said and done, her pink bear was all decked out in ballerina gear, complete with pink flip flops. She even decided to name her bear Tiffy! :-) Greg bought an Albert Pujols St. Louis Cardinals teddy bear for me, and Eliza was quite worried that we hadn't gotten any underwear for our bear (her teddy got Hello Kitty underwear!). She said, "So, do you have some diapers for him at home so he won't go potty in his new pants?" She is so funny!

Even Leo got to make a bear! His was an astronaut bear named Hubble. Here are the cute/happy kiddos with the bears. After the birthday bear extravaganza, it was time for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Eliza was SO EXCITED about her cheesecake birthday cake--it was hard to focus on lunch. When dessert time finally arrived, she got her very own piece of carrot cake cheesecake, complete with a candle and chocolate writing around the plate that said "Happy 4th Birthday!" It was like a dream-come-true. After eating her cake she said, "I loved enjoying that whipped cream on top!" It was fun to see her so completely happy and excited about everything. I am lucky to have such fun nieces and nephews, and I am happy that we live so close to the Agates. Being able to meet up with them every now and then helps me not feel so far away from everyone.

While we were eating lunch, it started to SNOW (I thought it was supposed to be spring?), and it kept snowing and snowing. The snow piled up quickly, so we and the Agates both got on the road so we could make it home before it got too deep. The funny thing was, once we got out of St. Louis the weather kind of cleared up, and by the time we reached Springfield, the sun was shining! Greg and I had to stop at Wal Mart for something, and when we got out of the car we noticed a couple staring at our car. They said, "Where did you guys come from?" Greg and I were both confused at first--we thought that was a funny question to ask someone you didn't know. But then we both got a look at the front of our car and it made sense. The entire front of our car was PLASTERED with snow and ice. You couldn't see the license plate, lights, or anything! The couple was glad to hear that the snow and ice were well south of us. So it was a good ending to a great day. We had so much fun celebrating Eliza's birthday!!!

They're Coming . . .

When Greg and I went to the St. Louis Science Center on Saturday for Eliza's big birthday bonanza, we saw a real storm chaser truck parked in front of the Science Center! I love watching the storm chasers chase tornadoes on the Weather Channel--I guess because I'm so scared of tornadoes. So I had to have my picture with the satellite truck. I guess this means that tornado season is coming!