St. Louis

We went up to St. Louis last weekend to catch a Cardinal's game. Grandpa Wayne took us and we had a lot of fun. We were kind of nervous for awhile because the Braves led 3-0 throughout the first half of the game but the Cards finally came through in the 5th and ended up winning 5-4. Our seats were in left field so we were right behind Chris Duncan the whole time, which was very exciting. We tried yelling his name to get his attention but he didn't turn around. Eli checked out for awhile, napping from the 4th-8th innings but he came alive during the 9th to watch the Cards star closing pitcher Izzy finish off the game. All in all, the stadium is really nice and we all had a really fun time.

Sunday we went for breakfast with Wayne and Helen at a cool little restaurant in Soulard. Then we took off back downtown to go up in the arch. The Cardinals were playing an afternoon game at 1:00 and we toyed with the idea of going , but since Duncan had never been up in the arch we went ahead and did that. Personally, I was not planning on going up, due to fear of heights, falling, and small enclosed places with no way out. But of course, little intuitive Duncan could smell my fear and he started having second thoughts about going up. So, after a little guilt, and not a small number of threats from Joe, I decided to buck up and go.

Once we were up the boys were excited about all of the views to be seen. We could see the stadium (with the game going on), the old courthouse, big hotels with swimming pools on the roofs, the river, and Joe saw the Admiral. They kept going from one side to the other, taking it all in. At one point, Duncan said to me,"This arch isn't half bad!".

In the pod

Looking out

Cardinals beat the Braves 4-1

I remember going up in the arch when I was little, with Mom and Grandpa Sedovic (and Julie??). I remarked to Joe that from what I could recollect, the whole experience was just the same as it was some 30 years ago. I was glad that I had decided to go up, though I'm not in a big hurry to be doing it again soon.

Eli and Joe

A while ago we were looking through some old photo albums that Judy had brought and we were amazed/freaked out by the resemblance between Eli and Joe when Joe was that age. Eli looks at the pictures of his dad and thinks that he is looking at himself....

The Fair

Here are some pictures from the Ozark Empire Fair, which was a couple of weeks ago...

Of course, Duncan went to his first fair when he was just a couple of weeks old. These were taken on July 29, 2001.

Eli-isms, Scout update, and more....

Eli-isms

One of the funnest things of Eli at age 2 is the funny things that he says....

When we were at church during VBS week, he kept on talking about 'riding the alligator'. I had no idea what he was talking about. When we were out on the playground, I looked around for an alligator toy, but there wasn't one. I thought maybe he was playing with some sort of alligator toy in his classroom, but I didn't know. He talked about it every single day, though. On the last day of VBS, we were on the 2nd floor getting ready to go downstairs and get Duncan. He ran up to the elevator and said, "Mommy! Ride the alligator!" Finally, I figured out what he had been trying to tell me all week, that he had been riding the elevator!

Whenever we're practicing baseball, he likes to play with Duncan's 'glub' (glove).

Whenever he wants a soda, he asks for a "Coca". He also likes to drink gator-leg.

When we were going to the fair, he wanted to eat an 'ice-cream whip' (pineapple whip).

Of course, cup cakes are 'pup-cakes'.

Scout

Well, Scout has been up to more antics. We took her to the beauty shop where she got a bath and her nails done. While we were there, I bought her 2 new toys, too. Spoiled! Anyway, I'm sorry to say, Julie and Charlie, that she chewed up the pretty new red leash you bought her. That's OK, she can use Charlie's (our old dog's) old one. And you'll be glad to know she caught her first rabbit....of course it was when Joe and the boys were gone so I had to clean up the carcass. Gross! And for a dog who doesn't bark alot, she sure barks alot! I think she's really come out of her shell since she's moved to the Ozarks....she is something else.

And more...

Duncan, Eli and I went to the Nixa pool last week. We were the for about 20 minutes when Duncan remarked, in a slightly bored tone, "There's not much to do here besides swim!".

Um, OK. When does school start?

Here are a couple of good Dilberts, in case you didn't read them in the paper...

I love the mentality of the crowd in the last square.

But part of me is afraid that people really are that dumb.

Also I love that Dilbert is wearing tall pants.

Scout

We've had Scout for a little while now and she has made herself part of the family. It was a little hard at first. Te Te was not quite sure what to think of Scout, and barked at her for the first ten or eleven hours she was here. She finally stopped, and tolerates her but they are still not best friends yet. I thought that Te Te would be the alpha dog, since she's a little bossy, but I think there was an incident between them one day while they were outside and we were at work. Te Te's a little tentative around her now.

Alf pretty much ignores her (just like he did with Charlie). At first Scout wanted to play with Alf, and was running circles around him, but after a few hisses and swats with the claws, I think Alf got his point across.

Scout is very sweet and affectionate. She likes to be petted, and she likes to play. Her face is very expressive and she has alot ot different "looks". She loves to go for walks, which is good for me, too. Also I've noticed that she makes herself at home on my lounge chair when she's out on the back porch. She hardly ever barks, which is a plus. When she does, it is a deep, gruff bark, not really what you'd expect.

When Julie and Charlie were here to drop her off, they said what a good dog she was. Then she started tipping her food bowls over and eating off the floor, and I thought I saw her trying to dig in the backyard. It was funny, I asked Julie what other things she wasn't telling us. Luckily, she's not really a digger, but she did chew a few holes in one of our blankets. She's just a puppy after all, (she's only 3 years old). Seriously, she is a very good dog and we are very excited to have her.

Julie and Charlie flew to Beijing yesterday. So please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

I know it was hard for you guys to leave your dog, but she is in really good hands and very happy!