First Day of School

It's official, we now have a school schedule to follow. 

Gabriel started preschool on my birthday.  We had been driving him past his new school for a few weeks and we have been reading a lot of Bernastein Bears Go To School.  I think he was ready.  He was very excited the morning he woke up. 

When we dropped him off, Scott and I did not even get a hug from him.  He saw his friend Drake and off he went to play. 

I am happy to report that his first day was a success and he loves preschool. When we picked him up he was so excited to tell us about his day and new teachers and friends.  This is a great start to school for Gabe.

Cars

I have been looking for a new car for some time, probably over a year. The reliable CR-V was getting close to the end of it's life and I was ready to not dump any more money into it. So instead of paying for a new sensor, window engine, brakes, and a/c, we decided to buy a new car!

[caption id="attachment_2050" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Good bye CR-V[/caption]

After a weekend of test driving the Nissan Murano, Rogue, and Ford Edge, we found that the Murano was the car for us. It had a bunch of bells and whistles that I really didn't think I needed. But when we went back to buy the car we found that our price range included some wonderful upgrades.

It hasn't been a week yet but I'm extremely happy with our purchase. Our sales guy, Mark, came out to the house to pick up the title and give me a walk through of all the bells and whistles that come with the car.

[caption id="attachment_2051" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Looks pretty good next to the house I grew up in[/caption]

I think Murray, the Murano, will be a wonderful addition for years to come.

[caption id="attachment_2052" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Just perfect in our garage[/caption]

 

 

Wine Night

A couple of weeks ago, Loreen asked if I wanted to go to the alumni wine night. I figured it would be a great way to give back to the school and see some girls that I hadn't seen in a while. So, this past weekend Ursuline had an alumni wine night. It was a chance to get together with other UA alums and sample some wine from a local vendor.

Brooke and I arrived early, well before most showed up due to the rain and the highways being a mess. We took full advantage of this. We started out at the Old World wine table and managed to sample them all before a crowd gathered. Loreen showed up and we headed over to the New World wines.

[caption id="attachment_1850" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Class of '98"][/caption]

 After tasting all the wines they had out there were only a few that I liked. None that I wanted to buy though. We got our plates filled with foods and of course, Swedish Fish and Watermelons. We hung out with a large group of ladies from the class of '75. They were hilarious to listen to their stories. We compared athletic stories and uniform issues, even what was not allowed and was instant detention.  Brooke and I snuck off to the old gym (still smells the same)

[caption id="attachment_1853" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="This is new to the old gym"][/caption]

and decided to leave a note to our old advisor.

[caption id="attachment_1852" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Our note to Mr. Master"][/caption]

I won a door prize, a glass ice bucket with the Ursuline crest on it. I loved it! Now when to use it.

[caption id="attachment_1851" align="aligncenter" width="225" caption="Door prize and Watermelons"][/caption]

Afterwards we headed over to Bar Louie for some more catching up and drinks. It was a great night.

 

 

New Years Day

We did spend New Years Day right! We woke up late and went to brunch at Scape in the Central West End. I had been wanting eggs benedict, since I did not get them Christmas morning, and Scott had a Mexican egg omlet. The food and  atmosphere was great!



Then we went over to the Art Museum to see the Monet's Water Lilies. It was the first time that all 3 panels were together in an exhibit.  I found that I really liked this one:



I kept going back to look at it and loved the yellows that were used. The whole exhibit was very cool. We like the art museum so much that we decided to become members. I'm excited that we get to go to more things for free. Next up for passes, Missouri Botanical Gardens, that will get us in the Spring.

[caption id="attachment_1772" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="New Years Day in Forest Park"][/caption]

After the musuem, we ventured out to Best Buy to just pick up a Blu Ray player. However, we ended up getting a great deal on a new TV. We are both very excited to start being able to really watch the hockey games. We got home and started setting up the new TV and Blu Ray player.

I ended up getting the worst migraine I've had in years. It lasted all through the night and next day. I sure don't miss those.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing everyone a Happy Turkey Day from the Windy City!

Christmas Craft Fair

It's almost Christmas time and what a great way to get ready by going to the Lindbergh High School Craft Fair. We met a few vendors at the Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival that mentioned they would be at the Lindbergh Fair for us to get more goodies. We arrived right when it opened and there was already a line of cars waiting to get in.



When we got inside we were amazed with how many rooms inside the school that were set up for booths. We found the dip samples first and grab a few of those. Then we headed into the main gym and quickly found the people that made the wooden bear for our door and got 4 new outfits for him. I then found a new snowman. Zipf had a great time finding all kinds of deals on yard signs and sleighs.