part of the July 4th week in Illinois hanging out with my dad's side of the family. It is always fun and I love the fact that the relatives that live near by always come to visit us when we are in town. I had a plethora of cousins around and they are all quite fun and nice, which makes for a good trip. Although, I don't feel like I got to spend enough time with my grandmother so I may need to fly out on my own.
My grandmother has a cool backyard. If you click on the photo you will see that there is a staring contest going on.
This trip I met my dad flew in the same day and met at the St. Louis airport. A few days later, my sister and her two oldest kids flew in to visit as well. So that was fun and it was cool to get some group photos of the multi-generations. While on my trip, my aunt Beni and my cousin Chris took me downtown for lunch and to look around. We went to Fitz's and inside they bottle their own Root Beer, which was cool to see. We then walked around "The Loop," stepped into a comic book store, where I met an employee who is from Gruene, TX. We talked about the all the rain and the flood that hit Gruene a couple of years ago. We then visited Blueberry Hill which is also on The Loop and Chuck Berry plays there on occasion. There are a lot of photos all over the inside of celebrities who have visited. I believe in the basement there is a rather popular music venue called the Duck Room.
We then went into a Head shop - The Loop is very close to a college campus, where we proceeded to look at the home made clothes, quasi-clever tee shirts, and the 18 year old in deep discussion over a one hitter with the sales guy behind the counter. First of all, I didn't know that is what the wooden flask like object was called but Chris educated me. Secondly, I was impressed with how lucid the sales guy was and he was really educating the kid and working on a two dollar up sale. It was all rather odd. Lastly, I really was tempted to walk up to the kid, who probably just turned 18 and looked about 15, and I wanted to say "Don't I know your mother?". Alas, he lucked out and I was distracted by my aunt's inquiry as to what a particular t-shirt's acronym meant. Anyway, Chris turned down our idea of him getting the I Heart Boobies shirt for th
e family photo that would happen the next day, so the entertainment value of the head shop was exhausted. So, even though I was full from Fritz's I was craving a cold concoction from Starbuck's and Beni and Chris were kind enough to wait for me and then we went down the street and they got Bubble Teas. 
The picture to the left is very representative of how I spent a lot of my time in Illinois, as my aunt is a great cook. :)The trip was fun and I got to see lots of family folk. I also took a lot of photos. :) I have so many photos that I need to go through all of them and tweak them. I should actually post one of the group pics but I will do that another time.
Movie reviews...
While in Illinois I went to see Transformers with my Uncle Bob, my cousins Chris and Adrienne. It is a great action flick. I am glad they waited for the technology to catch up because if they had made Transformers about 10 or more years ago, I suspect it would have consisted of spray painted cardboard outfits. Not to say that ain't fancy but I think what they did in the movie is very impressive. While on the topic of movies, this past Monday I finally got to see Ratatouille, or as I call it, Rata-pooee aka Rata-poopie. I actually had to check the time to see how much of the movie was left. The visuals were great and there was a plot but it was severely lacking in cleverness and there were blantant things done for shock value, things that I don't think little kids need to see. I was very disappointed and I say if you plan on seeing it, go to a matinee or wait to rent it.
Jackson turned 2!!!!!!!
Last Saturday, July 14th, my buddy Jackson turned two. There was a shindig where he got a lot of trucks and such but I think one of the true highlights was the chocolate cake. Jackson is my type of friend, as he understands the love of chocolate. I was lucky enough to get a picture of the jubilation on Jackson's face when he saw the cake. He was so excited that he ran to the table and then turned and made a beeline for his high chair. He is a smart boy!! Jackson was also kind enough to share his coveted chocolate cake with his mom. :)
Last Saturday, July 14th, my buddy Jackson turned two. There was a shindig where he got a lot of trucks and such but I think one of the true highlights was the chocolate cake. Jackson is my type of friend, as he understands the love of chocolate. I was lucky enough to get a picture of the jubilation on Jackson's face when he saw the cake. He was so excited that he ran to the table and then turned and made a beeline for his high chair. He is a smart boy!! Jackson was also kind enough to share his coveted chocolate cake with his mom. :)
This entry was started on the date shown and completed on Monday the 23nd. Apparently drafts maintain the start date. It is early Monday morning, around 12:30am and I blame Marsha and David for keeping me up late. :) We went and saw the latest Harry Potter movie at the last minute and it was pretty good.
Anyway, I will post more this week. Later today - July 23, I am to register for my photography classes. I hope I am able to get the ones I want.
~E
3 comments:
the shot is awesome. come up with a clever saying, make a poster out of it and retire early.
I should try that! :)
i agree the rat movie was borrrring
but i quite enjoyed HP
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