Museum trip

Since Christmas break, Adam has been wanting me to take him to the Grand Rapids Museum. It has been years since we have been there and I thought the trip would be fun. We would have gone earlier this month and we would have except for the fact that every weekend the roads have been icy and the visibility was 50 feet. I don't mind driving in the winter when I have to...well OK, I don't like driving in the winter.

Today was the end of the school marking period which means that the boys didn't have school today. I was happy because it meant that I was able to sleep in this morning. I would have slept even longer, but I stayed up past 3:00 last night. Doing what? you might ask. Trying to remove spy ware from our desktop computer. I couldn't do it. It is in really bad shape. Lori said that I should take to the computer guy we have gone to before, but instead I spent $30 on an anti-spy ware program, which should fix the computer. The CPU is so virus ridden that the anti-spy ware program won't install. So, that is why I wasn't moving fast this morning.

My rusty Blazer jerked and bucked for awhile on the way to Grand Rapids. Adam held the Tom Tom. I knew how to get to GR and Tom Tom knew the city streets. We parked in the parking garage and by the time we got to the Museum we missed the Star Trek Worm Hole exhibit in the Planetarium. I did pay for three carousel tickets so the boys could ride. We looked around and heard the clock tower strike at 3 and then again at 4.

We were there long enough to see everything and before the boys got bored. Evan loved looking at all the swords and guns. Nathan got tired and wanted to sit down, so I had him sit in the classroom exhibit and I taught him about idioms from the homework pages on display.

They separated from me as I walked into the Gas Light Village. The volunteer at the Apothecary Shop demonstrated how pills were made in the Victorian Era. She was very engaging, friendly, and taught us a lot. it was a highlight for all of us. We left the drugstore and the boys rode the carousel. It has the original artwork from the late 1800's. There were a few risque paintings on it.

We left the museum, walked to the parking garage, and Nathan wanted to walk to the third floor. The Blazer was parked on the first level. It was one of those moments that i remembered from my childhood when I wanted to see something but we just went home instead. I walked up the two flights of stairs with Nathan. When we got to the top I asked him if there was anything else he wanted to see and he replied, "Nope, that's all I want to see. Let's go home."

The truck drove smoothly on the way back and we got home in good time. It was indeed a good time.

New Year's Day

We usually eat appetizers and watch Christmas movies on New' Years Eve. Then, we watch the ball drop at Time's Square. This year we ordered from Pizza Hut and watched VH1. I was really upset that we didn't get to see the ball drop on Times Square because our local ABC channel broadcast a ball drop at Grand Rapids, which was rather disappointing.


Evan and Nathan watched Charlie Brown Christmas and Christmas Story in Lori's and my bedroom while Adam and I watched music countdowns on VH-1. After midnight Evan and Nathan went to bed and Adam played Rock Band 2. Lori and I played hangman on Pogo and drank. We all went to bed at 4:30.

We were all rather sluggish this morning. Nathan had leftover pizza, hotwings and a breadstick for brunch and a Lunchable for lunch. Evan had a Lunchable for lunch. I had the breakfast of chapions, cold pizza and a coke, which brought back memories of High School and College years. How else to great the late morning of the New Year?

At some point Evan and Nathan turned on the Cartoon Network where a Looney Toons marathon was being broadcasts. Time slipped away from me and I sat in the living room with those two and watched cartoons I hadn't seen in years. We laughed as Wile E Coyote's elaborate plans to catch The Roadrunner backfired on him as did Elmer Fudd's double barreled shotgun when Bugs Bunny stuck his fingers into it.

After awhile, the two boys got restless and Adam was still sleeping. I took Evan and Nathan to the Nature Center and Timber Town. Had this been Spring, Summer or Fall it would have been quite and outing. On New Year''s Day, it was an adventure in not slipping and falling on the ice, while trying to enjoy favorite places. The upside was that we were the only people at both places.

We got home and found that Adam was awake and then we went out to dinner at Grand King Buffet. None of us left hungry. After we got home, I took a nap in my chair. Gosh! my life is exciting.