Trip to Downtown Indy

Hotel lobby at the Westin.

The scary ride up the small two-person elevator to the top of the monument.

View from the top of the monument.

Kathy and Trent in the observation deck at the top of the monument.

Monument Circle.

Base of the monument.

Monument Circle.

A frigid Kathy at Monument Circle.

The opposite side of the base of the monument.

The observation deck that we rode the elevator to is the light near the top of the monument.

Below is a picture of Monument Circle during the lighting ceremony.

I took Friday off from work, and Kathy and I left town for a one night, child-free getaway to celebrate Kathy's birthday, since we may not get a chance to do so if the baby comes soon. The kids got to stay the night at Grandma & Gramdpa's house where they got watch movies, play the Wii, and make a gingerbread house.

We stayed for just one night at the Westin in downtown Indianapolis, only about a 40 minute drive from our house. We first visited the Circle Center Mall, which could be reached from our hotel (without having to walk outside in the cold) via second story indoor walkways. Many of the hotels in the area are connected to the Convention Center and Mall via these walkways. It was a bit of a walk, so we got plenty of exercise. For dinner, we ate at a somewhat upscale steak and seafood restaurant next to the mall called Harry & Izzy's. The food was great! Downtown Indy has a number of upscale eating establishments, many of which we would not have been dressed-up enough for that night.

Later we returned to our hotel and bundled up for a frigid outside walk to Monument Circle. Monument Circle is an area near the center of downtown that is dominated by a 250 foot tall monument to Indiana's war veterans. This area is festively decorated for the holidays, and has a lighting ceremony the day after Thanksgiving that we are never brave enough to take the kids to due to the crowds! There are carriage rides throughout the holiday season as well as some weekly musical events. We rode the 20 story elevator ride to the observation deck at the top of the monument (which was a bit scary!) and stopped at the famous South Bend Chocolate Factory for some hot cocoa and chocolate cheesecake before returning to our hotel.

First Snow of the Season

Our first snow of the season that actually stuck to the ground took place on Dec. 4th. As has been typical of central Indiana weather the last few years, the snow only stayed on the ground through the weekend.

Pictures

Our Christmas card picture for 2008.

Thanksgiving Weekend

We had an enjoyable Thanksgiving feast at home this year with Kathy's parents. The food was great, and of course, we ate too much! Lauren made her first pie - a pumpkin pie, including the pastry. It turned out really good! Kathy's apple pie was delicious as usual. The next day, Kathy braved the Black Friday shopping craziness. Trent took the kids out later in the day to shop for Kathy. There were supposed to be Stormtroopers at the Star Wars collectable store in town, but they weren't able to make it, much to the disappointment of the kids (and Daddy). We then put up Christmas decorations on Saturday and trimmed the trees on Sunday. This is our favorite time of the year as a family. Justin seems to be extra excited about Christmas this year.

Family Room Christmas tree.

Living Room Christmas tree.

Kathy's snowman collection on our living room book shelves.

Halloween

Jared's bounty hunter costume.

Lauren's own creation - Elf warrior. She was awarded "Best Costume in the 8th Grade" at school. She also has a bow, quiver, and arrows that go with the costume.

Jared's and Mommy's creation is on the left. Daddy and Justin did the one in the middle. Lauren's tri-force symbol from the Legend of Zelda is on the right.

Family "Cabining" Trip

Last week we drove about an hour and a half to Shakamak State Park and Lake Kickapoo in western Indiana near Jasonville. There, we rented a cabin for Wednesday and Thursday night and returned home around Noon on Friday. Kathy wasn't up to actual camping in tents, so this was a fun, inexpensive alternative. We were hoping to see more brilliant fall colors, but the leaves in Indiana had just barely started to change last week. The cabin had a main room with two sets of bunk beds, a table with chairs, and a wood burning stove. It also had a screened-in porch, a kitchen, a bathroom with a shower, and another room with a full size bed. The weather was clear, but windy and cold until early Friday morning when we got rained on. The first night was down around the freezing mark, but the wood burning stove kept us nice and warm. We had a great time. Indiana really has a lot to offer in terms of outdoor recreation.

We had a great breakfast the first morning consisting of eggs, bacon, cinnamon rolls and hot cocoa.

Justin had a blast dipping the plastic fish on his Fisher Price fishing rod into and out of the water.

Jared and Justin untangling their lines on the pier near our cabin.

Justin fishing.

Our first round of fishing in the early morning hours.

Justin fishing and displaying a bit of crack.

Justin with his fishing pole near our cabin.

This is a small play area down the road from our cabin.

The road leading to our cabin.

Daddy caught a stick!

Lauren on one of the piers that we fished off of later in the day on lake Kickapoo.

Daddy, Lauren, and Jared went on about a 2 mile hike along one of the roads that winds through the state park and then along one of the forest trails.

To meet the requirements of one of his Webelos badges, Jared helped build and maintain the fire that we cooked our foil dinners on. He also assisted in preparing the dinners. He did a great job and got some really good coals going for cooking.

This critter was in the dumpster near our cabin. I think it was too fat to get out on its own!